Thursday, March 29, 2007

Middle East corn crisis boosts E85 prices

I had to blink back my disbelief when I ethanoled-up yesterday morning at Cheyenne's one-and-only biofuels station. The price per gallon for E85 was $2.50. Just last week it was at $1.99. I pumped $15 worth instead of my usual weekly ration of $20. I wondered about the reasons for the 51-cent jump. The gas pumps nearby listed regular unleaded at $2.56 per gallon. I guess ethanol has to keep up with the petroleum Joneses. Gas goes up, ethanol follows.

When I went inside to pay the cashier, I asked him about the price increase. "I tell people it's because of the corn crisis in the Middle East," he said.

I chuckled. This was as good an answer as any -- and clever for so early in the morning. Crisis is as good a term as any. Tuesday's New York Times said that oil prices had surged to $63 per barrel since the new Iranian hostage crisis.

Therein lies the problem. It's one crisis after another in the Middle East. It's a tough neighborhood. So why not get our fuel from a quiter neighborhood? Iowa, for instance.

As we waited for my credit card purchase to be approved, I asked the cashier if the boost in ethanol prices was due to shipping costs. "The price of corn is going up -- I know that," he said.

True, but if trucks delivering ethanol from Nebraska and Iowa are buring petroeum fuels, and those prices are going up, then it's logical to assume all prices will go up. The ethanol-brewing plants have to get their power somewhere. Corn costs more to grow and harvest. Next thing you know, those freakin' Iowa farmers will be holding us hostage to their selfish needs. We'll have to send in the Wyoming National Guard to seize the corn crop from farmers to assure a steady supply. Next thing you know, Death to Wyoming militia will be driving their F-250s into National Guard convoys and blowing themselves up. The respective state legislatures will declare war. Then Congress gets involved. And our brave boys and girls will be fighting house-to-house in Des Moines indefinitely.

It's just one mess after another.

No comments: