Flooding spurs ethanol backlash

WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) -- Flooding the in U.S. Midwest has spurred new questions about the use of corn-based biofuels in a time of rising crop prices.

New federal energy regulations call for increased production of ethanol in an effort to limit dependence on foreign oil. But already the rise in corn prices, with final damages from flooding still to be assessed, has created a backlash against biofuels, The Detroit News reported Monday.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry in April cited steep increases in cattle feed prices while asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cut in half its 2008 mandate of 9 billion gallons of biofuels this year. More recently, 24 Republican senators, including presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain, also noted the rise in food prices in asking the EPA to revisit the regulation.

But others remain strongly in support of biofuels.

"Abandoning our commitment to ethanol and biofuels, as some would suggest we do, would do nothing to provide meaningful relief from high grain prices today or in the future," said Bob Dineen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. "It would absolutely force the price of gas through the roof and require the import of more record-high foreign oil."