Post date: Apr 07, 2013 9:35:49 PM
Besides graphene, a new kid on the block, industrial hemp, which has been squelched for a long time, is another super material that can save us from the ravages of the industrial smokestack tyranny that grips our world.
It grows like a weed ... what could be wilder. What could be more natural ... what could be more marvelous.
Sure beats the hell out of poisoning everybody and everthing.
From the Activist Post:
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Is Hemp a Miracle Plant That Can Save the World?
Jeffrey Green
Activist Post
Hemp is perhaps the answer to most problems in the world. Ambitious, yes. An exaggeration, no.
If grown extensively, its diverse uses can be of significant value to the environment, the economy, world hunger, personal health, and so much more.
For the environment, hemp can reduce deforestation, pesticide use, provide a sustainable biofuel, and replace GMO cotton among other benefits. It grows like a weed without the need for pesticides or heavy fertilizers.
Hemp does just about anything wood can do and it only takes 6 months to renew, not 20 years. It can be used to make paper, to build homes with, and as fuel for fire.
Hemp clothing is far more durable than cotton, which is an industry still operating a form of slavery from cultivation to production. GMO cotton has led to indentured servitude for Indian farmers where failed crops and debt result in shockingly high suicide rates. Hemp is simply a better material for clothing.
The oil in the hemp seed can be made into biodiesel just like any vegetable oil. Most arguments against biofuels are that their crops take up too much valuable farm land that should be used for food, and it takes more energy than it gives back when all things are considered (fertilizer, pesticides, planting and harvesting machinery, refining).
With hemp, biofuel is merely a bi-product of this crop, not it's main use. The fiber of the plant is still an extremely valuable commodity. Whereas corn ethanol needs a lot of land with tons of intensive chemicals, and the process of turning corn into ethanol is then a net energy loss.
As today's economy falters due to a variety of systematic problems, the world is in desperate need of a new industry. Worldwide hemp legalization and promotion would lead to a revolution in nearly all major industries. Entrepreneurs would have a field day with textiles, plastics, body care, construction, etc.
For more go here.