CEO Marc Frey, Frey MediaDear Mr. President,
As we prepare to commemorate the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, it is an opportune moment to reflect on what the spiritual essence of this nation is: To be independent!

If being independent was so important in forming the United States of America, and has guided us well for more than two centuries, why have we given up on making this a top priority?

In the recent past it seems that being a superpower and the world’s policeman and diplomat — in addition to making the U.S. dollar a world currency and English the common language — have kept us from being truly independent.

There is no denying that we have a role on the world stage, but if we could better balance our resources and put some effort into making us stronger within, we would be better off overall as a nation. There is a difference between being de pendent on other nations and accepting that this is an interconnected world where ideas, goods and services will be traded between continents.

Our biggest dependency is on oil. Our economy and well-being depend heavily on liquid energy. We consume 208 million barrels a day (a barrel contains 42 gallons). In a per capita comparison, we use about 2.3 times as much as the Germans use. How can they use so much less than we do? One contributing factor is that onethird of our oil consumption is used for electricity. They also have better-planned cities, a much better public transportation system and more fuel-efficient trucks and cars.

We import roughly two-thirds of the oil we use. A majority of that is from countries with which we have no other significant economic ties. Some of those countries display a negative attitude toward the United States.

Being energy independent would have several important benefits. It would strengthen our economy because we would have a reason to invest in the technologies and infrastructure. After that transition, we could produce our own energy in our own country, using existing and/or renewable resources. We could develop new technologies, resulting in other nations buying that technology from us. For instance, China, Japan and Europe currently depend on oil imports. We could shrink our trade deficit. Energy independence would also help stabilize our economy and avoid the type of $4 gas spikes we saw last year. Oil independence would greatly improve the security of our nation and we would stop supporting nations that harbor extreme Islamic terrorists. On top of all that, we could reduce global warming and become a much greener nation.

Energy independence should be possible in about a decade if the government and private industry work hand-in-hand. If Brazil was able to achieve this goal, why can’t we?

Two avenues need to be pursued independently. One is to stop using oil for heating and to produce electricity. There are plenty of alternatives, including nuclear, coal, thermo, wind, solar and wood pellets. Second, we need to greatly reduce oil consumption for transportation. Simply setting higher miles per gallon standards cannot do this. A more effective step is for the government to mandate that all cars sold in the U.S. are flex fuel vehicles. This only adds a marginal cost to the manufacturing price. Additionally, U.S. carmakers are already equipped to produce flex fuel vehicles. These vehicles are selling successfully in the world market, especially in Brazil. Once a vehicle is flex-fuel equipped, it can burn both gas or ethanol or a combination thereof. By taking this simple step we are in effect creating a market for ethanol.

There is a common misconception that ethanol can only be produced from corn. The truth is that ethanol can be produced from many different renewable sources. Brazil, for example, relies mostly on sugarcane, which is a much more efficient and balanced source. Our biggest hope, however, is that cellulose ethanol, which can be produced from wood chips, switch grass and biomass can be produced cost efficiently on a commercial scale. Range Fuel a leader in biomass/ethanol conversion, is opening up the first commercial plant in Soperton, Ga., about 100 miles from Savannah.

The challenges will be many; the solutions will be just as varied. However, it all starts by staking out a goal. Mr. President, you are the person most suited to make such a declaration. In all likelihood it would be the most important single action you could take to secure the safety and well-being of our nation for generations to come. I believe that if government, science and business can work together, energy independence can become an American reality and once again make us the Independent United States of America.

With respect,
Marc Frey
CEO, Frey Media

This letter was sent to the White House on June 25, 2009. We will keep you posted if we receive an answer.