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Been so busy MySpacing or YouTubing or Flickring or Slashdotting -- or just old-fashioned IMing, emailing or driving -- that you haven't heard what happens if you plug in a car?

As part of our continuing campaign to increase public awareness of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and let car-makers know how many institutions and consumers want them to build 'em, we're happy to announce the launch of BETTAH, an animation that shouts to the world: "Hybrids are good, but plug-in hybrids are bettah!"

Visit http://www.bettah.org to watch.

BETTAH lets you know that drivers don't have to be stuck in gas lines, that we could have something "bettah" without compromises. So a couple of months ago we turned to the viral media moguls at Free Range Studios http://www.freerangestudios.com -- creators of Grocery Store Wars http://www.storewars.org, The Meatrix http://www.themeatrix.com, and The Flip & Chilly Show http://www.nrdc.org/­flipandchilly, among others -- and we all went to work.

We made BETTAH for everyone who read the cover story in this week's issue of Time Magazine, "Be Worried. Be Very Worried." That Special Report says, "The serious debate has ended. Global Warming, even most skeptics have concluded, is the real deal, and human activity has been causing it."

We have in mind the 87% of people (according to the Time/ABC/Stanford poll) who think government ought to give companies tax breaks to develop alternative energy sources.

We'd all be better off with better cars. In a few years, people who today can plug in their cell phones are going to love plugging in and avoiding gas pumps.

Auto-makers have to build the cars. CalCars.org is getting the message to the deal-makers in business, government and institutions who can help make it happen. We've gotten the word out in traditional print and broadcast media. Senators and Representatives are listening. They have the Vehicle and Fuel Choices bill. President Bush says PHEVs are an "amazing breakthrough" and we hope that will lead to much more federal support. Cities and electric utilities set up Plug-In Partners to gather group fleet buy orders for PHEVs..

Now we give BETTAH viewers the chance to sign a petition to car-makers. We want 100,000 people (the number of regular hybrids sold the past six months) to say they want "bettah" 100+ MPG plug-in hybrids, and that they'll reward auto-makers that produce them.

Our co-sponsor for BETTAH has been Americans for Energy Independence http://www.ei2025.org. They're putting up billboards, running song contests and getting the word out about energy solutions. Their founder, Chris Wolfe, says: "We're delighted to sponsor the BETTAH animation with CalCars.org. Our mission is to educate Americans on the dangers of energy dependence and available solutions. We hope BETTAH will entertain, educate and motivate people to ask why high-MPG, low-emission cars are not available from car-makers. Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles offer us a way to lower our dependence on foreign oil while reducing the impact of driving cars. As consumers and voters, we must demand support from our political leaders and actions from industry."

After you've seen it and signed the petition, please use the button to alert at least five friends to watch and sign!

We owe thanks to lots of people, who are acknowledged in the credits page at http://www.bettah.org, and especially to CalCars' new Communications Director, John Davi. When John joined Ron Gremban and me a few months ago, he increased CalCars' full-time staff by 50%, and he's made a big difference!

By the way, we're glad others are also picking up on multimedia. Hybridcars.com's latest in its cartoon series is about plug-in hybrids: http://www.hybridcars.com/­cartoons/­showroom-dummies.html