WS Chronicle

Cash’s column

attacking ethanol

filled with Big

Oil inaccuracies

To the Editor:

Oil industry spokesperson Algenon Cash’s recent op-ed attacking ethanol is filled with the standard inaccuracies used by Big Oil to discourage competition at the pump from more renewable fuels.

No retailer is forced to offer E15, fuel containing 15 percent ethanol, but over 1,000 stations choose to carry it because drivers value high-performance fuels that are more environmentally friendly.

In North Carolina, Sheetz has offered higher ethanol fuel blends for over a year now, earning them a Mobile Clean Air Renewable Energy (Mobile CARE) Award from the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University in 2016 for “increasing consumer choice and access to alternative fuels.”

Biofuels offer well-documented environmental and health benefits. Ethanol replaces toxic additives used by the fossil fuel industry that have been linked to smog and cancer risk. And according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study, ethanol reduces carbon emissions by 43 percent, helping improve air quality the same as if we removed 20 million cars from the road every year.

The rising food prices myth has been disproven countless times, with corn selling at its lowest point in years. On the contrary, there’s evidence (see http://blogs.worldbank.org/trade/cost-energy-goes-food-prices-follow) higher food prices are directly correlated to higher oil prices.

These attacks on ethanol biofuels are provably false and clearly an attempt by the oil industry to spread misinformation to protect their profits. Drivers want greener, more affordable fuels, and retailers in North Carolina are meeting that demand.

Danielle Adams

Durham

Note: Danielle Adams is in her third term as a supervisor for the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District, a government agency responsible for conserving soil, water, and related natural resources in Durham County.

Raise wages

of city workers

to fight poverty

To the Editor:

I’m a Winston-Salem city worker, and reading the city’s plan to combat poverty. I think they’re missing one big thing: raising wages. I’m in support of the city raising wages to $15 for all workers. Several things have changed during the past 30 years in terms of stagnant wages, and a rising cost in living, which has made it harder to get by. As things get more expensive, they become less affordable, especially when wages don’t change.

An increase in salary would help my and my co-workers’ ability to continue to afford our basic needs, considering the rising cost of living in the city. The pay we receive for the service we provide to the city of Winston-Salem is not up to par with what other cities of our size offer their employees. I know experienced workers who have left their work at the city because they can make more in Kernersville, High Point, or Greensboro.

Better pay would also do a lot to improve morale. Most co-workers I talk with are younger with growing families. A pay increase would keep them employed with us for a longer time as they gain more valuable skills, licenses, and certifications, and support their families while fighting poverty at the same time.

Monticello Mitchell

Winston-Salem