No matter what we do, we are screwed. Making an "eco-friendly" car's battery is far more harmful than using a regular, gasoline-using, vehicle for dozens of thousands of miles.
It's far too simplistic to say that electric cars have higher manufacturing emissions and use electricity that has it's own footprint, therefore the two factors together negate any potential benefit. It's really not that black and white. As with most things in life it's more varying shades of grey. It largely depends on what kind of electricity you use to charge your car. Obviously, if the electricity you use to charge is generated from burning coal, the carbon footprint is going to be higher than electic generated via hydro, for example. Driving a top hybrid using low carbon power reduces emissions by around 50% Electric cars are relatively new on a commercial scale and as the technology improves, so will the charge speed, range and manufacting footprint. Even in their current form they offer great hope in reducing carbon emissions, noise pollution and improving air quality. Improving the way we generate our electricity at source, combined with greater use of electric cars can only be good for our enviroment. So lets not pretend that a combustion vehicle can even compete with a hybrid in terms of emissions. It's not even a contest.
One cannot simply go out and buy thunderwear! They are bestowed upon the worthy. According to legend, you have to say "cumulonimbus" repeatedly in the mirror while performing the complicated, lightning fast rain dance ritual of the Cloud people
I think it is a serious problem and after seeing several documentaries on the shortened winters in the Arctic the odd whale and hammer head shark migrations because of changing temperatures in the oceans currents it is something I think we all need to be concerned about. I don't think my home in Miami will ever be under water anytime soon, and I think we are taking steps to help reverse the damage we have done but the earth dies warm naturally too and we just happened to become industrial during a time when it is. So bad timing on our part. I do hope we are doing enough, fast enough.
