The Environmental Protection Agency’s long-standing mission is to protect human health and the environment, so it seems counterintuitive that the agency would promote policies that allow more pollution and jeopardize consumer safety. Yet, the EPA did just that with its recent official announcement approving the year-round sale of 15% ethanol fuel.

Ultimately, by approving year-round sales of E15, the EPA is implicitly condoning an increase in pollution, given that the move requires an extension of a pollution waiver to allow an increase in the vapor pressure of the fuel. The use of E15 also results in fewer miles per gallon in automobiles compared to E10 and increases the number of times consumers must fill up their gas tanks.