Bush Heads To Ethanol Country

President Bush begins a nearly week-long journey across Latin America Thursday, and his first stop--Brazil--is likely to be his most important. There he is expected to sign a major agreement with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to make ethanol more widely available through construction of "pilot plants" in the Caribbean region.

The agreement itself is a positive step on the road to America's energy independence, particularly in light of Bush's goal to dramatically increase renewable fuel production by 2017. The U.S. and Brazil are the world's leading producers of ethanol, and any hemispheric effort to coordinate the development of biofuels should be seen as a good thing. Last week, the two countries participated in the International Biofuels Forum, an initiative to standardize the industry, open markets and explore development opportunities.

But despite all its good intentions, the visit appears to have widened a rift between the administration and several key lawmakers from the farm belt, the staunchest protectors of the domestic ethanol industry.

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