The point being is that the USA definitely has the potential of being energy independent, and that's with or without ethanol. And that's not a knock on ethanol, either. As I've mentioned before, I have no bias against ethanol. I used to intentionally seek out E10 long before anyone in government ever considered requiring it. I'd still be supporting that particular gas station (and using some of the only ethanol enhanced premium on the market here) if they didn't gut their rewards program. And I'm well aware of the difference between using food grade grain (human food) versus feed grade grain (animal food) in ethanol production. So, I'm not one of those who's crying about using food for fuel. That's a weak argument since farmers do not (and realistically cannot) choose to grow a lower quality, lower priced version of the same product. Ethanol simply isn't the complete answer, either. Also note that this province produces a fair amount of oil. It's ethanol and grain production, particularly the latter, are very large, too. So, it's not about choosing one over the other.
And, as you may have noticed, I don't sit and grumble about what "evil" ethanol does to fuel systems or what its emissions impact is. The former is the fault of companies and their disposable equipment (a $100 lawnmower has a shorter shelf life than the fuel, for crying out loud) and the latter is up to automotive engineers to seek a solution.
As for ethanol alternatives in America's quest for energy independence, there's natural gas, for starters. The USA doesn't exactly have minute fossil resources, either. There is the potential there for the USA to be the world's largest oil producer.
The hurricane is one example. There are always counter-examples, too. Road and rail disruptions are issues, too. Everyone up here is panicked about rail safety and not enough grain transportation. We all know how panicked people get about pipelines. If you cannot reliably transport or transmit energy, there will be problems. Ethanol isn't immune to this. Neither is natural gas, petroleum, or electricity.