The argument that capturing a CO2 molecule (by growing corn) and then releasing it (by burning EtOH in a car) is fundamentally different from not capturing it i

The argument that capturing a CO2 molecule (by growing corn) and then releasing it (by burning EtOH in a car) is fundamentally different from not capturing it in the first place is alien to me. AFAIK atmospheric CO2 molecules are fungible. Would you mind explaining? "Flex fuel" cars were very much a thing, mass production of ethanol as fuel was very much a thing, and it was supposedly at nearly price-parity with gasoline. No dreaming necessary. Something happened, though. Saudi oil price cuts? The great recession? Subsidy politics? Some combination of those? I'd love to hear from someone who knows more.