Willie Nelson is a hero to the American farmer because he fuels his tour bus with biodiesel.  In Mexico there were riots this year over the price of corn flour.  Farmers in Canada have cashed-in by selling their crops at prices that have peaked at a new 30-year record high.  And right now there are a billion people driving cars int the world and another billion people who are starving.

The issue that connects these issues is the hottest environmental issue of the past year: biofuels.  On one side of the debate are the biofuel industry advocates who say this is good for farmers and a renewable source of energy.  On the other side are groups like Friends of the Earth, who point out that biofuel production doesn't help farmers in developing nations, and what's worse it drives the value of food commodities such as grains through the roof.

Contributing to the problem are government mandates the world over that set specific goals for energy use "from renewable sources".  The definition of what constitutes a renewable resource doesn't exist and there are no rules in place to govern the environmental or economic costs of developing the resource.

In southeast Asia they have recently decimated the natural habitat of orangutans and are pushing them to near extinction with plans to produce palm oil for biofuels plants.  So it will certainly help meet the government's goals, but at what cost?

» BBC