The Solution For High Energy Costs and Peak Oil

Lest you think that your government has your best interests in mind, you should read this article about hemp. The bottom line is this: hemp is easy to grow, could provide all of our paper needs while producing a fraction of the pollution that regular paper produces, replace cotton as a comfortable, durable fabric, replace diesel fuel, reduce erosion, and save our forests.

The trouble is, your government is not interested in helping your or I, but only helping big business maintain their markets, all at our expense.

Just another reason why we do not need government taking “care” of us. Read and enjoy.

Hemp

"An acre of hemp produces four times as much paper as an acre of trees. Every pot-smoking hippy in the country knows that. The problem is, why doesn't anyone else? In this short article, I will attempt to educate you, the reader, of the many ways in which hemp can Save the Planet. No kidding…

"Herbicides are also virtually unnecessary, as the plants grow 6-16 feet tall in only 110 days. The complex root structure prevents erosion and decays quickly after harvest…

"That's all well and good, but what do you do with the hemp? Well, as I mentioned above, it's great for making paper. That's most of the reason that industrial hemp is illegal in the United States. See, in the mid-1930s, there were two industries that had just made breakthrough machines that would make paper productions much more cost-effective. One was the hemp industry, the other was DuPont. Coincidentally, the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was passed, effectively making hemp illegal by charging transfers $1/ounce or, for unregistered dealers, $100/ounce, even for industrial-grade hemp.

"So with hemp out of the way, DuPont was free to become the giant corporation that it is today, and to produce the great majority of the toxic sludge that contaminates our Northwestern and Southeastern rivers. Had hemp become our primary paper source, this pollution would have been vastly reduced, and here is why: Hemp means no deforestation, which results in less topsoil erosion, more oxygen, less carbon dioxide, less destruction of natural habitats, etc. Hemp paper is much easier to bleach, and does not require chlorine, which means no more thousands of tons of toxic sludge pouring into the water. Scientists in Sweden have developed a hemp-bleaching process that uses only natural enzymes and some pounding of the pulp.

"Cotton, the other big evil, is grown on 3% of the world's arable land and uses 26% (wow!) of the world's pesticides and 7% of the world's fertilizer annually. It requires heavy irrigation, depleting the water supply even as it poisons it. Many developing countries grow cotton as a cash crop, trying desperately to pay off foreign debt. While the country's land and water is being destroyed, food crops are neglected, so the people go hungry.

"Hemp can be used to make clothing that is, if treated properly, soft like cotton and far more durable, thus rendering cotton unnecessary. Adidas and Ralph Lauren already have hemp products, and Calvin Klein insists that hemp will hit the fashion industry full force in the years to come…

While an acre of trees is about 60% cellulose, an acre of hemp is nearly 75%. How much hemp is necessary to meet current U.S. energy needs? Somewhere between 10-90 million acres, depending on how efficient the production is. Every year, the U.S. government pays farmers (in cash or 'kind') to not farm what they call the 'soil bank,' which happens to be about 90 million acres of farmland. The math is pretty simple.

"Hemp seed oil is very similar to petroleum diesel fuel, and produces full engine power with reduced carbon monoxide and 75% less soot and particulates. Hemp stalk (different than the part that can make paper and textiles) can be converted into 500 gallons of methanol/acre…

"It seems so simple, you must be saying. If this is true, why are we still using petroleum and paper and cotton? Well, there are corporations who sponsor politicians that have a reason to keep hemp down, like, the oil industry, etc."

Whiskey & Gunpowder
May 9, 2006
by Mike "Mish" Shedlock
Illinois, U.S.A.