Most of the earliest works of art discovered today are in fact, ancient tools. People created things with care and love because they had to last and would ultimately be passed onto the next generation.
The industrial revolution eliminated the care and effort that went into making these earlier objects so that people could work faster and cheaper in the face of economic competition. The Industrial Revolution brought us modern economic theory that introduced us to the theory of externalities. Wendell Berry in his 1989 essay “Nature as a Measure” writes “for a long time now, we have understood ourselves as travelling toward some sort of industrial paradise, some new Eden conceived and constructed entirely by human ingenuity. And we have thought ourselves free to use and abuse nature in any way that might further this enterprise.” In other words, we have forgotten our place.
The “understanding” Berry speaks of comes directly from our belief and participation in modern economic principles. Berry continues and claims “we have bought unconditionally the economist line that competition and innovation would solve all problems, and that we would finally accomplish a technological end run around biological reality and the human condition.” What Berry is calling for in his essay is the recognition that nature and our environment are equal participants in all of our transactions – a partner that once deserved the same equity but now requires more because of previous neglect. For decades now, we have used nature to suit our needs without any regard for the externalities.
Perhaps one of the biggest disconnects we have today is in fashion. Most people have forgotten that their clothing and other textiles can be traced back to the farm; even more so, they have forgotten how the methods used to produce them impact the environment. According to a World Wildlife report, more than half the clothing in the world is made of cotton. Globally 2.4 percent of all farmland is planted in cotton, which uses twenty- four percent of the fertilizer, eleven percent of pesticides, and a quarter of the water consumed by agriculture annually. It is now estimated that less than half of the world’s cotton crop is of a genetically modified variety, meaning the pesticide number could increase significantly in the coming years. Today, your average cotton t-shirt has been treated with over a pound of pesticide and seven hundred gallons of water. Using Berry’s logic, this is a direct threat to our community and our survival that must be addressed.
It was in this spirit that I became involved in industrial hemp advocacy. You see, not only is the planet in the midst of an ecological crisis, but also America is in the middle of a farm crisis that is alarming and largely unknown. In the past five years, over one hundred thousand farms in this country have ceased production.
For those farmers still producing, expenses are up over thirty percent, while the value of production has risen by only about twenty- five percent. This means that even with higher prices at the farm gate, farmers are still losing money. In 2012, over half of Americas farmers lost money. In my home state of Kentucky, we lost ten thousand farms between 2007 and 2012. About six thousand of these were new and beginning farmers, while over half of Kentucky’s seventy seven thousand farmers lost money last year. In hemp farming, I saw an opportunity for farmers to produce higher value crops and reestablish some rural processing infrastructure.
One of my favorite quotes is taken from the writings of Roman Naturalist and Naval
commander Gaius Plinius Secundus. “Out of so small a seed springs a means of carrying the whole world to and fro”. It reminds me of how critical agriculture is to our existence. From a simple seed came the means to make the cordage that was converted into the sails and ropes that brought the first explorers to the Americas. Those ships opened up trade and ushered in a new era of mobility for people all over the world. Those sails brought our ancestors to this land, and later would feed the printing presses that would organize our first Militias and ultimately helped us declare our independence. Hemp literally built this nation and it could do it again. But it must be done responsibly and with care, as if we intended to hand it off to our children to use for future generations.
It is often heard in hemp circles that this crop “will save the planet” because of all the things we can accomplish with it. This plant can provide everything from a simple length of rope to the complex Nano technologies that will store our future energy– and that is exciting– but I fear we have forgotten where we came from and how we got here. A tool in the hand of a skilled craftsman becomes a weapon in the hand of the wrong person and the same is true in this scenario. I came to hemp for the same reason as most people: it presented an abundance of possibilities to solve some of the structural problems that we face as a planet, not to add another element to structures causing our problems. This is where I fear we are heading with this plant.
Let us not forget that this is a plant that helped build empires. The same sails that brought our founding fathers here also brought the slaves that built this nation. The canvas that covered the wagons brought the settlers westward on this continent, together with the weapons and soldiers that occupied and overthrew the natives who called this place home before us. Often it can be heard that if we switch all of the plastic bottles in the world to bio-based polymers like hemp, it will make us more sustainable. While this statement is accurate, it addresses only the input issue, not the structural problem.
Whatever we put the water in, it is still pulled from aquifers and shipped thousands of miles using carbon based inputs to get to you. The industrial hemp plant offers us many opportunities to change our inputs, but the path to its revival will depend solely upon human willingness to accept and pay the true costs of this life that we have purchased together. That will require change to the structural issues that threaten us all. The industrial hemp plant offers many opportunities for input change, but the path to hemp revival will depend solely upon human willingness to accept and pay the true costs for the lifestyles that we have acquired together, with the structural issues that may equally threaten us all.
Enhancing Demand for Industrial Hemp
Industrial hemp seems to finally be making headway, and while it won’t be an easy task for those charged with maximizing its growth, it is definitely an exciting time. Industrial hemp has been a hot topic for many years, but legalization and public opinion are now leaning in its favor, making research and product development possible. Many people have been waiting a long time for this opportunity to present itself, and many more are waiting to see how it unfolds.
The possibilities exist for industrial hemp to grow and scale in a number of ways, and while product developers and manufacturers will have an easier time with oil, paper, composites and just about anything other than with textiles, it can’t be ignored that textiles is the big one, meaning that there are huge opportunities within this sector for hemp, actually the product category for which it was originally best known.
The reason? The textile industry ranges from maker-space artisanal shops to vast industry complexes that globally serve thousands of end uses. Even if hemp is only viable for a micro percentage of these end uses, an initiative in this direction provides opportunities for volume and product exposure that make other products and markets pale by comparison. But there are entry barriers in every direction. And so if you don’t care about natural fibers or textiles, this probably isn’t the piece for you.
That said, HEMP activists, depending on their roots, see the industry’s potential from different perspectives. Some are growers, some are involved politically, and some are product implementers. But everyone participating wants to see industrial hemp maximized. They contribute time, expertise, and energy in different ways, but what they all have in common is that they believe they have “lightening in a bottle”, and they might be right.
Why hemp? Speaking with Mike Lewis, a Kentucky grower, he states “Farmers are hungry. The cost of production is up and the prices at the gate are down. Conventional Agriculture is literally starving the family farm that is forcing farmers to think outside the box and find things less conventional to support their bottom line. Industrial hemp certainly fits that bill and represents an opportunity for farmers to reinvest in the infrastructure that was consolidated away from the communities they produce in. In many ways, farmers are turning to hemp out of hope for the old economy of rural farm communities.” Looking at the industrial hemp industry as a textile technologist and part-time flax farmer, hemp has a lot of things going for it but it has issues to resolve.
Industrial hemp for textile end use refers to varieties of cannabis sativa that are cross-bred to achieve long, uniform, and strong textile fiber that is flexible enough to be spun into yarn. And yes, the plant must contain less than .3% psychoactive ingredients (THC), but truly, the textile industries only care about the yarn’s shape, size, cost and strength, and not necessarily in that order.
Industrial hemp is not a miracle. It is a bast fiber, meaning that the usable textile fiber is bundled in the stem like flax or jute, rather than from lint protrusions from the seed, such as cotton. Industrial hemp (Cannabis Sativa) is not related botanically to flax (Linum Usitatissimum), but to a textile technologist, they might as well be cousins. From harvesting forward, bast fibers require different processing practices and machinery than do seed hair fibers like cotton, for which the global industry is well set up. Due to volume, difficult processing will impact its marketing ability, at least for locally grown industrial hemp.
Roughly 90% of the short-staple spinning frames in the world are for cotton-based spinning systems, which include cotton yarn and any fiber that is to be blended with cotton. Included in this assortment is what is called “cottonized” hemp, referring to hemp fiber that is guillotine chopped to about 1.5”, and modified to compatibly spin with upland cotton. But blended or pure cottonized hemp will have a different hand, luster and texture than traditional long line hemp.
Competition
To provide a sense of reality and scale in market positioning, cotton last year produced over 22 million metric tons of fiber globally, flax about 320 thousand metric tons, and hemp weighed in at about 56 thousand metric tons. Both industrial hemp and flax are not on cotton’s radar simply because cotton has bigger problems to deal with, specifically polyester, which has reduced cotton’s market share of world fiber consumption to below 25% and increased polyester’s own share to over 52%. If industrial hemp becomes important enough, there is more to fear from synthetic fibers than there is from other natural fibers. Polyester can simulate the look and hand of hemp, including the natural inconsistencies and it can be done at a heart-breaking low price. Not perfectly, but enough for all but vigilant consumers. At the moment, polyester is focusing on larger markets.
That said, industrial hemp competes with flax and ramie and a few other cellulosic fibers in the textile market place. Hemp will compete to a lesser degree with locally farmed protein fiber (wool, cashmere, alpaca) in the fashion markets, since protein fibers have different properties. Hemp, like flax and cotton, will more than likely be used in developing blends that maximize the properties of both fibers. At the farm level, industrial hemp will compete with corn, soy, potatoes and what ever grows profitably in a given region. But in the product markets, if re-shoring is to remain part of the strategy, then there will be no greater competitor to hemp than hemp coming in from other parts of the world like China, Russia and Eastern Europe and other areas where the infrastructure is already in place and the price is low.
Hemp’s Properties
Industrial hemp is not the strongest fiber in the world as is sometimes claimed, and not even the strongest in the world of natural fibers. Flax in some cases is stronger than hemp, but it really doesn’t matter. Synthetic fibers like nylon will embarrass hemp or flax in a strength test, either tear or tensile, day or night, and the new generations of synthetic spider silk made from sugar, water, salts and yeast are coming on strong, promising strength beyond any fibers in existence. But who cares? How strong does your shirt have to be?
Sustainability
Industrial hemp will also not save the planet. As a low feeder – better than most competitive fibers – it still requires water and nourishment like every other living thing, and it is susceptible to some wilts and pests.
But industrial hemp scores high in overall sustainability, or at least it can depending on who is growing it. Hemp has a fairly low impact on the environment, grows well in a lot of places and conditions, provides food and fiber, and as a locally grown crop, has the ability to help alleviate rural poverty and provide farmers with a viable new product. It fits well with the local fiber theme, and can support artisan communities. Hemp’s profile in the market place is closely related to keeping that image.
Processing
Hemp and flax have some things in common, because they are both bast fibers. They are both relatively easy to grow, but harvesting, processing and spinning operations are different. Flax plants must be pulled from the ground by a special tractor or by hand to achieve the maximum usable fiber length, and to keep the ground as free and clear as possible from fusarium wilt which can cause a complete crop failure. Industrial hemp growers can cut the raw plant rather than pulling it, which is an advantage.
Every step in bast fiber processing is important, but most agree that successful retting is critical. Retting prepares the harvested fiber for the successful removal of the fiber from the bark (shives) by encouraging microbial action to “rot” the bark. Removing the bark from the fiber, sometimes called decortication, is really a three-stage process that includes retting, breaking, and scutching. It entails a lot of crushing with gears and rollers to enable the shive to fall off and separate from the fiber.
Modifying the hand (how it feels) is critical to hemp– as well as flax– because both fibers are naturally scratchy and need softening. Softening of fibers is done by more gears and rollers, and in some countries even by slamming thick skeins against doorways and walls. Softening can also be achieved chemically, and so it should not be assumed that it is organically grown and processed unless the product is certified.
Certification
Like every new product, the certification organizations will have their role. They will create standards to ensure fiber and product quality, apply existing test criteria from other fibers to make sure it is what it says it is, and then the organizations will crash into each other when attempting to harmonize these certifications.
Moving Forward
And so what are the options available to those who wish to grow, or grow with, industrial hemp? Hemp, like flax and some other specialty fibers, has the ability to develop a portion of its positioning as “heirloom quality”. Combining good design, high quality fabrication, and interesting design can achieve this and can raise hemp to luxury positioning. This is the smallest part of the market, but is appropriate for hemp’s current production capability. This low volume and high profit market segment can create the umbrella for building brands and will enable other market levels to flourish over time.
Local Fiber: Circular Farm to Fashion
Industrial hemp is showing up in the farm-to-fashion movement, which is a logical place to develop the high end of the market, especially for “one of a kind” or “few of a kind” products. The farm-to- table model that has been so successful for farms and restaurants has taken root in farm-to-fashion programs. Fashion circles are forming all over the country, usually as an extension of the textile maker-space community. These initiatives usually include groups of artisans who cooperate to combine their skills and activities, creating communal value in textile based products.
The consortium usually includes a farm that produces natural fibers (cellulosic or protein) and possibly natural dyes. Communities of hand spinners and weavers or knitters add a burst of creativity not usually found in the mass markets, and their connection to the market through fashion designers and micro brands is critical. The major textile and design schools are involved, offering laboratory facilities, industry connections, structure, talent and credibility. If you wish to participate in a fashion circle, a College or University is a good place to start. Creating heirloom quality and high-end pieces occurs there.
Regional Study Groups
The New England Flax and Linen Study Group is an example of regional artisans who pool their talents and provide the expertise needed to create unique flax fabrics. There are groups like these who specialize in industrial hemp and they can be found in former industrial hemp producing regions or by way of the local museums in those regions.
The participants in these regional study groups come from all walks of life. They are re-enactors, educators, hobbyists, spinners and weavers. High volume is not expected at this level of the market, but quality and design ability is. While hand spinning is not the answer to the overall industrial hemp strategy, it is the critical transition point to develop textile applications. Hand spinners will bridge the gap from farm to fabric, and build the showcase needed for capital investment. According to NEFLSG’s Lisa Bertoldi, “we find that there is an increase in interest in locally sourced, locally produced textiles. Beyond that, we see that groups of like-minded people are banding together to do the work: to make usable household textiles and garments from local sources. We are seeing this in wool, which is perhaps the easiest fiber with which to see the process through, and increasingly in plant fibers namely cotton, hemp and flax.”
Improved Mechanization Prototype fiber processing equipment is currently being designed and manufactured and is already making its debut. This means that retted fiber can be turned into yarn mechanically, and that is a major development. Taproot Farms in Nova Scotia is in the final stages of offering pilot-sized, but mechanized, breaking, carding, hackling and spinning equipment. It works for nettles, it works for flax, and according to Taproot, the new equipment, with some modification, should work for hemp as well. Speaking with Patricia Bishop, the Owner of Taproot Farms and a true believer, “we are excited by the interest in how our machines will work to process hemp, flax and nettles.
We are eager to test with hemp and nettle in the coming weeks”. This is a tremendous step for industrial hemp, flax, and a whole series of natural alternative fibers as it enables limited but mechanized yarn production. The next step would be for small farms to organize into cooperatives, much like cotton growers do with cotton gins, offering the ability to process fibers regionally while generating modest volume. Enough volume could be generated to penetrate high-end markets with limited yardage, like decorative interiors, and create a vehicle for maker-space creativity to flourish that will attract additional markets.
Ways of Scaling Up
Scaling up is directly related to how much of the manufacturing process is to be done domestically. Knowing that the infrastructure exists outside of the U.S. to produce hemp yarn, fabric, and products provides an automatic pricing advantage to those countries with inexpensive labor. While there is some fabric-forming (knitting and weaving) capacity in the U.S., there is limited staple yarn spinning capacity available in general, but virtually no mechanized long staple bast spinning capacity. This brings forth the decision of whether or not to send raw hemp to countries to perform contract processing, which only makes sense for initial development.
The way forward is to work with countries and regions that can produce the products efficiently for now to help build the markets domestically. Since the production in the U.S. (both growing and processing) can only support low volume, then creating a low volume, high margin business makes a lot of sense. If low cost offshore producers can help build the market to support offerings and provide proof that the industry is attractive to investors, so much the better. As comes the equipment, so will come the market.
And so, industrial hemp has exciting and interesting times ahead for those who plan to participate. For farmers who believe in industrial hemp for textiles, they are at least partially in the fashion business, and for designers and merchandisers, they are partially in farming. And all are involved with textile fiber processing, because it will take that kind of effort and stamina.
By Mike Lewis. This story originally appeared in New Observations
We have a responsibility to provide for at least 7 generations ahead. Phytoremediation is a tool we can use to achieve that goal.
How do we know that phytoremediation works to help us heal our environmental crisis? Below are some links, videos, books and experts on phytoremediation as a tool to solve many pollution problems, CO2 induced climate change, nuclear plants and waste, oil, lead, heavy metals and many more.
“In 1998, Phytotech, along with Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP) and the Ukraine’s Institute of Bast Crops, planted industrial hemp, Cannabis sp., for the purpose of removing contaminants near the Chernobyl site. Cannabis is in the Cannabidaceae family and is valuable for its fiber, which is used in ropes and other products. This industrial variety of hemp, incidentally, has only trace amounts of THC, the chemical that produces the “high” in a plant of the same genus commonly known as marijuana.”
“Hemp and cesium accumulation • A study done in 2005 by Vandenhove and He’s tested hemp’s ability to uptake of radiocesium. – Sandy soils used to emulate Chernobyl conditions – Used a lysimeter and pots in greenhouse. • Soil was contaminated with approx. 326 kBq/kg in pots and 13.0 kBq/kg in the lysimeter and harvested after 186/136 days. • Chernobyl accident was contaminated at 1480 kBq/m^2”
“Hemp Cleans is currently supporting research into development of cultivars which will be ideally suited to Colorado’s climate. The seed stock developed as a result of this research will be used for the purposes of expanding the phytoremediation pilot project to include evaluations of cultivation in fire-scorched alpine soils and saline agricultural environments.”
“Overall, phytoremediation has great potential for cleaning up toxic metals, pesticides, solvents, gasoline, and explosives. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 30,000 sites in the United States alone require hazardous waste treatment. Restoring these areas and their soil, as well as disposing of the wastes, are costly projects, but the costs are expected to be reduced drastically if plants provide the phytoremediation results everyone is hoping for.”
“We all know that hemp was helpful in cleaning up the toxins around Chernobyl, and with a bit of planning by a mastermind alliance, can be used to clean up the environmental mess again.
An immediate end to hemp prohibition will allow us to use this biomass champion in a hemp phytoremediation program.
“Phytoremediation can be defined as the decontamination of soil, sediment or water using plant growth. Industrial hemp, Cannabis sativa L., is renowned for its ability to grow rapidly. In one growing season, fibre hemp can yield 250 to 400 plants per square metre, with each plant reaching up to 5 metres in height. As a result, hemp has been identified as a plant with the potential to serve as a phytoremediator.”
The same way hemp was used to clean up the toxins around Chernobyl, we should be using hemp to clean up the toxins from the Gulf of Mexico “oil spill” (more like a volcano) and other environmental crisis situations.
The McGraw-Hill Companies reported in 2000 “Overall, phytoremediation has great potential for cleaning up toxic metals, pesticides, solvents, gasoline, and explosives.”
“Why Use Phytoremediation? EPA uses phytoremediation for many reasons. It takes advantage of natural plant processes and requires less equipment and labor than other methods since plants do most of the work. Also, the site can be cleaned up without digging up and hauling soil or pumping groundwater, which saves energy. Trees and smaller plants used in phytoremediation help control soil erosion, make a site more attractive, reduce noise, and improve surrounding air quality. Phytoremediation has been successfully used at many sites, including at least 10 Superfund sites across the country”
“In the late 1990s industrial hemp was tested at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine to help heal the soil. Because of the quick rate in which it grows, up to 250 to 400 plants (15t in height) per square meter, industrial hemp showed it could clean the land of contaminated pollutants like sewer sludge, fly ash, and other metals. In 1989, three years after the explosion, the Soviet government asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to assess the radiological and health situation in the area around the power plant. Toxic metals and radioactive emissions were contaminating the dirt, plants, and animals. Iodine, cesium-137, strontium, and plutonium were among some of the harmful toxins infesting nearly everything in the surrounding area.
A soil cleanup method was proposed using green plants to remove the toxins from the soil in a technique called phytoremediation. This was the term created by Dr. Ilya Raskin of Rutgers University. He was one of the original members of the team who was asked to examine food safety at the Chernobyl site. Phytoremediation is a process that takes advantage of the fact that green plants can extract and concentrate certain elements within their ecosystem. Some plants can grow in metal-laden soils, extract certain metals through their roots, and accumulate them in their tissues without being damaged. In this way, pollutants are either removed from the soil and groundwater or rendered harmless. This complex filtering system would prove to be effective in sucking out pollutants and leaving only the natural, fresh, soil. Much like a maggot might be used to clean a wound.
There are a handful of scientists, researchers, and companies funding efforts to test the different varieties of plants that can be used in this process to clean polluted soils, and make no mistake, industrial hemp is at the forefront.”
“As a proven, valuable tool in the fight to repair human-inflicted damage to our soils and ecosystems, hemp could potentially benefit hundreds of thousands of sites across the globe—it is estimated that in the USA alone there are 30,000 sites requiring remediation. As is so often the case, US restrictions on hemp cultivation preclude any large-scale operations from being implemented, and the contaminated sites are largely left unremediated, through lack of both funding and interest on the part of the government.”
[ The above link is down post Donald destroy the EPA Trump – here’s the page of phytoremediation papers as a result of a general search – http://www.usgs.gov/search/node/phytoremediation ]
Though not hemp specific it’s USGS take on phytoremediation
“Phytoremediation – “Phytoremediation uses plants to clean up pollution in the environment. Plants can help clean up many kinds of pollution including metals, pesticides, explosives, and oil. The plants also help prevent wind, rain, and groundwater from carrying pollution away from sites to other areas. Phytoremediation works best at sites with low to medium amounts of pollution. Plants remove harmful chemicals from the ground when their roots take in water and nutrients from polluted soil, streams, and groundwater … Once inside the plant, chemicals can be stored in the roots, stems, or leaves; changed into less harmful chemicals within the plant; or changed into gases that are released into the air as the plant transpires (breathes).” – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2001″
Abstract: “Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was used to examine its capability as a renewable resource to decontaminate heavy metal polluted soils. The influence of heavy metals on the fibre quality was of special interest. Determination of heavy metal content was carried out by means of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Four different parts of the plant were examined: seeds, leaves, fibres and hurds. In each case, the concentration relation was Ni and Pb and Cd [ Notation: Ni – Nickel greater than Pb – Lead, greater than Cd – Cadmium]. However, the heavy metal accumulation in the different parts of the plant was extremely different. All parts of hemp plants contain heavy metals and this is why their use as a commercially utilisable plant material is limited.
We found that the highest concentrations of all examined metals were accumulated in the leaves. In this field trial, hemp showed a phytoremediation potential of 126 g Cd (ha vegetation period)−1. We tested the fibre quality by measuring the pure fibre content of the stems and the fibre properties after mechanical separation. In addition, the fibre fineness was examined using airflow systems and image analysis. The strength was measured by testing single fibre bundles with a free clamping distance of 3.2 mm using a universal testing device. Finally, we compared the results from the stems and fibres from trials on heavy metal polluted ground with hemp stems and fibres from non-polluted ground. Since there was no comparable unpolluted area near the polluted one, reference values were taken from an area quite far away and subsequently with a different soil composition and also exposure to different meteorological conditions. Thus, the observed differences are only partially caused by the heavy metal contamination.”
We’re talking hemp, thistle, sunflowers and the ever powerful mushrooms, etc. to demonstrate how phytoremediation works, in this page in the context of absorbing heavy metals from the soil.
“The Use of Phytoremediation for Hydraulic Control of Contaminants
Plants can act as hydraulic pumps when their roots reach down toward the water table and establish a dense root mass that takes up large quantities of water. Poplar trees, for example, can transpire between 50 and 300 gallons of water per day out of the ground. The water consumption by the plants decreases the tendency of surface contaminants to move towards groundwater and into drinking water. The use of plants to rapidly uptake large volumes of water to contain or control the migration of subsurface water is known as hydraulic control. There are several applications that use plants for this purpose, such as riparian corridors/buffer strips and vegetative caps.”
“For Pb [lead], a major soil contaminant, no hyperaccumulator species has been identified. However, several species, such as hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), nodding thistle (Carduus nutans), and Asiatic dayflower (Commelina communis), were shown to have superior Pb accumulating properties (Berti and Cunningham, 1993). Practices have been developed to increase the potential of common nonaccumulator plants for Pb phytoextraction. Particularly, the uptake-inducing properties of synthetic chelates open the possibility of using high biomass producing crops for Pb phytoextraction. Under chelate-induced conditions, maize (Huang and Cunningham, 1996) and Indian mustard (Blaylock et al., 1997) have been successfully used to remove Pb from solution culture and contaminated soil, respectively. Physical characteristics of soil contamination are also important for the selection of remediating plants. For example, for the remediation of surface-contaminated soils, shallow rooted species would be appropriate to use, whereas deep-rooted plants would be the choice for more profound contamination. ”
“Soil pollution caused by heavy metals is one of the major problems throughout the world. To maintain a safe and healthy environment for human beings, there is a dire need to identify hyperaccumulator plants and the underlying genes involved in heavy metals stress tolerance and accumulation. The goal of this research is to explore the potential of hemp as a decontaminator of heavy metals by identifying the two important heavy metals responsive genes, glutathione-disulfidereductase (GSR) and phospholipase D-α (PLDα).
The results revealed heavy metals accumulation; Cu (1530 mg kg−1), Cd (151 mg kg−1), and Ni (123 mg kg−1) in hemp plants’ leaves collected from the contaminated site. This shows the ability of the hemp plant to tolerate heavy metals, perhaps due to the presence of stress tolerance genes. In this study, partial sequences of putative GSR (215 bp) and PLDα (517 bp) genes were identified, responsive to heavy metals stress in hemp leaves. Both genes exhibited 40–60% sequence identity to previously reported genes from other plant species. Glutathione binding residues and conserved arginine residues were found identical in a putative GSR gene to those of other plant species, while the phospholipids binding domain and catalytic domain were found in the PLDα gene.
These results will help to improve our understanding about the phytoremediation potential of hemp as well as in manipulating GSR and PLDα genes in breeding programs to produce transgenic heavy-metals-tolerant varieties.”
“Industrial hemp cultivars, Zolo-11, USO-31 and Zolo-15, were tested for their ability to accumulate U and Pb in the above-ground biomass. Plants were grown in soils with an average content of U 336_1 mg/kg (OH), Pb 911_53 mg/kg (NJ), or Pb 571_86 mg/ (farm soil). Results demonstrated that hemp is potentially a good phytoremediation crop. This fast growing, high biomass crop grew normally in the Pb- or U-contaminated soil. Industrial hemp responded positively to Phytotech’s amendments and accumulated up to 5,447 mg/kg Pb and up to 560 mg/kg U from the soils that contained just 571 mg/kg Pb and 336 mg/kg U respectively. Cultivars of industrial hemp significantly differ in the ability to accumulate Pb and U, hence extensive screening may produce cultivars with better phytoremediation capacity.”
“Radiation Levels of the Bridgeton landfill will be controllable under certain circumstances as it relates to surface and subsurface soil properties.
Specifically the surface of the existing soil to a depth of 8 feet. This is also the area and depth of the soil contaminates that are causing all the health issues associated with nuclear waste that are plaguing the residents of the Bridgeton and Cold Water Creek region.”
“Daniel (Niels) van der Lelie, PhD, microbial ecology pioneer, is the senior director of the Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology at RTI International. Before joining RTI, van der Lelie spent nine years at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he researched the development of new genomic tools to study the functioning of microorganisms and apply those findings to real-world problems such as pollution cleanup, biofuels as alternative energy, and the interactions between plants and their associated microorganisms.
Prior to Brookhaven, he worked as a research scientist at Transgène (Strasbourg), the Study Center for Nuclear Energy, and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research. Van der Lelie has written more than 130 publications and lectured nationally and internationally. He serves on the editorial boards for the International Journal of Phytoremediation and Microbial Biotechnology, and is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, Society for Industrial Microbiology, and International Phytotechnology Society.”
“Safety Recommendations • Longer vertical steel casing • Complete cement bond between casing and well along entire well depth • Proper encasement for the storage/disposal of drilling waste, flow-back fluids and produced water • Treatment for soil and ground water at polluted sites – Phytoremediation and bioremediation of organic pollutants – Modeling movement in groundwater • Establish federal and world law regarding the safe practices for the use of fracking • Disclosure of fracking fluid”
“REMEDIATION Once the land has been prepared for planting a wider variety of remediation plants may be grown to deal with the contamination. Various different processes occur within the plants to deal with the contaminants, and specific plants must be selected to appropriately deal with the various types of contamination.
Hemp’s a highly versatile crop which may be used in the phytoremediation process. The plants are not affected by pests so no pesticides are required, and they grow extremely fast smothering any competing weeds. In addition to the employment generated during the remediation process the hemp may also be harvested and used to generate new long term industries. The fibre yielded may be used for textiles, paper or as a low embodied energy building material and therefore employment opportunities can be created in the production, processing and manufacture of hemp based products such as housing, clothing and paper. The spin-off industries created should become economically sustainable helping to regenerate the wider area. Hemp branded products may command a premium using eco-friendly marketing to inflate their value and therefore ensure a position in the marketplace.”
Conclusions 1. The addition of anaerobic sewage sludge in high doses to pot experiments increased height one and a half and weight two-sevenfold of hemp. 2. At the conditions of heavy metals very low concentrations in the substratum, as at presented experiment the most heavy metals are [accumulated] in roots. The sorption of zinc and nickel at the greatest amount took place by root, copper at the greatest amount was accumulated in leaf. 3. The acquired results showed that it is advisable to dewater mesophilic anaerobic sewage sludge by fibrous hemp growing. The concentrations of Zn – 30 mg/dm3 , Cu – 5.6 mg/dm3 and Ni – 2.5 mg/dm3 mg/dm3 can be removed from soil-sludge substratum by fibrous hemp growing and did not cause a reduction of hemp height and weight.
“Abstract: Natural remediation is a general term that includes any technology or strategy that takes advantage of natural processes to restore a contaminated media to a condition that is protective of human health and the environment. Natural remediation techniques are often passive and minimally disruptive to the environment. They are generally implemented in conjunction with traditional remedial solutions for source control (i.e., capping, stabilization, removal, soil vapor extraction, etc.). Natural remediation techniques being employed at Savannah River Site (SRS) include enhanced bio-remediation, monitored natural attenuation, and phytoremediation.
Enhanced bio-remediation involves making nutrients available and conditions favorable for microbial growth. With proper precautions and feeding, the naturally existing microbes flourish and consume the contaminants. Case studies of enhanced bio-remediation include surface soils contaminated with PCBs and pesticides, and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) contamination in both the vadose zone and groundwater.
Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) has been selected as the preferred alternative for groundwater clean up at several SRS waste units. Successful implementation of MNA has been based on demonstration that sources have been controlled, groundwater modeling that indicates that plumes will not expand or reach surface water discharge points at levels that exceed regulatory limits, and continued monitoring.
Phytoremediation is being successfully implemented at one SRS waste unit and considered for others. Phytoremediation involves using plants and vegetation to uptake or break down contaminants in groundwater or soils. Case studies at SRS include managing groundwater plumes of tritium and VOCs with pine trees that are native to the area. Significant decreases in tritium discharge to a site stream have been realized in one phytoremediation project. Studies of other vegetation types, methods of application, and other target contaminants are underway.”
This information is only a selection of the material that needs to be studied of the many ways hemp can help us reverse pollution and it’s effect of climate change and other environmental impacts.
Check out this blog for more information on how and why we must implement the hemp solution. Thank you for reading and sharing this material.
For the first time since Cannabis was included in the Single Convention drug treaty, the scheduling status of Cannabis within International law is being updated. The World Health Organization (WHO), the only agency mandated to do so, has officially assessed all available evidence and is issuing scientific recommendations on the therapeutic value and harms related to Cannabis sativa L.
The very positive outcome clearly acknowledges medical applications of Cannabis and cannabinoids, re-integrates them into pharmacopeias, balances harms, and de facto repeals the WHO position from 1954 according to which “there should be efforts towards the abolition of cannabis from all legitimate medical practice.”
Such a move is a major breakthrough in international Cannabis policy, and a clear victory of evidence over politics. Policies will be affected globally and reform inspired at the national level. Many countries rely on the Treaty’s schedules: changes will affect them directly. Countries that have their own schedules will be eased in their reforms. Also, other international bodies such as the INCB (International Narcotics Control Board) will now provide guidance to countries, and monitor access and availability of Cannabis and cannabinoids in our health systems globally. Their next report expected in February will give insights on their new position.
53 UN countries now have to approve these WHO recommendations, thus amending the Convention’s schedules if the simple majority vote is positive. Initially planned for March 2019, it is entirely possible that the 2-months delay in the publication of the results postpones the vote until March 2020.
FAAAT think & do tank has been a driving force throughout this process and has served as a watchdog to ensure the independence, objectivity, and comprehensiveness of the assessment.
WHO has shown great resolve in delivering these strong recommendations: they now need to be understood, respected and implemented.
This international scheduling proposed by WHO provides a highly simplified and normalized international control as well as an increased possibility for countries to provide legal and safe access for medical use and research in a pragmatic, coherent, and rights-enhancing manner. This un-exceptionality of Cannabis should allow other UN programs to get more involved with Cannabis and cannabinoids.
Our webpage compiling 5 years of work and monitoring of the process:www.faaat.net/cannabis
Our statements to the ECDD39, ECDD40 and ECDD41 (1, 2, 3).
Our report outlining the history and details of Cannabis scheduling in the Treaties.
Recommendations are attached below or available at this link.
On October 21, “Before the Flood” was released to help spread awareness of the ‘dangers of climate change’ and was spearheaded by Leonardo DiCaprio who is the United Nation’s “Messenger of Peace” in relation to Climate Change.
The documentary follows the actor around the world illustrating how climate change is already showing symptoms on coastal cities and how certain industries are responsible for the accelerated pace of the destruction of our environment.
While you might believe in climate change or not, is besides the point. One thing that everyone can agree on is that our model of consumption and our habits of disposal requires a gigantic makeover because in laymen’s terms; “We’re fucking up the environment”.
If we reach the pinnacle of our environmental-fuckery, there will be severe consequences for all of us, regardless of race, religion, and geographical location.
While the documentary did outline a few things we could do to prevent an environmental death scenario,it failed (in my opinion) to address some of the most viable ways we could combat the erosion of our ecosystem.
Causing Factors of Environmental Decline
Depending on who you talk to, there are many people to “blame” for the current state of our environment. However, one of the clear culprits of this change falls heavily on the “Oil industry” who have been responsible for countless spills and emission of carbon around the world for nearly a century.
Secondly, the average consumer also takes up a portion of the “blame” what with driving their cars, consuming plastic products and discarding their waste without consideration on where it ends up.
However, one of the major causing factors of environmental damages that was NOT mentioned in the documentary is war. War and maintaining the war machine has long been a plague on our earth. The United States, with the biggest military force on the planet is largely ignored by climate activists despite the fact that the US military is one of the biggest polluters in the world.
At the outset of the Iraq war in March 2003, the Army estimated it would need more than 40 million gallons of gasoline for three weeks of combat, exceeding the total quantity used by all Allied forces in the four years of World War 1.
Not to mention that nearly half of the entire US budget goes to…you guessed it…WAR! And what are we fighting for? While the US government would like to convince the people that they are fighting for “peace, security and freedom”, following the money reveals another truth.
The US is largely fighting in the Middle East for Oil, Heroin and expanding their strategic military holdings on the world. The War on Terror is merely a smokescreen to maintain the illusion of military actions in the Middle East. And all of these actions cause an unmeasurable negative effect on our environment.
Other contributing factors to the decline of the environment include, mass production of livestock, the burning of forests for “palm oil” and of course the use of outdated energy methods.
So while I’m painting a dismal picture here, is there anything we can do about it?
Hemp the Fucking World!
I have said for a long time now that “Hemp is the Medical Cannabis for Earth”. It alarms me that climate activists aren’t jumping on the Hemp Train as a viable solution for cutting down our carbon emissions, stopping deforestation and creating environmentally sound industry that could reverse the damage we have already done.
Here’s a snippet of what hemp can achieve if we simply allowed it be utilized to its full potential. This is from HempBenefits.org:
Hemp is so Much Better for the Environment:
It replaces trees as the source of raw material for wood and paper, thereby conserving forests. Trees take years to grow, while a crop of hemp can be grown in a few months. Only one acre of hemp can produce as much paper annually as 4 acres of trees.
When burning hemp as a fuel, carbon dioxide is released into the air, but this is absorbed by the next crop, which can be harvested 120 days after planting. This quick growth avoids the build-up of carbon dioxide. Also, hemp is a very leafy plant and thus contributes a high level of oxygen to the atmosphere during its growth; between 20 and 40%. This makes up for the loss of oxygen when it is burnt as a fuel, which in turn, reduces unwanted effects of global warming, acid rain and the depletion in the ozone layer on the environment.
Air pollution is reduced since hemp is naturally resistant to pests and does not need pesticides and herbicides to be sprayed. Very little fertilizers are required, since it’s abundant leaves fall into the soil and release the required nutrients and minerals, thereby creating better soil tilth. Cotton and flax are known to consume 50% of all pesticides; hemp replaces cotton as a raw material in the manufacturing of paper and cloth, and flax fiber or seed for animal feed, animal bedding and paper.
Soil enrichment: The hemp crop grows dense and vigorously. Sunlight cannot penetrate the plants to reach the ground, and this means the crop is normally free of weeds. Its deep roots use ground water and reduce its salinity. Also, erosion of topsoil is limited, thereby reducing water pollution. The roots give nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil. After the harvest, this soil makes excellent compost amendments for other plants, and hemp cultivation can follow the rotation of agriculture with wheat or soybean. In fact, the same soil can be used to grow hemp for many years, without losing its high quality. The hemp plant absorbs toxic metals emitted by nuclear plants into the soil, such as copper, cadmium, lead and mercury.
Fabrics made of hemp do not have any chemical residue, and is therefore safer for consumers. Even if the fabric contains only 50% hemp, it can keep the UV rays of the sun from harming the skin underneath.
Conclusion
If you’re truly serious about climate change and environmental protection, you should be a staunch advocate of hemp. Along with moving towards renewable energy sources and reducing the war machine, we do stand a chance to reduce the emission of carbon into the environment and could reverse a lot of the damage we have already done.
In fact, Tesla predicts that we only need 100 Gigawatt factories (solar factories) to supply energy to the entire world. Therefore, instead of building that Pipeline in North Dakota, we could simply create solar farms and completely step out of the Oil game forever.
The point is, we have solutions…but waiting for the government to EVER do anything significant about it is like waiting for Gary Coleman to grow to six feet in length…it ain’t gonna happen.
Take charge, make change…stop waiting and force the hand of the government. It’s time we realize that to fix these problems will come down to us. So start advocating Hemp and push for reforms and STOP buying from brands that proliferate the current system of destruction.
Hemp for Victory is a black-and-white United States government film made during World War II and released in 1942, explaining the uses of hemp, encouraging farmers to grow as much as possible. During World War II, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was lifted briefly to allow for hemp fiber production to create ropes for the U.S. Navy but after the war hemp reverted to its de facto illegal status.
The film was made to encourage farmers to grow hemp for the war effort because other industrial fibers, often imported from overseas, were in short supply. The film shows a history of hemp and hemp products, how hemp is grown, and how hemp is processed into rope, cloth, cordage and other products.
Before 1989, the film was relatively unknown. The United States government denied ever having made such a film. The United States Department of Agriculture library and the Library of Congress told all interested parties that no such movie was made by the USDA or any branch of the U.S. government.
In 2008 efforts were made to make a sequel of the movie by UK-based production houses as a series of short films. It was developed as a three film series of 60 minutes each.
