Kansas City Should Promote Zero Emissions Vehicles

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post The country has gone crazy over ethanol. It seems like we're replacing one bad idea (oil) with another. The only people I hear extolling the virtues of growing corn to produce ethanol are the corn growers and investors in ethanol production facilities. Aside from the poor efficiency of corn-to-alcohol-to-fuel, people seem to forget that corn requires a lot of water to grow. In the 70's it was easy to get farmers to switch from corn to the more drought resistant soybean. Now we're switching back? Where is all this irrigation water going to come from? A newly elected mayor in Richmond, CA has the right idea. With a pledge to ask the Richmond City Council to create a Department of Environment within 4 years, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin has committed to turning Richmond into a leader in sustainability and environmental issues. Part of that pledge is a partnership with a California electric car company called ZAP. ZAP produces a three-wheeled electric vehicle called the Xebra. It also comes in a truck version. Some may argue that the Xebra is nothing more than a glorified golf cart. Perhaps it is, but with speeds up to 40 MPH, air-conditioning, leather seats and premium stereo this street-legal vehicle is no toy. "As the first fleet in the country to incorporate all-electric city-trucks we are proud to promote zero emissions vehicles," said Richmond Mayor McLaughlin. "We're signaling a direction. Our legacy for the young people of Richmond is lower green house gas emissions, cleaner air, less pollution and a greater commitment to make Richmond vibrant and sustainable." We cannot depend on Jefferson City to show any sort of leadership as long as the ethanol lobbyists are working the halls of the capital. We cannot depend on our state government to do an about-face and suddenly begin directing more attention to the western side of the state. Kansas City will long be known as Missouri's "other" city. It is up to us to forge our own way. Put ourselves in front as leaders. Let Jefferson City and the rest of the state turn to us for leadership. Mayor-elect Funkhouser has said that he's going to "shake things up" at City Hall. I hope part of that "shaking" will be a message to our young people that we will make Kansas City a sustainable community. Rather than worry about outpacing Merriam or Prairie Village, we should be keeping up with, and outpacing the Richmond, California's of the world. A three-wheeled electric truck or two in our City fleet is not going to propel Kansas City to the forefront of alternative energy/environmental leadership, but it's a start. 4/4/07 Update: I should have known. If anyone employed by the City would be on the leading edge of alternative fuel vehicles it would be friend and neighbor Sam Swearngin. Today The Pitch reports that Sam has already purchased one of the ZAP trucks for the Water Department fleet. Kudos to Sam and the Water Department. I hope to see our city's first zero-emission vehicle very soon!