[Doctor Raoul]

Nickel for the batteries needs to be mined, smelted and mitigated in the waste stream. So yes, the Prius is higher net cost to the environment than a Hummer.

And don't say "fruitcake" unless you want crank calls from Elizabeth Edwards.

[Publius6961]

Nickel for the batteries needs to be mined, smelted and mitigated in the waste stream. So yes, the Prius is higher net cost to the environment than a Hummer.

Don't be silly.
Lead must be mined, smelted and mitigated too.
Nickel, by the way is recycled too. And I haven't once seen a panic article about minute amounts of nickel coming out of smokestacks...

A little serious note: The Sudbury mines in Ontario, one of the top two nickel producers in the world, has been in operation since 1858. Please note that that is nearly 140 years before the first Prius was built.

The way some people carry on makes one wonder why we haven't had thousands of "nickel spill" scares in the last 140 years...

Just saying.