[tx_eggman]

We have a model of success: Brazil. ... Starting in the 1970s, vast sugar plantations were devoted to producing ethanol, a homegrown liquid fuel. The Brazil stuck with the program through several setbacks and today is essentially independent of foreign oil. ...

Much easier to do with an economic engine that is 1/8th the size of that of the United States.

By all means, let's realign our agricultural output and plant 8 times as much sugar as they do in Brazil so we can convert it to ethanol ... that'll solve all our problems.

[cogitator]

By all means, let's realign our agricultural output and plant 8 times as much sugar as they do in Brazil so we can convert it to ethanol

While it would require some changes, planting cellulosic ethanol feedstocks like switchgrass doesn't require a total agricultural realignment. Switchgrass can grow in in poor soils and with minimal fertilzation.