TO THE EDITOR:
There is much talk from Washington about increased use of ethanol throughout the nation.
I'd like to clarify some issues about the use of E15 over 100 percent gasoline. A gallon of ethanol has 76,000 Btu output, as opposed to gasoline, which has about 115,000 Btu. Let's say you own an SUV that gets 21 mpg on the highway with 100 percent gasoline, and you now switch to E15, as proposed. Your mileage would drop to about 17 mpg. So your fuel costs may increase by your getting fewer miles per gallon.
Also, ethanol is made from corn. Using farmed corn for production of fuel and not animal feed will drive the feed costs higher. Those higher feed costs are passed on to consumers for the food they buy.
If using more ethanol is thought by Washington to be such a good idea, why not have one pump at a station with 100 percent gasoline and one pump with E15 ethanol? Do this on a trial basis at a few hundred stations to see which fuel is the consumers' choice. After a six-month test, the government can mandate the nationwide use of whichever product wins.
JOHN VIGILANTE, New York, The writer, who is retired, was a used-car dealer and consultant.