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Letters Unleaded gasoline pricing EDITOR: Harold Dodd's "Rostrum" column in the August Illinois Issues included an inaccurate reference to unleaded gasoline pricing. Unleaded gasoline is not simply leaded gasoline with the lead additive removed. In order to provide the same octane level formerly achieved with lead, unleaded gasoline contains more high octane components and requires more sophisticated, and more expensive, refining processes. Additional transportation and storage expenses also are required to segregate unleaded from leaded gasoline. These additional costs more than make up for the very small savings — certainly not four or five cents, as you contend — produced by eliminating the lead additive. Consequently, contrary to Mr. Dodd's statement, there certainly is economic justification for unleaded gasoline costing more than leaded gasoline. The higher cost is not without benefits for customers. Aside from reduced exhaust emissions and cleaner air provided by catalytic converters, which require unleaded gasoline to function properly, unleaded fuel reduces maintenance expenses such as spark plug and exhaust system replacement. The concluding statement about oil companies "ruling the roost, setting the price" implies price fixing, a very serious charge for which there is no justification. If Mr. Dodd believes he can support such a charge, there are many legal remedies open to him, as well as to the consumers he says "have no alternative except pay or walk." Charles R. Mason From the press EDITOR: Several members of our reporting staff, as well as myself, are grateful for the work which you and Illinois Issues do in keeping us up-to-date with in-depth information concerning current issues in the state. We believe you do an invaluable service. Mike Kielkopf Coal series EDITOR: I want to commend you and the staff at Illinois Issues for the excellent James Krohe series on coal. These articles, printed over the past year, have provided an excellent insight into the coal industry in Illinois, its tremendous potential and the obstacles that need to be overcome. I'm convinced that with a spirit of cooperation among operators, lawmakers, utilities, unions, and environmental regulators we can succeed in making our coal resource the practical alternative to oil that the nation turns to with growing frequency. Thanks for giving all of us concerned with coal an excellent research base and the inspiration to keep pushing for a national coal policy that gets us moving. Paul Simon Acid rain EDITOR: I think the Science feature is an important part of your publication and you may want to present information on other pollutants (i.e., sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, toxic wastes) for future articles. You may also be interested to learn that the Illinois Institute for Natural Resources is sponsoring an Acid Rain Conference tentatively scheduled for March 1981. Patricia M. Irving East St. Louis EDITOR: Thank you for the excellent article in the August issue of Illinois Issues. It is one of the best articles I have seen on East St. Louis in all of the years I have been working there. Your article brought a balance into the situation that showed excellent and unbiased research. Usually, the articles spend the first 25 paragraphs recounting the problems of the city (most of them past, I might add) and then in a couple of sentences near the end refer in passing to a few people trying to help. You put Illinois Bell's role in the exact, proper perspective and are the first author I know of to recognize fully the potential and efforts of the Target 2000 movement. Again, thank you. You can be deservedly proud of the article as we are that such excellent reporting and a magazine in which it can be circulated are part of the Illinois scene. Gerald H. Veach 34/October 1980/Illinois Issues |
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Illinois Issues welcomes letters from readers.