Today is 4/20 or Hemp Day, and this post from Bruce Margolin, a prominent Democrat and marijuana attorney who ran for Congress from California's Disttrict 33 last year (and lost to Rep. Harry Waxman, D.) has much information about hemp. If given a chance and planted by farmers, hemp may save Mother Earth on many counts.
Here are some of Margolin's essay's salient points:
Some Major Environmental Benefits of Growing Hemp:
- Fast and robust growth: Hemp grows extremely fast and can be grown in any climate, in any agronomic system
- No herbicides/pesticides required: Hemp can be grown with no (or little) herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, or other biocides.
- Suppresses weeds: Hemp is a natural weed suppressor due to the fast growth of the canopy. Actually, hemp is a weed. Because it grows so fast and densely, it blocks out sunlight to other weeds that are trying to grow.
- Improves soil structure: Due to it’s long roots, hemp replenishes soil with nutrients and nitrogen and helps control erosion of topsoil. Also, once harvested, any residue can act as an eco-friendly manure.
- Hemp produces lots of oxygen: Hemp produces the same amount of oxygen while it’s growing that it would use in carbon dioxide if burned as a fuel. Also, due to it’s leaf/root ratio (this can often be 10% roots vs 30% leaves), hemp can produce between 20% – 40% more oxygen than will be polluted.
- Cleans up pollution: Hemp can actually clean up toxins from the ground. This process is called phytoremediation. A good example of this is when hemp was used to help clean up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site to remove radioactive elements from the ground.
- Hemp can be used to minimize deforestation.
- Hemp can produce paper and home building supplies.
- Hemp can reduce global warming by substituting for both diesel and petroleum.
I've forgotten -- what are the arguments against hemp other than the obvious association some make to mary jane?
ReplyDeleteThis blog post has a lot on that:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theweedblog.com/arguments-against-hemp-and-why-they-are-wrong/
As you might suspect, the big roadblock to our taking advantage of hemp's many good things is laws, state and federal, set up when mary jane scared the daylights out of us. But as the writer of this post points out, hemp is not marijuana.
XE: Am I wrong in thinking that linen offers about the same list of advantages?
ReplyDeleteCop Car
Linen and hemp are cousins--both bast fibers (made from the inner lining of the plant's stem.) But unless I miss my guess, none of the other advantages of hemp--grows without pesticides, etc.--accrue to linen. Also, linen is a fine fabric, but hemp acts more like cotton, according to manufacturers. and so on and so on. here's a useful link, that compares linen and hemp at some point: http://www.globalhemp.com/1997/11/hemp-historic-fiber-remains-controversial.html
ReplyDeleteAlso, flax fields are gorgeous when the flax is in bloom. dunno about hemp.
ReplyDeleteJust want to say I love all the baby pictures in the sidebar. :)
ReplyDeleteMe, too....Can't wait till they wake up!
ReplyDelete