the real cost of political posturing

'The average price of a pint of bitter in Britain's pubs could increase from around £2.20 to as much as £4 next year, the industry has warned.

The massive hike, which is also expected to affect cans bought from off licences, is due largely to increased prices of key ingredients barley and hops - in part because farmland is being turned over to environment-friendly biofuels.

But brewers are also suffering from rises in fuel costs and the price of the metals used to produce kegs and cans. Kegs are now so valuable that they have become a target for thieves, who stole 60 million this year to melt down for their metal.' (AOL news, 24/12/07)

So the hippies' obsession with driving at any cost is already having terrible effects. This is also going to drive more pubs out of business. I'm so glad I'm getting a vineyard in Hungary in the next few years. I'll do EVERYTHING to resist turning my land over to biofuels - the biggest con in history. The recipe for biofuels disaster - loads of scarce water + valuable land + 10 barrels (conventional) oil = 8 barrels biofuel + rich farmers + smug (ostrich) politicians. Total madness.

And the second part of the story is also telling. ALL metals are running out, being snapped up to fuel the expansion of China and India. Okay, as an investment ploy metals are great, but otherwise we should all be concerned ...