Ethanol is not bad in and of itself. It transports well, stores well, and works with a majority of internal combustion engines if they have been designed for it. Given an unlimited energy source like hydrogen fusion, we would have the energy needed to make ethanol from air and water, and the reaction products could go back into the atmosphere as air and water. It's just an easily portable fuel for vehicles of all sorts. You can even make an ethanol fuel cell to run an electric car.
Making it from corn is stupid. Making it from oil is stupid. Using it in engines that have gaskets incompatible with it is stupid. Mixing it with gas is stupid if you then use the E85 in cars with the incompatible gaskets.
Get rid of the stupid, get hydrogen fusion, and ethanol will be useful.
