As I watched the coverage of the floods in the Midwest a thought crossed my mind.

Could the Midwest Floods be the cause for the rapid rise of gas prices at the pump?

The following sites point out how crops have been wiped out by the Midwest Flood:

-U.S. Midwest floods wipe out crops, raise food prices
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/06/16/iowa-farms.html

-Flooding in the American Midwest threatens crops

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/16/america/16midwest.php

-Midwest flooding spurs record corn prices

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSN1346134820080617

The following article links talk of how ethanol is raising prices of corn and soybeans:

-Ethanol Reshapes the Corn Market

http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/April06/Features/Ethanol.htm

-It's Corn vs. Soybeans in a Biofuels Debate

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/business/13ethanol.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/G/Grain

-Ethanol's rise prompts worries of a corn crunch

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0726/p02s01-usec.html

The following sites reveal how gasoline production has become dependant on ethanol production thanks to Congress:

-Congress Gets Drunk on Ethanol

http://www.reason.com/news/show/33875.html

-Time to Repeal the Ethanol Mandate

http://www.heritage.org/research/energyandenvironment/wm1925.cfm

-Congress Should Revisit Ethanol Mandate -- Poll

http://www.ewg.org/node/26688

It is very apparent that if we stay with ethanol or other forms of biofuels we should move towards garden/yard waste and food waste as the basis for biofuels and move away from crops that could be threatened by natural disastersand could cause drastic price spikes, such as what is happening today thanks to the Midwest floods.