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Originally Posted by backpacker3
All the hybrids are rated as the cleanest cars out there but in order to build those hybrids you have to employ mining methods that are terrible for the environment to get many of the things you need for the battery packs.
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Not so. The mining methods used for battery materials are no worse (and no better) that the methods used to mine the iron &c that goes into standard cars. In fact, you could probably make a good first guess at the environmental impact of manufacturing any vehicle just by weighing it.
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Plus once a hybrid ends up in a junkyard the battery is usually unusable.
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Again, just plain wrong.
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There was just a thread on here showing what kind of mpg you need to get to be just as efficient as a fully electric car due to the amount of emissions produced by power plants in the area and in some places it was as low as the mid 30s.
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True, IF you always charge your car from the grid, and if you regard the particular generation mix in your area as something set in stone. But if you e.g. installed solar panels to do most of your car charging (and supply power for home use), you'd have radically different answer. Indeed, a survey of California EV owners (reported here:
Electric Cars Vs. Solar Panels: Which One's The Gateway Drug? ) found that 39% had a PV system, and and additional 17% were seriously considering installing one.