Finding Sustainable Wood Alternatives
When your job is to air the dirty laundry of the world’s worst loggers, you get asked a lot about alternatives to wood. There are, of course, many.
This week, the California State Assembly (that’s a legislature to all you non-Californians) considers one of the most economically and ecologically promising of those alternatives–Hemp. Sponsored by San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (AB1147) would lift state ban on production of Hemp through a licensing program for farmers interested in growing the product.
Bi-partisan sponsors of the bill are expecting a close vote on the floor next week. If you live in California and haven’t weighed in yet, be sure to send a letter to your Assembly Member today.
Hemp, of course, has been around for some time. From around 1900 to 1920 hemp was grown as a commercial crop in California, providing a more sustainable source of fiber for paper, industrial oils, textiles and a host of other products. In fact, hemp is twice as productive as pine by acre as a source of paper fiber. Today, hemp has to be imported from Canada–go figure.
For all you ever wanted to know about hemp, the fast-growing hemp industry, visit our friends at VoteHemp.com.
Side note: Hemp was banned over fears that it was a drug. For an interesting read about the very strange “reefer madness” scare spurred in part by San Francisco’s infamous media magnate William Randolph Hearst in the 1930’s (and its connections to industrial forestry) see this commentary from ABC’s Hugh Downs circa 1990.
8 Responses to “Finding Sustainable Wood Alternatives”
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January 19th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Hemp can also be used for biodiesel. http://www.planetizen.com/node/16687
January 19th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
I would love to be involved in some part of hemp production. Canada, and especially Saskatchwan, is a major producer of this wonderful plant. We should no let our stupidity stand in the way of the common sense need to be subsistence farmers of this plant.
January 20th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
Anyone care to list the uses of hemp?
January 27th, 2006 at 7:22 am
There are over 30,000 uses for hemp. The seeds are extremely nutritious paper is high quality, bricks for building, BMW uses it for the interiors of their vehicles, rope the strongest you can get,canvas, clean burning fuel, fords model A’s body was made of hemp. The benefits of hemp have been known for a long time but there are forces out there that don’t want it around because it would cut into their bottom line ie: Duponts, DEA and other gov’t agencies current administration not excluded.
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