I am communications director for the clean fuels and vehicle technology program of American Lung Association of Minnesota. After reading Don Gordon’s My View “Ethanol not the cure-all some believe,” in the Oct. 30 Free Press, I was left with more questions than answers.

For example, just who is saying that ethanol is a “cure-all”? Certainly not the American Lung Association of Minnesota, a strong supporter of cleaner-burning E85 and biodiesel. Like all fuels, E85 and biodiesel both have their drawbacks and limitations, but there is no doubt that they reduce harmful tailpipe emissions, including greenhouse gases.

Like other biofuel critics, Gordon relies heavily on the finding of David Pimentel, an entomologist from Cornell University whose findings are not replicated by most other researchers studying biofuels. If you want ethanol to look bad, you look to Pimentel and his friends. If you want the truth, you look at all sources and available data, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the Argonne National Laboratory and the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest.

Like Gordon, we support efforts to conserve energy and investment in cleaner energy sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen. Unlike Gordon, we recognize that biofuels have an important role today as a “clean air choice” for Minnesotans.