My favorite part of the whole “eco car” movement is how little thought goes into the disruptions to the system that these new fads create.
Perfect example, ethanol. “Oooh, this will help reduce our oil consumption, and we can grow it here. Lets mandate it!”.
Result: The price of everything we eat has been steadily going up with no end in sight. No one had the foresight to realize that the majority of our food pyramid rests on corn, and when you redirect it’s use to non-food sources the cost goes up exponentially.
Wait until we’re dealing with rolling backouts in 5 to 10 years when plug in hybrids and pure electric cars are the norm, but no one thought ahead about how much additional drain they will place on our already taxed power grid.