David Thomas: “In this debate there are individuals who have gotten a little carried away with the concept of oxygenated fuel, because…”

“In this debate there are individuals who have gotten a little carried away with the concept of oxygenated fuel, because the rise of an oxygenated fuel is twofold. One, there is clearly a subsidy to America's farmers. And if we discuss using ethanol because it assists corn growers and it is a subsidy to farmers, then I think that is a legitimate debate. But if we are going to discuss using ethanol because of its superior qualities in a fuel for cars, then I think we need to take a look at the technology that has developed over the last 20 years and the way in which automobiles now function versus the way automobiles functioned at the time ethanol became a 'fuel additive,' putting oxygen in the gasoline itself. If we can enhance the burning quality of that mixture by putting oxygen in the fuel, we can actually get a cleaner burning fuel, and we can even improve the mileage. The problem is technology has carried us far beyond that today. We have closed-loop automobiles.”