I agree that we in the U.S. should cut back, conserve and be more conscious of our use of resources. But the blame can't be layed solely on our shoulders.

Higher oil prices are driving the move towards bio-fuels. The price of oil rising has been in part caused by the wars, Nigerian attacks on oil companies, Venezuela taking the private oil companies, pirates attacking the shipping companies and other factors not the least of which is speculation. Having the oil companies construct our energy policies probably had alot to do with it as well.

We are driven by the hope of getting away from the dependence on foreign oil, a reaction to terrorist attacks and not a little Islamaphobia.

But that isn't the whole story.

The rice shortage isn't coming from the U.S. and rice provides 20% of the calories consumed by the world.

There is also the fact that the "bread basket" of Africa, Zimbabwe, is still under the control of a tyrant who took the producing farms from white farmers and distributed them to cronies who haven't a clue about farming which has devestated any production from that country. People elsewhere on the continent are starving because food can't be delivered due to warring parties (Somalia/Ethiopia, Sudan, the Congo region).

Even though other countries have been suffering from higher energy prices for years, no one, anywhere, has come up with any practical solutions even in countries that traditionally use wind power and others that have thousands of miles of open coastline that could generate massive amounts of energy from waves and tidal action. Everyone seems content to sit and wait for the U.S. to solve the problem.

Seems to me this is a global problem that needs a global solution. It might be beneficial to stop playing the blame game and get down to some serious thinking.