Hemp for the Planet

“Cannabis is the only known plants that can be grown from the equator to the Arctic circle, and to the Antarctic circle; from the mountains to the valleys, from the oceans to the plains, including arid lands and everywhere in between. Cannabis is the healthiest plant for the ground out of the 300,000 known species and the millions and millions of subspecies of plants on earth because it has a root system that grows 10 to 12 inches in 30 days compared to one inch for rye, barley, grass etc. The roots penetrate up to six to ten foot deep, pulverising the soil and making it arable. After harvest it leaves a root system that is mulched into the ground, revitalising the land and making it live once again.”

Jack Herer – The Emperor Wears No Clothes

Given the right conditions Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) can grow over 5 meters tall. It has an impressive long tap root that can grow 10-12” in 30 days and 6’ to 10’ in total. This is, as is mentioned in the quote from Jack Herer above why this plant is such a good crop for soil management. These long tap roots help to break down the soil and in turn make nutrients more available to proceeding crops and as well as improving the soils structure and tilth. This can be extremely important for flood prone areas as the plants will take up the extra water and maintain the soil structure minimising run off or land slides.

Hemp (with its many varieties) can be grown sustainably and environmentally friendly almost anywhere on the planet. Unlike many other fibre and oilseed crops (like cotton) hemp can grow without the use of herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilizers (approximately 50% of all chemicals used in American agriculture today are used in cotton growing). It also only uses 20% of the amount of water as that of cotton and is one of the best converts of CO₂ to oxygen in the plant kingdom. Hemp produces the same amount of CO₂ when burned as a fuel as is absorbed during its growing cycle, thus making it completely carbon neutral.

In the production of paper from tree pulp, sulphur based acids and dioxins (that in turn create chlorine bleach) are used. These fertilizers, pesticides, dioxins and chlorine (as run-off) add to soil degradation/water pollution and in the US this agricultural pollution accounts for more pollution than all municipal and industrial sources combined.

Hemp paper is far superior to wood pulp paper in quality and is up to 80 times more recyclable (not to mention 1 acre of hemp produces that same amount of pulp as 4 acres of trees). Hemp also produces about 2 to 3 times as much fibre compared to cotton with the exact same applications, again also being of a higher quality (lasting up to 10 times as long as cotton).

Hemp also has the ability to repair depleted topsoil and the effects of erosion with its strong root systems.

“Hemp improves the physical condition of the soil, destroys weeds and, when cleaned on the same land where it has grown, returns most of the fertilizing elements used during the growing season. This self-fertilization by its own leafy matter, along with crop rotation, meets most of its fertilizer needs.”

Chris Conrad – Hemp, Lifeline to the Future: The Unexpected Answer for Our Environmental and Economic Recovery

Lastly hemp is also known as an effective phyto-remediative plant (meaning it has the ability to decontaminate soils) and was used in the 90’s at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster to reduce soil toxicity by removing heavy metals such as strontium, plutonium, cadmium, chromium and nickel.

So not only can this plant be grown anywhere around the world it also has a huge positive environmental impact. It has the ability to repair depleted top soils and the effects of erosion. It is one of the best converts of CO₂ to oxygen in the plant kingdom due to its large biomass. When cleaned on the land where it was grown it returns most of its fertilising requirements and is naturally resistant to many pests so doesn’t need huge inputs of fertilisers or pesticides.

When we consider almost every product we use in our daily lives – the fuel in our cars, the energy needed to power our homes, the clothes on our backs, the food in our cupboards and the many paper and plastic products used everyday – it is incredible that a plant can produce the majority of these necessities. It does this at the same time as actually preventing unfathomable environmental destruction and pollution associated with the current products that hemp would replace.

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