Freedom is a 2011 documentary that delves into the potential of ethanol as a sustainable energy source for America.

The documentary FREEDOM from husband and wife team of Josh and Rebecca Tickell is aptly named because, in the context of the film, it represents the most significant meaning of the word. It gives it depth, dimension, and hope. The couple showed the rough cut of the film, it’s only Seattle theatrical showing at the Admiral Theater (the third time it’s been shown publicly) on Saturday, Aug. 6. It’s due to be released at the same time theatrically and on DVD later this month.

FREEDOM is about a journey the couple took that began with a wish to document the disaster of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform and its impacts on the Gulf Coast environment, economy, and people. They shot that film (which documents, among other things, Rebecca’s ongoing health impacts), and what the filmmakers say was “an incredible coverup,” and it will come out in the future. Along the way, Josh came to a new understanding of the world’s relationship and this nation’s addiction to oil.

He produced a multi-award-winning 2008 film called “Fuel” and had been championing biofuels for a decade. He met his wife Rebecca during the making of that film. In that film, he came out against the most widely available alternative fuel, ethanol, because the information about it was largely negative. Josh and Rebecca witnessed the efforts to attack all alternatives to petroleum. “We watched the biofuels movement collapse,” said Rebecca. 

In a story arc worthy of Hollywood, the Tickells did a complete 180 and learned that nearly everything they had been told about ethanol was false. Further, they saw it as the most pragmatic solution to a series of problems facing the United States. These are not starry-eyed liberals with unrealistic dreams. They understand that ethanol has drawbacks, too. But they recognized they had to make a film to get the truth out about it and what it could mean to the American economy and our way of life.

“There are no words to describe the life of an eco-documentary activist filmmaker. The last time we showed a film here (Fuel), we were greeted with protest signs,” Rebecca said. “We’re tackling a pretty unpopular topic in biofuels, and ethanol is kind of a dirty word, and corn is a dirty word for most people.”

To uncover the truth, they had to challenge dozens of assumptions about ethanol, corn, and the avowed beliefs of experts (some paid by the petroleum companies). They traveled across the country to conduct the interviews, comprising some of the film’s most telling moments. Much of what has gained credence as accepted fact was, as they show in the movie, based on an orchestrated campaign to discredit ethanol. The film decimates those arguments in interviews, graphics, and explanations. In the end, they conclude that ethanol produced by corn, biomass, waste, and even garbage has the potential to help this nation lift itself out of the recession and restore the very source of our freedom, our self-reliance.

Everyone understands that America’s dependence on foreign oil has consequences, from the need to provide security (and fight wars) over another nation’s natural resources to being held economic hostage by those who control the supply.

FREEDOM makes an entirely compelling case that converting our dependence on oil to a home-grown energy source achieves several goals. First, we improve our economy by spending energy dollars here. Second, we create more jobs. Third, we base our energy needs on a renewable resource (corn and biomass). Fourth, we reduce our impact on the environment.

 Ethanol does not require more energy to make than it yields.

Argonne National Laboratory research has shown that corn ethanol delivers a positive energy balance of 8.8 megajoules per liter. According to a study published in the Biomass and Bioenergy Journal, the energy balance from second-generation biofuels using cellulosic sources is up to six times better.

Ethanol does not take food away from humans.

Only 1 percent of all corn grown in this country is eaten by humans. The rest is No. 2 yellow field corn, indigestible to humans and used in animal feed, food supplements, and ethanol.

Ethanol does not emit more greenhouse gases than gasoline.

A 1996 EPA study analyzing sources of air pollution confirmed that gasoline vehicles and non-road equipment are the most significant contributors to vehicular gaseous hazardous air pollutants. However, another study showed that ethanol reduces tailpipe carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 30 percent and tailpipe particulate matter emissions by 50 percent. Also, the Journal of Industrial Ecology at Yale University published a study in 2009 that found that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by up to 38-59% when using ethanol as a transportation fuel.

Ethanol can be made from waste.

Cellulosic ethanol can be made from agricultural waste and biomass, such as corn cobs and stover, wheat straw, wood, energy crops, and even municipal waste.

Ethanol is cleaner-burning.

Compared to gasoline, ethanol reduces every tailpipe emission (CO, CO₂, smog, particulates, NOx, and SOx) because it contains 35% oxygen and results in a higher-temperature burn.

Twelve billion gallons of ethanol were produced in Canada and the US in 2010.

This will grow to 36 billion gallons by 2020. Currently, the ethanol industry replaces 364 million barrels of imported oil each year in the USA and Canada.

There are 8 million flex fuel vehicles already on the road, which is 3% of US vehicles.

We’re adding 800,000 to 1 million new flex fuel vehicles each year. Over 2,200 E85 and ethanol blender stations are already in place, and over 60 E85/ethanol blender stations are being installed monthly.

Ethanol creates jobs and is suitable for the economy.

A major study by the Windmill Group identifies 645,000 jobs created by ethanol in the USA.

The couple is now on a three-month, 30-plus city North American Clean Energy Tour in a fully customized Freedom Bus to promote the film. This “green” constructed, highly energy-efficient vehicle will park at movie theatres showing the film. The Freedom Bus will be free to the public and showcase the latest biofuel-efficient, advanced fuels and wind, solar, and water technology.

FREEDOM features an eclectic array of personalities, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former NATO commander Wesley Clark, singer/songwriter Jason Mraz (who scored the film), international author Deepak Chopra, and such “green” actors as Ed Begley, Jr., Amy Smart, and Michelle Rodriguez.

The film still needs some work, including editing refinements and the addition of a section on hemp as an energy source. It will premiere in Los Angeles on August 14.
 
You can learn more about the film on the website www.thefreedomfilm.com.

By Patrick Robinson

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