Flooding muddies push for ethanol

Higher corn prices lead to call to modify biofuel rule

WASHINGTON — Massive flooding in the Midwest has ruined millions of acres of crops, spurring record corn prices and raising serious questions about whether the United States can meet new requirements for using corn-based biofuels in the nation’s cars and trucks.

A sweeping federal energy bill signed into law in December requires the production of 9 billion gallons of biofuels this year, nearly all of it corn-based ethanol, up from 6.5 billion in 2007.

Backed by farm state politicians and President Bush, the increase in biofuels output drew strong support as a way to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil with a homegrown alternative.

But a backlash is emerging.

Detroit News