Do hybrid cars really help with the "green" issue?

Admittedly, I don't know the exact workings of these cars and what happens, but I've begun to wonder the real effect that hybrid cars have on the environment.

At first glance, I definitely agreed that it reduced one's personal carbon footprint; you use less gas which, in effect, reduces the amount of CO2 your car spews into the air.
But if you're using electricty to charge your car, where is the electricity coming from? Some ridiculously large factory somewhere that does EXACTLY the same thing that you would do if you had a non-hybrid car? You've reduced the amount of gasoline you use, but charging your car surly isn't a small feat.

I guess the BIG QUESTION is just how to reduce how much "manufactured" energy we use. Sure, the First Law of Thermodynamics is that there's never going to be a "lack" of energy, because we can't actually destroy energy, but the ways to manipulate it are getting harder and harder. Nuclear was good until we started making way too much waste we couldn't handle. Curse older generations for thinking "ah, well future generations can think of a way to deal with it, since we don't have the tech now." Thanks so much, the tech STILL isn't here and so we've got shit loads of crap we have no idea what to do with but BURY. Solar panels are just... fail. They're good AFTER they've already been made, but making them is a BITCH and mother earth does not fancy it much. Wind mills are just large and in your face. And that ethanol crap from corn is just the dumbest shit ever.

But really, we keep finding new sources of transforming different forms of energy into something usable, but it's just an endless cycle, really. Nothing's ever going to be 100% efficient (yes sad isn't it, that we live in a world that's NOT a vacuum and where friction DOES exist), and we're constantly trying tofind ways to supply to the ever demanding public who only seem to care about getting the latest iPod or buying brand names to show off the fact that they CAN. Screw you, coporations.

We should just all travel by transforming gravitational potential to kinetic. LOL. I think it would make my day, everyday xDDD

This ends my random rant on the energy crisis. Props to Ali who got me started on this today. =)