“Because I questioned then whether Ethanol was reducing our oil usage at all. Now I think with cars designed to use it better, it is reducing oil usage. “
Insignificant reduction of oil occurs compared to cost.
Why not make a car fuel out of camel dung, as it will do the same as ethanol at high cost?
Also, cars perform worse with ethanol as an additive, getting poorer fuel economy and it has a debilitating effect on the engine. Ethanol is disastrous for small engines and outboard motors, and requires extra and expensive equipment to transport and store compared to petroleum gasoline.
Lots of papers out there to support this, but the best are likely to be the Heritage Foundation and the George Marshall Institute. Just get on their websites and search for ethanol.
A much better energy policy could be achieved at much lessened cost by stopping renewable subsidies and the blockage of nuclear and coal for electricity generation.
I agree with your comments on nuclear and coal.
I’ve seen arguments for and against ethanol. I think they all need to be updated with recent information.