This Isn't Happening

I've often had harsh words for corn ethanol (here and here, for example).

But this is the last straw:

Mexican farmers are setting ablaze fields of blue agave, the cactus-like plant used to make the fiery spirit tequila, and resowing the land with corn as soaring U.S. ethanol demand pushes up prices.

The switch to corn will contribute to an expected scarcity of agave in coming years, with officials predicting that farmers will plant between 25 percent and 35 percent less agave this year to turn the land over to corn.

If anyone wants me, I'll be draped neurasthenically across the fainting couch, with a vinegar poultice on my forehead.

Sending me a few bottles of Del Maguey mezcal might revive me. Might, mind you.

Anyone who's not too grief-stricken can read this post by Tom Philpott, who describes what stumbling after the mirage of corn ethanol is doing to this country, and the rest of the world.