Alternative fuel in the spotlight

Byron Scott, guest moderator: It’s midsummer in case you haven’t noticed. The corn is as high as the Rogers and Hammerstein elephant’s eye, and so is the price of gasoline. We’re discussing how the international ramifications of oil prices at $76 a barrel tie into the broader and less-selfish ramifications for clean energy, the environment and wonderful things for midwestern farmers and for American presidential candidates. The first American presidential caucus this year will be held in Iowa, and that is leading to a lot of statements from politicians about the use of corn for ethanol production and what good it might do. Where do we stand on ethanol production and how realistically does the technology balance with those political statements?