Foody says there are lots of other possible ingredients: corn stocks, fast-growing weeds like switch grass, even municipal waste.

NPR: Canadian Dreams of Ethanol Distilled from Grass

It just got number two fast-food chain Subway to switch from Pepsi.

FORBES: The Red Empire

Further ahead, Germany has to cope with a shrinking and ageing population, a fast-growing public debt and the need to switch from dependence on exports towards more consumption.

ECONOMIST: Germany's election

The problem, as the government sees it, is that Britain's fast-fading coal industry is rapidly losing its biggest customers, as electricity generators switch from coal to gas.

ECONOMIST: Blame it on the boogie