Hemp Industry: A Green SolutionChase Doyle
The hemp industry seems to indeed be a green solution to our everydayproblems. If we utilized hemp in this country and in our everyday lives then our planetwould be a cleaner greener place. We would be more efficient in our everyday lives.Hemp could fix problems ranging from our lack of fossil fuel and our depleting forests tounhealthy soil on our earth. The hemp industry has much to offer us that our civilizationneeds to utilize. Food products, for instance, fabrics, skin care products, clothing,automobile materials and much much more. All of these things are made in a veryenvironmentally friendly way, and it does not hurt the earth to decompose when theitems are no longer needed. With just a few facts like this it is strange why it is not aproductive crop in our country. The hemp industry needs to be utilized as soon aspossible, it is environmentally friendly to grow, it reproduces faster than any other crop inthe United States, there are 25,000 items that can be produced by hemp and it wouldhelp our economy without a doubt. This Analysis of our earth's everyday problemsshould inform you of why hemp products need to be used to the full extent.Hemp was criminalized in the United States in the year 1937 and effectivelyprohibited in 1950. Hemp was banned mainly because of its closely related relativemarijuana. It was grouped together with marijuana when the documentary REEFERMADNESS was released. This was propaganda against marijuana, and although itdoes contain THC, there are only trace amounts in Cannabis Sativa L. Not nearlyenough to do anything. There was however, a short period of time when the federalgovernment subsidized hemp and farmers grew over a million acres under that program.It has not been federally legal to produce hemp since 1950. Even manilla hemp hasbeen prohibited. Manilla hemp is a synthetic hemp made from abaca leaves which are
closely related to the banana and used for the strong fibers and can be used to makesimilar products as hemp.The cellulose in Hemp plants is very useful in the production of many items.Cellulose is extracted from inside the stalk of the hemp plant. The hemp fiber that comesfrom the stalk of this plant is stronger, more absorbent and better insulated than Cottonfiber. The Hemp Stalk is not Psychoactive, like that of marijuana even though it is in thesame class, Cannabis Sativa L, which is most likely why this plant it not utilized properlyin our everyday society. There are however, many countries that do utilize and producea wide variety of hemp products. These countries include China, Germany, Japan,Poland, Chile, Romania and many more. Hemp Can be used to make a variety ofproducts. These products range from fabrics of high quality in China, interior carpanelling in BMW and other other electric and gasoline powered cars in Germany andthe United Kingdom, foods all across the world containing up to 25 percent protein,paper products, soil renewal products and much more.Hemp was also grown at the base of the great Chernobyl nuclear spill to nurturethe soil back to health. Hemp plants break down or degrade organic pollutants andstabilize metal contaminants by acting as filters or traps. Hemp can be used to removeradioactive elements from soil and water at former weapons producing facilities. It canalso be used to clean up metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, crude oil, polyaromatichydrocarbons, and toxins leaching from landfills. It Is almost like a miracle plant that isthrown under the rug and highly looked down upon. But, if we Utilized this beautiful
earthly plant then we could clean up our environment and live in a greener place.Hemp grows green, not only in color but it does not hurt the earth to produce. Thisis because there are less chemicals used in maintaining the plants health during thevegetative process. Hemp plants are not susceptible to many types of pests that mightdisturb the growing process of the plant. This means that an extremely small amount ofpesticides need to be used to keep the plant alive and growing healthy. If hemp wasused to replace a specific product we would greatly reduce the greenhouse gasses thatare put into our atmosphere. Hemp does not use a great deal of herbicides eitherbecause it can grow in a tightly spaced environment and it outgrows most other weeds.Which is very unique in quality as is the hemp plant in general. The fiber extracted fromhemp could replace many fiber products made today that account for much of thepesticide and herbicide output the United States is accountable for.Cotton and canvas produce greenhouse gasses that are causing climate change.The chemicals used to grow and process these products, including herbicides,pesticides, bleaches, dyes and many other harmful chemicals that can be reducedtremendously in the production of hemp. Bleaches and dyes are less of an issue with theproduction of hemp because the color made from hemp fiber is much lighter in color thanother products that are needed to be bleached out in the process of manufacturing paperfor instance.
The research done by The HIA and The NHIAC on this plant proves Hemp to bevery useful. Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products.Researchers are working on using hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plasticproducts: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for moldedproducts, and resins made from the oil. The hydrocarbons in hemp are also beingstudied for biomass energy. These include fuel pellets, liquid fuels and gas.12,000 yearshumans have been growing Hemp. Hemp paper over 1500 years old has been found,confirming that hemp fiber is stronger than paper made from lumber. Hemp paper canalso be recycled more times than regular wood based paper because the fibers aremuch stronger and higher quality. Also, studies from Washington University proved thatHemp Fiberboard was twice as strong than that of wood.Fabrics that are made by atleast one half Hemp block UV rays. Hemp can be made into linen quality fabric and barkof the hemp stalk contains bast fibers, which is one of the Earth's oldest natural softfibers. Hemp could be very useful in saving money and time in the fabric industry.Paper production Is one product that has the capacity to be produced solely byhemp. It would be ideal to make paper from hemp because Cannabis-Sativa L can begrown specifically to create a high amount of cellulose. Cellulose comes from the pulp oftrees as well as the pulp of hemp and is a key factor in making paper of any kind.Hempplants can produce up to eighty five percent Cellulose. Almost triple the amount then thatof trees. The waste difference is significant fifty five percent more waste from the wood oftrees, in the manufacturing in paper then that of Hemp. Hemp is also greener in theprocess of making paper in the fact that it does not need an equal amount of chemicalsthat harm the environment to process the pulp, or cellulose, into quality paper. Hemp
could completely take over the paper industry and help the planet not only be reducinggreenhouse gasses but saving natural forests that take hundreds and thousands ofyears to grow and replace them with a renewable source known as hemp. Which wasstomped out before it ever came to full potential from the logging industry which spreadnegative propaganda tying hemp to Marijuana and scaring the American citizens intoretreat against the green plant. But its not too late we still can utilize this natural greenplant, its not going anywhere.If hemp is healthier for the environment to grow than other fiber products it makesyou wonder why it is not researched and invested into.Hemp is Unique in many ways but one way stands out in particular, the speedand efficiency of reproduction. Hemp plants are a weed and they sure do grow like one.Hemp grows incredibly fast for any crop. You can Harvest a hemp plant just about everyninety days; meaning there are roughly four harvests a year. It takes one hundred daysto grow the amount of cellulose it would take a tree one hundred years to grow theequivalent of. Not to mention that you can grow a denser lot of hemp plants then you cangrow a lot of trees due to the fact that it can grow in a tightly spaced area withoutherbicides like i explained before. So in one year of growing hemp for cellulose youcould create even more than would be produced from three hundred years worth ofcellulose from a tree. These numbers are staggering considering the amount of trees itappears we have wasted. Hemp also requires less water to be grown, using less energythen any other form of getting fiber for fabric as well as food, paper, oil and even doorpanelling for some cars in foreign countries. This plant also grows exceptionally fast
because it outgrows all other plants. Which means that it basically steals away thenutrients from all the surrounding life making it impossible to get unwanted vegetation.Unique and self sufficient the Hemp plant is a renewable Source because of how fast itcan be grown and utilized. Change needs to come and the capacity and potential of thisearthly green plant need to be reached.One might argue that the hemp industry would take away many jobs from theindustries that already exist. This includes jobs from the wood pulp paper productionindustry, lumberjacks, mill workers, foresters and all the secretarial jobs existing withinthese companies. There are 70,000 people that are employed by the paper industry.This means that if the Hemp industry were to take over the paper industry and or otherindustries over seventy thousand jobs would be lost; and that would not be goodconsidering the high rate of unemployment already. People have security in these preexisting industries, job security is important and long established business relationshipsbetween people and companies are very useful not to mention they have had the timeand research to figure out marketing and business management. This is one reason whyProducing hemp as a primary source for pulp fiber for the manufacturing of paper ismuch more efficient than that of cotton.The solution to this loss of jobs is in fact a simple one though. The paper pulpindustry itself would have to take over the hemp industry and do the right thing. Perhapsthe paper industry would go to the now non existing forests that they have choppeddown and replace it themselves with a friendly green plant, Hemp. We could renew thesoil that paper industry has destroyed. Which consists of Seventy percent of our National
forests. We could quite possibly save the remaining four percent of forest that we haveremaining today. This amount of work would surely be enough for seventy thousandemployees that have pre existing jobs with paper companies. We could start now andstart being greener more efficient with our resources and possibly even open up morejobs with this high capacity industry.Our country is in need for the utilization of Hemp, there is no way to deny how fastthe plant grows in comparison to the other leading industries it is up against, it isenvironmentally friendly to grow, can be used for over twenty five thousand products andcan help this country get out of debt. Hemp cleanses the earth’s soil and puts out lessgreenhouse gasses when processed into usable material. Hemp is very efficient andtougher than most fabrics and materials. It is lighter and more durable than wood.Finally, Hemp reproduces faster than any other crop. It is a renewable source with manygreen possibilities that need to be looked into. It is a green plant with green intentions forthe development of our planet and if we utilized it, then we could fix many environmentalproblems as well as improve our everyday lives.
Work CitedCharkowsky, Elaine. "Hemp "Eats" Chernobyl Waste, Offers Hope For Hanford." CentralOregon GreenPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May2012.<www.hemp.net/news/9901/06/hemp_eats_chernobyl_waste.html>."HIA: Resources: Education: FAQs & Facts: Facts." HIA: Hemp Industries Association:Industrial Hemp TradeGroup, Education & Industry Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.<http://www.thehia.org/facts.html>."Hemp Facts." North American Industrial Hemp Council. NAIHC, n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.<www.naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html >.Reefer Madness. Dir. Louis Gasnier. Perf. Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles. 1936.Legend Films,2004. DVD.Enable screen reader