The editorial on biofuels by Todd Myers is spot on (OpEd, Aug. 6) in showing the false promises of biofuels. He didn't mention, however, that the energy content of ethanol is only two-thirds that of gasoline (76,000 btu/gal vs. 116,000 btus/gal). This is why one gets poorer mileage from their cars when the fuel contains ethanol.

And yes the more ethanol in the gasoline, the worse the mileage. The ethanol fuels are also leading to higher engine damage and maintenance costs. And, finally, ethanol consumes a great deal of water per gallon in its production.

Michael R. Fox

Richland