Duffster you are free to believe what you want. But when small engine repair shops start reporting that they are seeing problems at a rate about 8x of what they had seen in the past in the last year it's not hard to point to the problem.
Talking point (from the National Corn Growers Asst):
Myth: Ethanol blends can't be used in small engines.
FACT: E-10 Unleaded is perfectly acceptable in lawn mowers, snowmobiles, ATVs and other small engines that run on ordinary unleaded gasoline. Virtually every small engine manufacturer, including Briggs & Stratton, Honda, Toro/Lawnboy, Kohler and Snapper, approves the use of E-10 Unleaded in its equipment.
Fact (from Briggs & Stratton):
B&S allows the use of oxygenate blended gasoline where the oxygenate content is up to 10% ethanol (gasohol) or up to 15% MTBE (Methyl tertiary butyl ether) by volume. However, ethanol blended gasoline can attract moisture which leads to separation and formation of acids during storage. Acidic gasoline can damage the fuel system of an engine while in storage. B&S strongly recommends removing ethanol-blended fuels from engine during storage.
Use of gasoline containing higher than the EPA approved limits, for volume percentage of ethanol more than 10%, or MTBE more than 15%, may cause engine damage and will void engine warranty.
Remember the B&S information is for engines they sell today. Unlike a car small engines have breathable gas caps and as they heat and cool moist air can easily mix with the gas.
If you have a report from an unbiased source proving otherwise I would like to read it. The closest thing I could find is a report from Oklahoma State U that the problems seen with the use of Ethanol in small engines could be due to the fact that it's a solvent and is cleaning deposits from the carb at a fast rate and that's what's causing the problem. That wouldn't account for the snot like goo being found (that sounds like the Ethanol is combining with water to me).
I will say this. As the price of oil gets higher refineries are trying to get as much gas and Diesel out of each barrel (and less of lower priced things like tar for roads). As they do the process which they use has also changed over the last few years. So it's possible that these new processes are also having an adverse effect. I haven't read anything to prove this but I'm not sure if anyone has ever looked into it.