We need everyone to take action to help stop the myths being perpetrated against Wisconsin’s ethanol industry. The only way we can do so is by having everyone write a letter to the editor of their local paper debunking some of these awful myths. Here are a few talking points to help you as you write a letter.
- ETHANOL needs to be a renewable fuel choice in Wisconsin.
- ETHANOL is good for the environment.
- ETHANOL means economic development.
- ETHANOL means lower gas prices.
- ETHANOL means energy independence.
In addition, we have a few sample letters that you can use. Feel free to change them to suit your paper and your community.
Sample Letters to the Editor
Letter One:
Wisconsin needs a renewable energy policy that provides ethanol as a fuel choice to improve air quality, grow Wisconsin’s economy, and reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Take just a look at the economy. Having an ethanol production plant here in rural Wisconsin helps us to add jobs to the community and allows individuals to earn money to keep food on the table for their families. There is all this negative talk about how ethanol is not good for our community. Don’t believe the myths that are out there. Ethanol is the way for us to go in Wisconsin. I hope our elected officials will support the Wisconsin ethanol industry and will come on board to help provide jobs here in Wisconsin and help improve the environment.
Letter Two:
Don’t believe these awful myths that ethanol raises food prices! Corn and ethanol have become a convenient scapegoat for increasing food prices, but don’t believe it. Corn affects some of the items sold in the grocery store, but oil is part of all of them. Oil is over $120 a barrel, gas is $3.65 a gallon, and diesel is well over $4. Since gas and diesel fuel are used to grow, process, package, and transport everything we buy, it’s no wonder we are paying more at the store.
It’s also no wonder that our national economy is suffering from higher fuel prices. In 2002, gas cost just over a dollar a gallon. In 2005, it was still less than two dollars. Today a gallon of gas is closing in on four dollars and it would be even higher if we didn’t have ethanol to extend the fuel supply. Maybe we could all afford to pay a little more for food, clothing, cars, and homes if oil wasn’t taking four times more money out of our pockets as it did a few years ago.
Letter Three:
Ethanol lowers gas prices. As the summer approaches, can we really be affording $4.00 a gallon or more for gasoline? Analysts have said that oil and gas prices would be 15% higher if ethanol producers weren’t expanding their output. If we don’t support the ethanol industry, we could soon be faced with having to make the choice between putting gasoline in our car and food on our table.
Supporting Wisconsin’s ethanol industry means supporting cheaper alternatives, which have a huge impact on our economy and our environment. Don’t believe Big Oil’s line that it’s an option for America to develop alternatives to their very profitable oil. If we continue down this path of $130 per barrel oil, gas at $4.00 a gallon may seem like a bargain in a few years. We need to support and expand Wisconsin’s ethanol industry!
Please carbon copy us at info@wisconsinethanol.com if you can when you send out a letter to the editor. We would like to track the press coverage we are getting in our attempts to debunk the myths of ethanol and explain to Wisconsin citizens how important it is what we have this clean, renewable source of energy.
Here is a list of email addresses for your local papers.
Antigo Daily Journal
Appleton Post Crescent
Ashland Daily Press
Baraboo
News Republic
Beaver Dam Daily Citizen
Beloit Daily News
Capital Times
Chippewa Herald
Daily Jefferson County
Union
Duluth News Tribune
Eau Claire Leader-Telegram
Fond du Lac Reporter
Janesville Gazette
Kenosha News
La Crosse
Tribune
Manitowoc Herald-Times
Reporter
Marinette Eagle
Herald
Marshfield
News Herald
Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel
Minneapolis Star
Tribune
Monroe
Times
News
Chronicle
Oshkosh Northwestern
Press
Gazette
Racine Journal-Times
Rhinelander Daily News
Shawno Leader
Sheboygan Press
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Stevens Point
Journal
Superior Daily Telegram
Watertown Daily Times
Waukesha Freeman
Wausau Daily Herald
West Bend Daily News
Winona Daily
News
Wisconsin Rapids
Daily Tribune
Wisconsin State Journal