There is now a movement away from alternative fuels, mainly due to the shortage and high price of food products, such as corn, that is also used to make ethanol. Other arguments against ethanol are that it may be costlier to make than the current cost to refine crude oil. The Morning News,(by Aoife White, The Associated Press) May 6, 2008 edition, carried an article titled “Economist Pushes For Biofuel Cuts” stating that “The U.S. and European Union should reconsider a shift to biofuel that has helped increase food prices world-wide by turning agricultural land over to energy crops, American economist Jeffrey Sachs said Monday.” There are also those who say the shortage of oil is due in part, to the lack of refineries, and many in the United States do not want to have refineries located near their cities or finance the upfront investment for construction which is very expensive.

Another article regarding the use of agricultural land was published in The Morning News by Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press, May 11, 2008, titled “Experts: Better Soil Needed.” The article discussed the new plant seeds which were formulated to produce healthier crops, are now having difficulty producing in degraded (more…)