TIL the inventor of leaded gasoline also invented Freon. Thomas Midgley, Jr. possessed "an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny." and "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history."

A small critique that in no way is meant to change the overall message of your post:

Ethanol as a replacement fuel/additive is not as trivial of a matter as your post makes it seem to be. Ethanol production for fuel is incredibly taxing on society when you take into account the price changes in food, forest destruction promoted for land use, and other related factors. Also, in terms of mechanical use it adds to maintenance and storage issues that would also be extremely costly to society that we are discovering again today with widespread mandated use. No educated and informed engineer finds ethanol fuel mandates as logical or environmental friendly solutions to the problem, but don't let that stop legislation. Ethanol is NOT a green solution. Also, most importantly, the increased amount of raw oil that would have been wasted/burned during production for decades in order to meet engine requirements the world is built upon today without tel would have been significantly worse in terms of global warming until the 50s when alternatives only became commercially viable, and even then for a while still. So much so you see it still used in shitholes around the world today and in planes. Plus all the political factors the different crudes around the world would cause would intensify even further than it already did.

Yes you are right saying these scumbags deserve their place in hell and were doing this selfishly and purely for profit knowing of the consequences, but it's not a night and day difference between having used it or not. It did allow for society to build up faster than ever and the differences in the world today without this improved speed of advancement is unimaginable.

But saying that ethanol could've just been used instead and implying society would be where it is today is disingenuous at best. A disclaimer on this would make the post seem less vitriolic and regressive to those better informed and would serve the uninformed better.

/r/todayilearned Thread Parent Link - en.wikipedia.org