Many people, including scientists and some big companies believe that we are running out of oil. What oil there is, is located mostly in very hostile environments. One possible alternative to oil is ethanol. Lately, there has been a high demand for ethanol. Even U.S. President George W. Bush said "We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol…" Ethanol is primarily made out of corn. The more demand there is for ethanol, the more expensive corn becomes. But ethanol is not the only product made out of corn. So are corn tortillas. Over the last six months, the price of corn meal for tortillas in Mexico has doubled. Most Mexicans rely on corn tortillas to keep from going hungry. Entonces: many Mexican families are now worried about going hungry because we may be running out of oil.

Images via Flickr by mattdente, swanksalot, Fábio Pinheiro, Omar Omar, Tjeerd, madpai, Señor Codo, presta, Amor Ministries and carlosfpardo.

Updates: At blog.wired.com, commenter Jon P points to the role played by Mexican trade policy, a factor also cited by The Dallas Morning News. But in a recent story on NAFTA, the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that "allowing corn imports is politically risky" in Mexico. See comments below for additional links and extended discussion.