News Stories...

Weather Risks Cloud Promise of Biofuel

From the New York Times. The record storms and floods that swept through the Midwest last month struck at the heart of America’s corn region, drowning fields and dashing hopes of a bumper crop.

EDITORIAL: Fixing a boondoggle: Pursuing common sense on ethanol

From the Las Vegas Review Journal. On Monday, more than 50 House Republicans asked the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce required ethanol production this year, saying a law requiring a fixed amount of corn liquor be blended into gasoline sold at the pump will boost already high corn prices in the wake of recent Midwestern floods.

Who's Behind High Prices

From The Washington Post. Tired of high gasoline prices and rising food costs? Well, here's a solution. Let's shoot the speculators. A chorus of politicians, including John McCain and Barack Obama, blames these financial slimeballs for piling into commodities markets and pushing prices to artificial and unconscionable levels. Gosh, if only it were that simple. Speculator-bashing is another exercise in scapegoating and grandstanding. Leading politicians either don't understand what's happening or don't want to acknowledge their own complicity.