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Corn shortage forces trade-off between food and ethanol
08.20.2012  |  HP News Services  Keywords: [biofuels] [ethanol]
[corn] [refiners] [gasoline]   TORONTO -- To supporters, ethanol
is a wonder fuel - clean, renewable and cheap.  Well, scratch
cheap from the list of attributes.  Historically, it is true
that ethanol has been less expensive than gasoline. But not this
year. Ethanol is now on the verge of becoming the more expensive
fuel, based on recent benchmark New York Harbor prices.  Blame
it on corn, the ingredient of choice for making ethanol in North
America. Towering corn stalks typically dominate the midsummer
landscape across the farm belt, but not this year, as a
devastating drought threatens to wipe out as much as a quarter
of the US corn crop.  Ontario officials say 10% to 20% of the
province's crop may be ruined.  That has sent the corn futures
soaring to near-record hi