Adding Ethanol to Gas Solves Nothing

The stupidity of the administration, Congress, the American people for their complacency and the wackos at the Environmental Protection Agency for forcing the additive ethanol to be added to our gasoline in place of the major drinking water polluter MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) is beyond belief. No, it's shocking! It does nothing to improve air quality or to give us cleaner gasoline. It is a waste of time and money. It will cost the driving public 6 to 8 cents a gallon more to produce and reduces auto mileage by 3 to 4 miles per gallon.
The oil companies have always said they can produce clean gasoline without all these junk-science additives, at no increase in cost. Let them do the job. It's time we stopped the Midwestern corn oil lobby, led by Archer Daniels Midland Co.
J.L. Dunlavey
San Jose


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President Bush can't win. Early on, he is attacked by environmentalists for clean-air issues; now he is attacked by Gov. Gray Davis and Rep. Henry A. Waxman for not waiving the Clean Air Act in California. California cannot have it both ways. Either we try to clean up the air or we have gasoline. Ethanol may cost more, but it will reduce gasoline usage 10% and have a good effect on the air we breathe. It still appears we are looking for someone to blame for our internal California problems.
Larry Zini
latimes.com