Opinion Facts: Ethanol?

Why is it that part of our country can so easily say ethanol is the way of the future? So many people believe it is better for the environment and our economy. Our professor gives us facts that clearly prove ethanol is only good for one thing: getting us off of foreign oil. But when it comes to the environment and even the economy - ethanol is not going to help us.

Then, we hear from one of the founders and leaders of our university's new Energy Institute. He so quickly explains why this enormous effort will not involve ethanol research at all. He has his reasons, and I trust him, like I trust our professor. But who is the rest of our nation trusting? Where are they getting their facts, or are they taking opinions as facts? The following article is from a Kansas newspaper.
The Midwest would be severely altered if ethanol took over as our nation's foremost energy source. Who is trying to send these pro-ethanol messages to rural areas? Why are they trying so hard?

If I see numbers on pollution that say ethanol pollutes the air more, I am going to say it is not better than oil (not to mention the use of fossil fuels in production). Is the rest of the nation getting different numbers, or do they just ignore the numbers we are getting? I understand that the research is relatively knew and constantly changing, but when will we know we're right?

The following article is the most recent I could find that accepted we don't have all the answers yet when it come to ethanol.
As with most energy problems, the answer seems to be more complicated than first assumed.