Is E85 a distraction, a red herring?

AutoblogGreen reader and independent blogger James sent in a link to a post he did claiming that not only is ethanol (or, more accurately, E85) not part of the solution, it's actually part of the problem because growing the biomass to make ethanol takes so much energy. Since driving a car on ethanol results in lowered miles per gallon, focusing on ethanol (and hydrogen) is actually a distraction from automobile technologies - like plug-in hybrids and EVs - that actually show promise in reducing CO2 emissions and reducing reliance on oil. James' piece touches on a lot of the important issues in the alt-fuel debate, including political and corporate interests. Plus, it always warms our hearts to see AutoblogGreen's exclusive content getting attention by other blogs.

[Source: Alternative Energy Blog, submitted by James]