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Oh, gosh. I don't know -- probably is. I can't keep up with all the regulations the New York City contingent concocts in Albany. When the last chain to offer real gasoline stopped selling it, I asked why and got blank stares from the employees -- honest blank stares, I don't think they'd ever thought about it and no one had evidently asked.
The kicker was when the gas stations on the Indian reservations all went to ethanol, too. The Indians generally buy their gas from Pennsylvania refiners. They didn't have any idea why it had changed, either. I just don't think gasoline consumers even think about it. Or most of them, anyway.
I assumed [I'm usually wrong when I do that] that the refineries just weren't selling it anymore. No one apparently checked their mileage, either -- except me. At any rate, there's been no discussion of it in the media and when I bring up the issue, people aren't even aware they ever had an option.
So, thus, my puny opinion that the consumer-market didn't make this decision, it was made for us.
Ethanol: I'd like to see a study or post mortem review of how much ethanol has improved emissions. 10% (E10) seems insignificant. On the other hand, there is a noticeable drop in mpg. So that means, all transportation has to burn more gallons to cover the same distance.
So...
1. Does consuming more gallons of E10 to cover the same distance translate into more pollution? Or does it break even?
2. How much more per gallon does it cost the consumer since we are consuming more gallons? This is easy to compute. Guess ~ 10 cents? more per gallon? Most of us will drive miles to save a few pennies per gallon.
3. What REAL PRICE of a gallon of E10 with all of the hidden subsidies and kickbacks removed?
4. Ethanol is mostly created from corn. Means less corn supply. Corn is a key component in many other food sources. Does this drive the cost up for those food sources?
5. Ethanol is more difficult to store and transport. How does this affect cost?
I bet if you had hard facts and answers for the above questions, you'd have to ask the question: why are we using ethanol? It doesn't make economic sense and has negligible impact on emissions.