To answer this question, one must understand that OPEC is neither a question to be answered nor a problem to be solved. It is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a legitimate group of countries with the aim of managing the oil market. There are 13 member countries spanning Asia, Africa, and South America. To suggest that OPEC is evil to be conquered on the level of Al Qaeda would be to incite global ire.
The appropriate question here is: Is flex-fuel the answer to America's oil addiction. And the answer is, in a word, complicated.
Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) are built such that they can run on any gasoline mix from 100% gas to 15% gas/85% ethanol. The first FFVs were built in the 1980s; today there are about 6 million on American roads. In fact all cars produced after 1980 can run on gasohol (10% ethanol/90% gas).Those that are able to run on a higher ethanol content are often identified by a sticker on the exterior or a yellow gas cap. Even cars that aren't FFVs can be converted; the company Flex Fuel USA was awarded a patent this year for their Flex-Box Smart Kit which turns any car into an FFV capable of running on E85. Availability of flex fuel has also gone up; there is one such station in my West Virginia town.
The benefits of using E85 (the highest ethanol content fuel available) are fairly obvious. If every gallon gas purchased contained only 15% gas, the amount of oil produced from the often volatile oil producing countries would be greatly reduced. The amount of carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas and the main force behind global climate change, would also drop by as much as 30%. These are major goals of the world at large and of the candidates in the current Presidential Election. The drawbacks are little less obvious but are very important to consider. To begin with, FFVs are less fuel efficient than standard cars, getting 20-30% fewer miles per gallon. And although E85 use reduces the production of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and particulate matter, it increases the production of acetaldehyde and peroxyacetyl nitrate.
The most common argument against ethanol use is the fact that it is primarily made from corn oil. The use of corn for fuel has driven up the price of food corn and only promises to get worse if corn ethanol production increases. For this reason, ethanol has been condemned as a false hope, failing to live up to its promises. It would be more accurate to describe it as a stepping stone. Every invention must be tweaked and improved. The first version is never the final product. In the case of ethanol, the next step is cellulose. Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from many sources wood waste, algae, agricultural waste, and switchgrass are just a few. And it is expected to be more efficient than corn ethanol.
So to answer the question: Is flex-fuel the answer to America's oil addiction? No. But it is part of the process.