Most who have resisted my E-10 proposal, including this newspaper, have based their opposition on the belief that the initiative would somehow encumber the free market. Were it not for one little-known fact — that many major petroleum companies contractually bar their Missouri affiliates from blending ethanol in gasoline — I might agree.

However, because many of the big oil companies use their market heft to elbow this competing product out of the marketplace, I view my proposal as one that eliminates a barrier to competition, not one that impedes it. Simply put, all my E-10 initiative would do is ensure that ethanol is used in Missouri gasoline when, and only when, it is less expensive than petroleum-based gasoline. Who can argue with that?

Another point in favor of my E-10 proposal is our national dependence on foreign oil. The current situation, whereby we import most of our petroleum from OPEC and other foreign nations, leaves the country vulnerable from both a price and national security standpoint.