Toyota is introducing cars that run on ethanol and gasoline in Brazil at a time when such flexible-fuel vehicles are growing in popularity there. Toyota's Brazil unit said in a release Wednesday it will start selling two new flex-fuel Corolla models that surpass the performance of the gas-fueled Corollas now on the market in the country.

President Bush has ordered major government agencies to start work on drafting new regulations to cut dangerous auto emissions. The president is coming under increasing pressure to tackle America's energy woes.

The ethanol craze squeezes corn supplies and causes food prices to rise. Mexicans took to the streets last year to protest increased tortilla prices. The cost of chicken and beef in the United States ticked up because feed is more expensive. That's where biotechnology comes in.

ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company in the world, is taking steps to address the problem of global warming, the first major US oil company to do so. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, the company is implementing programs to develop alternative fuels and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro has published his second editorial in a week criticizing U.S. President George Bush's bio-fuel policies.

President Bush has set ambitious goals to reduce the country's dependence on oil, and increase the use of alternative fuels like ethanol. VOA's Brian Wagner reports from Miami that experts are now at work to ensure there will be enough new supplies of ethanol to meet the demand.

Ailing leader Fidel Castro published an article in state media Thursday criticizing U.S. environmental policies, emerging from months of silence on political matters during his long recuperation from intestinal surgery in an apparent move to reassert his voice on international issues.

Rising world oil prices have sparked interest in alternative fuels, such as ethanol, which can be produced from corn. This has raised demand for the grain, which, in turn, has increased its price as food. VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports that higher prices may not be the only cost associated with corn-based ethanol.