Well, they might but they definitely aren’t the most currently effective way for us to reduce the carbon emissions that are warming the world.  Don’t get me wrong.  Hybrids are one of the most important advances in automotive history due to the fact that they are a step forward toward cleaner burning engines and toward completely carbon neutral automobiles but don’t believe they hype.  There are negatives to hybrid automobiles as well.

1. The environmental impact of making a hybrid.

Although hybrid lovers are quick to brag about how hybrids use less fuel and therefore, are better for the environment, many won’t tell you about the environmental impact of the 30 pounds of nickel that go into each Toyota Prius.  The energy used and the toxicity of creating a nickel battery that goes into many of today’s hybrids is nearly equivalent to driving 100,000 miles.  As such, a hybrid doesn’t start saving the world until you’ve driven that first 100,000 miles in it.

2. Diesels are better.

People think that the estimated 45 miles per gallon the Toyota Prius gets is amazing but the Volkswagon Polo, for example, gets nearly 70 mile to the gallon.  Difference?  It’s a diesel.  For the most part, diesels are more fuel efficient than their petrol counterparts.  Even more environmentally friendly is the development of biodiesel but that’s a discussion for another day.  Even with a generous 55 mpg that some say the Prius gets, it still isn’t as good as many efficient diesel engines.

There are a number of diesels in the mainstream market in most European countries including several from VW, Vauxhall, Jaguar, Audi, etc.  However, there aren’t very many for sale here in North America.  Personally, I think that’s due to how poorly they are marketed here.  They have a reputation for being noisy and smelly sputtering vehicles and back in the early ’90s, that was entirely true.  I vividly remember riding in my friend’s mom’s early diesel Mercedes after school, which made a very distinct “put-put-put-put-put” sound as it rolled along.  However, the technology has become much more viable in the past ten years, resulting in engines that are very clean burning and very fuel efficient.  There is a speed issue with many of them but the Prius isn’t exactly winning any races either.

3. It’s not what you drive…

…it’s how you drive.  Remember that at higher speeds, hybrids use their gas powered engines, which are not as fuel efficient as many engines that are simply designed to be only gas powered engines.  I assume that’s because some of the energy produced by the combustion engine is used to charge the car’s batteries.  The electric engines are extremely economical but if you drive with the pedal to the floor, a Prius isn’t your best choice.  As such, many leadfoots out there won’t see the advertised 45 mpg.

To save gas, one doesn’t really need to go out and buy a new car.  Just drive slower.

So what can you do about it?

Buy used.

The best thing you can currently do to reduce your carbon footprint when it comes to driving is to purchase a fuel-efficient, used car.  Why?  Because a hybrid has a large carbon cost to produce (the equivalent of 100,000 miles driven in it), buying a car where the carbon cost has already been paid by the previous owner means, for the most part, you are driving a car that starts at 0.  Buying a used hybrid or diesel is an even better idea.

Support biodiesel development.

They aren’t without emissions but biodiesel is produced from vegetable oil and animal fat, which will reduce not only the world’s dependance on petroleum but the impact that drilling and the manufacturing of gas has on the earth.

Support the development of entirely electric cars.

The Chevy Volt is coming in 2009 and although it remains to be seen how good it is, it is a step in the right direction.  One of the best developments we’ll be seeing with the Chevy Volt is that it will use a lithium-ion battery rather than a nickel metal hydride that we see in many hybrid vehicles.  Lithium-ion is much more environmentally friendly.

Raise demand for diesels in North America.

Seriously, go read up on it yourself and see why Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and many other celebrities are driving the wrong car.

Do your own research.

Don’t just take my word for it.  I’m not a scientist or anything.  The best thing you can do is find your own answers rather than beliving the hype.  There are good things that many hybrids do.  For example, while I think the Prius is one of the ugliest cars currently available, the form is incredibly functional.  It has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, drag coefficents of any car chassis, meaning it cuts a really clean hole in the air provided you don’t have your windows down.  This means there’s less force pushing against it.

But either way, do some work and find out what’s the best way you can make a difference.