Thoughts on gas, coal, trucks and ethics

Random thoughts on a Monday morn:

Keep researching coal: Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., is a big booster of coal-to-liquid fuel technology. He asserts the technology, including environmental concerns, is a lot more settled than others seem to think. But I agree that coal must play a role if America ever will be less energy dependent on the Mideast. Bunning says we have a 250-year supply. Everyone made fun of President Jimmy Carter when he put on a sweater, sat by the fire and warned us about this. But imagine what a different world we’d have if we had taken this seriously in the 1970s. Imagine if President Bush had made energy independence a national goal on par of landing a man on the moon.

The ethanol myth: Bunning shares my skepticism of ethanol as a long-term solution. In a talk last Friday to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, he pointed out that vehicles fueled by ethanol actually get lower mileage than gasoline-fueled vehicles, and the energy required to produce ethanol is significant. It’s mainly a boon for corn farmers, which is why senators from Iowa get as excited about ethanol as senators from Kentucky get about coal technology.

Ethics, Kentucky style: The Kentucky Ethics Commission has ended its investigation of Gov. Ernie Fletcher without bringing any charges. Fletcher, facing a difficult re-election battle, released a letter last week from June in which the commission’s director, Jill Lemaster, said the panel voted to end the probe of the chief exec.

The investigation was in connection with the administration’s role in the hiring and firing of state civil service workers for political reasons. The commission has pending charges against five former Fletcher administration members. Recall that the governor pardoned almost everyone but himself from criminal liability, admitted mistakes were made, called it a Democratic-inspired witch hunt and steadfastly blocked the investigation in most ways possible.

Here are some things you need to know about the ethics commission:

Fletcher appointed four of the five members. Several have contributed money to him. The commission voted in a secret session and refuses to release how the individual members voted, citing state law.

Maybe the commission made the right decision, but this process is so flawed and tainted that it has no credibility. The governor shouldn’t have the power to appoint all the commission members, and the votes of individual commissioners certainly should be subject to public scrutiny.

Keep on trucking: There is lots of debate about whether to keep big rigs off the Int. 71-75 corridor through downtown and Northern Kentucky, forcing truckers to go around on Int. 275 or take other alternate routes.

Covington Mayor Butch Callery would disagree, but the more I read, the more I conclude this doesn’t seem realistic as a permanent move. However, when the Brent Spence Bridge is finally replaced, it’s certainly a temporary measure that must be considered to avoid gridlock.

One idea I haven’t heard anyone suggest is to ban large tractor trailers during weekday rush hours. You could enforce it by providing some sort of special, magnetic placard for trucks that are making local deliveries. And it would help if police enforced the laws we have. Has anyone ever seen a truck pulled over for using the outside two lanes going up the cut-in-the-hill?