Corn is not the answer

Here's a line from an article on corn farmers and ethanol production in today's NYT:

"A global shift to farm-based fuel could reduce the need for oil and slow climate change."

Can we please put this one to rest, already? Yes, burning ethanol produces less CO2 than burning oil. But you have to look at all the energy that went into growing the crops and producing the fuel. Estimates on this number vary. One study concludes that it may take as much as six times as much energy to produce a given quantity of ethanol as it delivers when burned. Yet even if ethanol delivers an equal or slightly greater amount of energy than it takes to produce it, we're still investing resources in a cycle that starts with coal, oil, and other fossil fuels when we could be investing in truly renewable and clean technologies.

Ditto for the hydrogen car idea. Unless you're using solar or wind to create your hydrogen fuel or your ethanol, this is not a win from a climate change perspective.