Al we are market driven and that is written in stone. You bring up Ethanol and Corn, but Ethanol was brought into the market to get rid of Corn, not to make fuel. I agree that corn isn't the best raw resource, but for Missouri and states that are producing the bulk of Ethanol it is. If the plains states would start making it from Prairie Grass, corn farmers would be scrambling to produce cheap corn, and cheap corn is likely to be environmentally friendly.
Auto companies? The flex engines in Brazil are American, its not a lack of technology, it a lack of fuel, which means no market for the cars.
Instead of bashing oil companies for high profits, they should be given incentives to invest in alternate fuels, after all they have the storage and delivery systems already in place. You do this with tax incentives, not by bashing people who mention the word.
The people have the power, they have just lost the ability to use it wisely.