ONLY IN CALIFORNIA.(Envirnomental cars.)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Hydrogen fuel cell supporters battle electric vehicle proponents for the environmental future of Santa Monica-and America

One city council member, after giving an impassioned speech against AstroTurf as "...a selling of our soul,'' retreated quietly into a corner, curled up in a yoga position then spent 10 minutes applying face cream to his head and elbows. A lady with extraordinarily bright red shoes sat in the opposite corner silently crocheting. The mayor pro tem, the most powerful guy in the room, was silenced by the bureaucrat who ran the meeting with a despotic flair. Welcome to small-town government USA.

But not just any small-town government-this was the Environmental Task Force for the City of Santa Monica, California, and it was wrestling with no less a question than the future of wheeled transportation. It seems Toyota wants to lease the city a hydrogen fuel cell- powered Highlander for 30 months, to gather data and garner good public relations. The council thought it would be okay to pay as much as $200,000 for that privilege, but when Toyota only asked for $85,000 it seemed like a no-brainer. The almost universal, overwhelmingly positive spin regarding fuel cells in the media was just added assurance-at least until the task force opened up the floor to public comment.

Electric vehicle enthusiasts, a heady and robust group, came to change the council's mind. They want electric vehicles instead of fuel cell vehicles, saying EV technology is here now and is four times more energy efficient than hydrogen put into a fuel cell stack. And for the same $85,000 ...