Mutiny against ethanol

NY Times:

“Why Do You Put Alcohol in Your Tank?” demands a large sign outside one gas station here, which reassures drivers that it sells only “100% Gas.”

“No Corn in Our Gas,” advertises another station nearby.

Along the highways of this sprawling prairie city, and in other pockets of the country, a mutiny is growing against energy policies that heavily support and subsidize the blending of ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, into gasoline.

Many consumers complain that ethanol, which constitutes as much as 10 percent of the fuel they buy in most states, hurts gas mileage and chokes the engines of their boats and motorcycles.

As ethanol has spread around the country, gas station owners and wholesalers are catering to concerns about ethanol that are often exaggerated but not entirely unfounded. High gas prices seem to be helping them plant seeds of doubt in customers’ minds.

“We just think it’s better for the car — we get better mileage,” said Marjorie Olbert, a retired teacher, as she filled her 2002 Toyota with what is sometimes called conventional or “clear” gasoline at a suburban E-Express station. Stickers on the pump urge customers to “Always Demand 100% Real Gasoline.”

Ms. Olbert was unmoved by the slightly lower price of the ethanol blend. “My husband and I just decided that the few cents difference is worth it,” she said.

...

Gallon for gallon, pure ethanol contains one-third less energy than gasoline, and the ethanol industry acknowledges that E10 reduces mileage by about 2 percent.

Some drivers think the change is notably greater. Chuck Mai, a vice president of AAA Oklahoma, reported that his organization has been getting calls from members blaming E10 for mileage drops of 8 to 20 percent.

...

I once had a truck that could burn either gas or propane. It did not get very good mileage on either but the gas was about 20 percent better. At the time the propane cost less so it was about a wash. The problem was the propane dried the seals in the engine which made it burn a lot of oil. It was a strong engine that could pull stumps though. It would not surprise me that the ethanol blend would get less mileage and would also produce less pulling ability. When that happens you feed more fuel which obviously makes the mileage worse.

We would be better off harvesting offshore and ANWR oil.