cross-posted at GreenKY:

From Pol Watchers:

Ryan Alessi reports that state leaders from both parties are starting to take initiative on rising fuel costs. Surprising for all involved from both parties, no one is talking about gas tax relief, offshore drilling or any of the other half-brained schemes being thought up by people like Anne Northup and her Lower Gas Louisville nonsense. In fact, these state legislators are turning to electric cars - yes, the same electric cars that were taken off California streets some years ago because they were (gasp) not playing into the pockets of the oil companies.

Republicans Dan Seum and Gary Tapp have already pre-filed legislation for next year's state assembly that would allow three-wheeled, low-speed vehicles to drive on Kentucky roadways. The main purpose of this bill seems to be economic development; by creating a market for electric cars, Integrity Manufacturing of Shepherdsville would be able to become a statewide supplier of the ZAP ('zero auto pollution') car. And thus, local business development. The ZAP website touts that using a ZAP car instead of a traditional automobile would cut vehicle emissions by 90%, even taking into account the manufacturing processes. Apparently, UPS, Coca-Cola and Domino's are already using the ZAP cars for deliver to save on fuel costs.

Not to be outdone, Democratic leaders Jody Richards and Rocky Adkins, along with Louisville Democrats Mary Lou Marzian and Joni Jenkins, will join local representative Larry Belcher for a tour of the Integrity factory just before their Republican counterparts do. But, as always, someone had to say something stupid:

Adkins, who has worked on Kentucky's energy policy, added that "vehicles like this promise to be the next step we will take as a state to make us energy independent. I would much rather see vehicles powered with Kentucky coal than with Middle East oil."

Are you serious? Did he not get the memo that the cars were electric? (note: I recognize that being electric would mean the power would be coming from coal secondhand - coal powers the power plants, power plants power your house, which charges your electric car - but the comment still seems a bit out of place).

ZAP does, however, have its fair share of problems. A March article from Wired Magazine was titled "Hype Machine: Searching for ZAP's Fleet of No-Show Green Cars", an indicator that the business may not be all it has been cracked up to.

Regardless, I'm happy that the Commonwealth and our (more-often-than not incompetent) legislators are looking at environmentally-friendly alternatives to our long-established habits of ridiculous fossil fuel consumption, both from coal and oil, even if it means silly corporate welfare schemes. I guess if you're going to do the corporate welfare thing, you might as well give the money to socially and environmentally responsible businesses. Since details seem to be scarce at the moment, we'll have to keep following this to see what happens - even if it isn't until January when the legislature meets again (the bill authored by Seum and Tapp is currently listed as Senate Bill BR 28).