Fueling around.

The article discusses the issues related to the use of ethanol, or ethyl alcohol as fuel in the U.S. Ethanol is part of the Iowa Caucus, the first major primary of the 2008 election year and also features prominently in the latest energy bill passed in June 2007 by the Senate. The Renewable Fuels Corp. reports that there are 111 ethanol refineries nationwide with an annual capacity of 5.4 billion gallons. Because the U.S. accounts for 40% of the global corn harvest, the increased domestic consumption and reduced exports are driving up worldwide prices. The heightened demand for corn as ethanol feedstock has farmers forgoing planting other grains, which are now feeling their own upward price pressures.