One Plant To Save Us All

1. One Plant To Save Us All Hemp as a sustainable resource Sustainability Project By Chyna Barr

2. With a little help from hemp…Hemp has thousands of use s& counting. Here are some of them. • Can be used as oil or made into biodiesel to power cars • Heavy duty (stronger than steel!) plastics can be made, if used to make cars they would be lighter, reducing gas mileage • Take the place of fossil fuels and it creates no sulfur, ash, or smog • A energy source that is clean & instead of nuclear power • Leave soil in better condition than before it was planted & produces oxygen • Be an alternative to trees for building purposes and paper, reducing deforestation • It is a resource that is both biodegradable and reusable Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the car itself was constructed from hemp. On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10x stronger than steel"— Popular Mechanics (1941)

3. The planting of hemp also reduces carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because it uses it to grow and the plant deposits some of that carbon dioxide into the soil “where it increases fertility and is prevented from contributing to global warming” (Green Experience, 2008) Large-scale harvesting of hemp would lower cO2 in the air and the level of cO2 would become lower than before it was planted. • Carbon-neutral alternatives to gasoline like ethanol made from corn are inefficient because about the same amount of energy is needed for the production than the amount that is produced and growing this resource “demands that we convert immense areas of land to industrial farming” (Winthgott & Brennan, 2011). • Harvesting hemp would take less land than other crops because research shows that five hundred gallons of biodiesel can be made from just one acre of hemp (Green Experience, 2008). America uses 137,801,370,000 gallons of fuel per year. 6% of farmland in the U.S. is around 142,797,888. 500 and if one acre comes out to 500 gallons that equals 71,398,944,000 gallons. This quantity could be manufactured times three, or three times a year, which would make the amount 214,196,832,000. Astonishingly it would only take 6% of the U.S.’ Acreage to supply America with all of the petroleum-based fuel that it needs, plus more.

4. Biofuelsvs Fossil Fuels Fossil Fuels can be replaced by hemp & used as a biofuel! • “The best kind of biofuel is one that is not food, grows in abundance, and supplies large amounts of biomass” (Green Experience, 2008) But could there possibly be a plant that fits this description? The answer is yes, and this answer is hemp. • Unlike fossil fuels, which are derived from plants that are extinct, biomass comes from plants that are living (non-extinct). Fossil fuel to produce energy can be replaced by biochemical composting into fuels, or charcoalizing biomass. Biomass, the substance or pulp matter from an organic plant, can be used in different ways to produce energy. In an oil form, it can be used just as it is to fuel biodiesel engines, it can be converted into biodiesel, or altered into a “high quality non-toxic lubricant”. (Castleman, 2006). Biomass can be utilized by burning. Using hemp charcoal instead of coal would eliminate offset and emissions from sulfur pollution. It can also be burned to produce electricity, made into pellets for heating structures, and used as logs for heating. Hemp cellulose can be converted into alcohol in the forms of hydrolysis (enzymatic & acid) and an anaerobic digester (Methane).

5. To name a few…

6. As we are coming closer to depleting the earth’s resources, an alternative is needed "Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere."— George Washington 1794 • "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country."— Thomas Jefferson • "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?"— Henry Ford • "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the [cannabis] prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this [prohibition]."— Albert Einstein (My First Impression of the U.S.A., 1921)

7. Hemp is a good alternative because it doesn’t need high quality soil to flourish. It is weedlike in that it is fast growing and will grow on fallow land. 500 million acres of farmland in the states cannot be used agriculturally because it is uncultivated, but hemp can sprout in these circumstances. This is more than enough land to provide energy to move automobiles, heat homes, and use for industry and electricity. This is important because it means a crop that can be grown natively here in the U.S. This would eliminate reliance on other countries for such a significant material. In addition to its rapid growth rate and hardiness to soil, it is tolerable of many different regions. Be it a temperate climate or one that is chillier, it can handle both warm and cold, including weather in between the extremes. It also can tolerate dry or desert areas because it doesn’t need excessive water to grow but can also withstand very wet conditions. This versatility means it can be successful in many different locations. • Hemp does not need additives such as pesticides, insecticides, or fungicides to be effective in growth. Since it is a weed, it naturally has its own herbicide, fertilizer, and pesticide. (Briggs) • Hemp produces significantly more biomass than the plants in competition with it, such as cornstalks, trees, kenaf, and others. Hemp produces four times, at least, more biomass and cellulose than the previously mentioned alternatives. In four months, for every acre planted, hemp has the capacity of producing 10 tons of biomass. This is through photosynthesis; energy from the sun is converted by hemp into cellulose and it does this at a faster rate than the other types plants do.

9. Products from hemp are all entirely recyclable, they biodegrade and in all aspects is hemp a resource that is reusable, whether in the form of pulp, cellulose, protein, fiber, biomass, or oil. • Hemp is an excellent sustainable option because of its versatility in uses. Growing hemp industrially could supply the United States with its energy needs in terms of power and fuel and be an alternative to current energy products. It can be an answer to the economic and environmental costs we are paying to burn petroleum. • It is an alternative to other natural resources that are being depleted by industry, such as deforestation of trees that are cut down and being used for building and paper. Trees are essential to our survival, as they provide for our well being and supply of oxygen. The infrastructure of trees provide life for insects, microbes, fungi, plants etc. They naturally help global warming because simply, there is more oxygen if there is more trees.

10. Cultivation of hemp could reduce our dependency on using wood. Anything made by wood or from wood can also be made using hemp. This includes paper. In the next 25 years, the demand of paper is predicted to gain by twice the amount it is now. Without all of our forest being clear-cut, or an alternative substitute, this demand won’t be met. The rate of deforestation could be reduced by half if hemp was employed again to make paper. For every four trees, annually, that is at least an acre of hemp. Hemp creates more cellulose than trees do, four times more at least. Wood pulp paper can only be recycled 3 times. Paper made from hemp can be reused 7 to 8 times, in comparison. • With landfills overfilling and garbage facilities reaching capacity, not to mention a littered world in general, plastic can be made from hemp, and that which is biodegradable. • It was put best when Henry Ford said, "Why use the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the fields?"

11. In Conclusion • hemp is a great sustainable option to meet our culture’s fuel and power dependency. Hemp can be produced domestically, is a renewable resource, one that biodegrades, is not dangerous to handle or store, can provide farmers and industry with increases economically, provide more jobs, is not conducive to global warming, does not contribute to sulfur pollution (acid rain) or pollute the environment, and is not harfmful to humans and other animals. If the U.S. government would support the industrialized growing of hemp it could seriously benefit the world.

12. Works Cited: • Blattner, J., & Bacigalupo, A. (2007). Using emotional intelligence to develop      executive leadership and team and organizational development.      Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59(3), 209-219.      doi:10.1037/1065-9293.59.3.209 • Bradbury, D. (2010, October) Scientists say it is high time for hemp-based biofuel. Business Green. Retrieved from • http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1869783/scientists-hemp-biofuel • Briggs, J. Hemphasis: Hemp as a Fuel and Energy Source Retrieved from http://www.hemphasis.net/Fuel-Energy/fuel.htm • Castleman, T. (2001,2006). Hemp Biomass for Energy. Fuel and Fiber Company • Newland, B. Hemphasis: Hemp helps detoxify and regenerate the soil Retrieved from http://www.hemphasis.net/Environment/environment.htm • Sica, G. (2008, January) Why is hemp off the biofuel menu? Environment Blog. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2008/jan/28/whyishempoffthebiofuelme • Winthgott, J. & Brennon, S. (2011). Environment: The Science Behind the Stories. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education Inc.

13. Pictures: • http://www.websophist.com/Hemp_UsesToon.jpg400MO.jpg • http://www.voteindustrialhemp.com/ • http://relegalize.info/hemp/10-reasons-for-relegalization.shtml • http://relegalize.info/hemp/10-reasons-for-relegalization.shtml • http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/03/14/something-old-something-renewed/hemp-bio-fuel/ • http://hempnebraska.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Hemp-Uses-Chart.jpg • http://truedemocracyparty.net/2011/12/industrial-hemp-education-in-3-min-hemp-for-victory-usda-promotional-film-for-american-farmers/ • http://hempbasics.com • http://irelandcannabisinformation.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/eco-friendly-hemp-seed-uses/