Funny thing is, the latest research reveals that these hybrids overall are way worse for the environment that good old fashioned gasoline powered cars.
Of course the do-gooders aren't interested in actual facts. They just want to driver around feeling superior.
Ray you are and I tend to be on different political sides of the fence, and I generally support things "green".
Notwithstanding that, I worked as a chemistry teacher for over 40 years, and there is no question that if you burn three tons of carbon it will put eleven tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. There is no such thing as "clean" coal.
The three tons could be in solid carbon such as coke, or in a hydrocarbon such as methane or the liquids in petrol and diesel fuel. The eleven tons of carbon dioxide will be produced when these fuels are used to produce energy, be it heat, kinetic or electrical.
The three tons could also be in the carbon electrodes consumed when molten alumina is electrolysed to make aluminium, or in the carbon used to reduce iron ore in blast furnaces.
So we have a car which has already caused a whole lot of carbon dioxide to go into the air in the making of the metals and glass used in its manufacture.
The electricity used in smelting aluminium probably came from a coal fired power station, so there was additional carbon dioxide released as a result of that.
However, when the car is not running on petrol, it is not releasing carbon dioxide

Big deal

If the car is being charged by plugging into a power point then the power station is adding more carbon dioxide to the air on behalf of the car.
So, on his issue we are in agreement

There is a lot of #%&*$# spoken and printed that ignores the indisputable chemical facts, or preys on the chemical ignorance of the audience at which it is aimed.
It would make a little difference if the power were being generated from non-carbon sources, such as wind or solar, but it would be marginal because of the sheer amount of power needed.

Jel