The government recently approved the use of a blend of 15% ethanol and

The government recently approved the use of a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline for automotive use. Environmentalists approve of the mixture because ethanol produces less pollution than gasoline when it burns. However, opponents of ethanol-based fuels claim that these fuels produce less energy per gallon than does gasoline.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument by opponents of ethanol-based fuels that the use of gasoline is more environmentally friendly than that of ethanol fuels?

A. Increasing the ethanol component in automotive fuel beyond 5% causes a more-than-proportional reduction in pollution caused by burning such fuel.

B. The reduction in pollution caused by mixing ethanol with gasoline is between 8% and 11% compared with conventional blends of gasoline.

C. Gasoline creates environmental hazards other than the pollution that results when it burns.

D. The production of ethanol requires burning natural gas, which, though cheaper than burning gasoline, causes no less pollution on a gallon-equivalent basis.

E. The pollution produced by gasoline is composed of chemical compounds that are on average much smaller than those found in ethanol.