Presedential Debate was on Hemp Ground
Oct 16, 2008 Facts
Last night’s presidential debate was the third and final didn’t attract as much attention as the previous did. As MarketWatch notes, ratings were down 8% from the last one. One aspect of the debate that went completely unnoticed, however, was the history of its locations.
Last night’s presidential debate was held at Hofstra University, which is located in Hempstead, New York, a town whose name isn’t all that incidental. As the Cannabis TV Vlog points out, this is:
where just a few generations ago, huge fields of Cannabis Hemp waved in the wind. Especially important during WW2, when the military contracted for hemp to make parachute webbing, rope and canvas, industrial hemp had been established as an essential crop in Hempstead since Colonial times.
Although the blog is focused more on marijuana than industrial hemp, the post carries on into an overview of all the ways in which industrial hemp can solve many of our economic and environmental problems, including some recent news items that are noteworthy. Cannabis TV also has a YouTube channel which might be of interest. Again, much of the content there is also more geared toward marijuana decriminalization rather than industrial hemp, but there are still a few clips worth viewing.
And here’s a map of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York,and the surrounding area.
Tags: hempstead, industrial hemp, mccain, new york, obama, politics, presidential debate, WW II
Neraska Senate Hopeful for Hemp
Oct 6, 2008 News
As three Nebraska senate hopefuls discussed their views on ethanol as a renewable energy sources last week, Nebraska Greeen Party candidate, Steve Larrick, went on the record as seeing a great amount potential in hemp. As the Beatrice Daily Sun reports:
Larrick went to a more “green” side of the debate. He said the best thing to do is look at the options for cellulosic ethanol.
Cellulosic ethanol is using the corn waste products to make ethanol, instead of the corn itself. Many believe this could lessen the higher cost of corn food products. Others believe that those waste products are important to make top soil for the next year’s crop.
An issue Larrick will fight for is getting the ban on industrial hemp lifted. Unlike medicinal marijuana, industrial hemp has a low THC level, meaning that the drug effects are minimal.
Larrick said that Canada and countries in Europe use industrial hemp to make ethanol and their production has increased 300 percent in the past few years.
“We need to invest in truly renewable energy,” he said. “We need to get our young people knowledgeable about truly renewable energy sources.”
Hemp seems like a preferable source of biofuel because it grows quickly and is not a food crop. Using corn for biofuel production , for example, cuts into food supplies and drives the price of food up even higher.
Furthermore, not only can hemp reduce emissions when used as a biofuel, it can reverse them while it is being cultivated. An acre of hemp can yield 500 gallons of gasoline, and while growing can remove tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some of this carbon dioxide is then deposited in the ground, where it increases soil fertility and no longer contributes to global warming.
Tags: bio diesel, biofuel, energy, politics, Steve Larrick
.jpg)
