economics
Ethanol, the motor fuel alternative to gasoline that has the potential to save Americans a fortune at the pump and reduce our reliance on foreign oil, isn't as cheap as the strict ethanol versus gasoline price comparison may appear. In fact, it may be more expensive when total costs are calculated, reports
the AP and
MoneyCentral.
How can this be? Ethanol is made from corn and, of course, the demand for ethanol has increased the demand for corn. The demand for corn has out-stripped farmers' ability to supply more corn and thus has resulted in increased prices for corn...
More »
usda
A database used by the Department of Agriculture for twenty-six years may have compromised the social security numbers of over 60,000 farmers. The breach was discovered after a bored Illinois farmer googled the name of his farm.
The database is more than two decades old and is used by federal and state agencies, researchers, journalists and private citizens to track government spending. Thousands of copies of the database exist.
The database was used by the Farm Service Agency and USDA Rural Development. The Department is notifying affected individuals by mail, and will provide them with free credit monitoring for one year. If you want more information, but don't want to wait for a letter, lay down your plowshares and pruning hooks and call the USDA incident hotline at (800) FED-INFO (333-4636).
— CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
More »
Consumerist
