Every year, Louisville, Kentucky, hosts the largest gathering of outdoor power equipment manufacturers – the GIE+Expo. Imagine a trade show exhibiting nothing but lawn mowers, tractors, chain saws, snow blowers, string trimmers and backpack blowers. Heck, if it runs on gas or is powered by batteries and cuts or wreaks mayhem in the great outdoors, it's at the GIE.

All the usual players such as Toro, John Deere, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna and Stihl -- plus legions of smaller manufacturers of equipment and accessories -- had their wares on display. And yes, there were lots of new and nifty products to see and experience in the outdoor test arena. But at every booth I visited, the common buzz topic was ethanol, specifically the soon-to-come introduction of E15 fuels (a blend of gasoline that contains 15 percent ethanol).

I’m betting that most of you would agree that we need to reduce our Nation’s dependence on foreign oil -- and that, whenever possible, we should be making environmentally-responsible decisions about the equipment we use and the fuel that powers it. But here’s the dilemma: E15 fuels pose serious problems for many of the engines that power our lawn mowers, chain saws and trimmers.

For years, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) has advocated nationally regarding the damaging effects of ethanol-based fuels on small-engine equipment. Ethanol blends, when used in engines that are not designed to burn them, have the potential to damage fuel systems and cause engines to overheat. These blends also can absorb a great deal of airborne water; and they are notoriously hard to ignite within a carburetor during cold weather. Imagine fixing that problem with your snow blower while you’re desperately trying to clear your driveway just to get to your job or to take the kids to school.

Manufacturers such as Kohler are successfully addressing the problem in their larger engines used in riding mowers and garden tractors. Kohler has worked in partnership with Delphi (yes, the same Delphi that makes fuel-delivery computers and components for the Big Three automakers) to develop an engine that can adjust on-the-fly to any mixture of fuel -- from straight gasoline, to E85, and anything in between. Nice, except that it works only on fuel-injected engines. And, every walk-behind gas-powered mower out there still runs on a carburetor. Translation: Ethanol blends, over time, will eat up those carbureted engines.

The entire ethanol debate is a touchy one; and you’ll see as many studies from the corn industry claiming that ethanol blends are just dandy as you can find reports from the engine manufacturers that cry foul. The most telling point is that the federal government is considering launching an independent study to analyze the effects of E15. Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) has introduced HR 3199, a bill requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to seek independent scientific analysis on the affects of 15-percent ethanol blend gasoline.

“The EPA's decision to allow E15 into the marketplace will impact every American who owns a car, lawnmower, or boat.  Automakers insist that using E15 will void warranties, lower fuel efficiency, and cause premature engine failure. In off-road engines, the effects can even be dangerous for users,” Sensenbrenner said. “There are serious concerns that the EPA used only one Department of Energy test and rushed E15's introduction into the marketplace. This test was limited in scope and ignored a plethora of evidence – albeit inconvenient evidence for the EPA – that shows E15 gasoline has a negative effect on engines.”

Regardless of where you stand on this issue, know that it will have greater impact on the entire outdoor power equipment industry than anything that we’ve seen in years. Time will tell where the industry -- and ultimately the outdoor power equipment that you and I purchase -- will end up after the dust settles.