Mook,

Ethanol can burn and has in train wrecks. But, ethanol combustion produces way less btu per pound than many (most?) of the hydrocarbon components of these very "sweet" crudes. Ethanol is also not "effervescent", unlike many of these fracking crudes, which contain lots of suspended gas, so it is much less likely to explode. Which would appear to make ethanol somewhat safer to transport by rail (Although I usually prefer transporting it in a flask, bottle, or on the rocks in a glass.....).

You're right about the "summer time" CO problem being mostly crap, at least in most of our major urban centers. And yes, the corn industry is a major beneficiary of this Congressionally mandated mass consumer rip-off, but the sugar industry is doing very well by this ethanol consumer fraud, too.