I recently drove my Honda CR-V to Bend, Ore., and returned. I kept a record of my gas usage. On the way down, I got 24.4 mpg and on the way back 28.7 mpg, although the driving conditions were almost the same and I was careful to fill the tank in a like manner.

This was quite a difference, I was pleased with the better mileage, and sought the reason for the difference so I might replicate it in the future.

I did some research and concluded that the difference was in the ethanol content of the gas. In Pasco, I filled the tank with gasoline containing 10 percent ethanol, while in Bend I filled up with gasoline containing no ethanol. There was about an 18 percent difference in gas mileage.

Several articles I researched revealed that you could expect about 15 percent or better gas mileage between 10 percent ethanol and nonethanol gas. The difference was like paying $3.30 vs. $3.85 per gallon for gas! I urge everyone to use nonethanol gas because it's cheaper, it doesn't contribute to the high price of a basic food staple so vital to feeding the world, and it may reduce the inane practice of subsidizing ethanol production.

Jim Watkins, Pasco