THE GAS PRICE BLAME GAME.

The article reports that the record gas prices have prompted heated debate about the root causes, leading some to point their fingers at ethanol, which in the U.S. is usually made from corn. The U.S. Congress had recently mandated replacement of the groundwater pollutant methyl tertiary butyl ether with ethanol, another additive that decreases pollution when blended with gasoline. According to petroleum industry consultant Tim Hamilton, the real reasons for high gas prices are high crude prices and the fact that oil companies have not increased their refining capacity .