Do have any idea of the negative environmental impact that would result from switching Americans over to hybrids? I'm guessing not... Batteries, the material used to make them, the process used to acquire those materials, and the actual process of making batteries, are not environmentally friendly.
Putting that aside... If you could create a hybrid that could actually compete with non-hybrids in a free market, i.e. without government subsidies and tax credits, and improve the technology so that the batteries didn't have to be replaced every 5-7 years at a massive expense, then it wouldn't be an issue... Lots of people would happily drive them.
The only source of clean, reliably, energy is nuclear and the NIMBY crowd doesn't want anything to do with nuclear power. Every other "green" source suffers from one or more of the following:
Reliability, meaning it requires a consistent source as backup power, like when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining the power grid needs a consistent source of power to keep from being damaged.
Expense, there isn't a single alternative energy source that can survive in a free market, they all require massive subsidies and tax credits to compete with traditional sources.
Availability, Geothermal and Hydroelectric don't suffer from the other two problems but their availability is very limited. Adding solar plants to those two, such power plants can only be operated in a handful of specific locations.
Side Effects, Geothermal causes "mini-earthquakes" with a chance of causing a full blown quake, Hydro is claimed to create problems for fish, Windmills are ugly, LOUD, and require a lot of room, and so on...
Are you talking about CO2?
We are world leaders for now, but if we intentionally handicap ourselves by abandoning traditional energy sources and force the public to go "green" without nuclear power, we will quickly slide down the list as we are replaced by countries who didn't handicap themselves.
