Why would they do such a thing?  Because instead of using hemp for paper, clothing, fuel, oils, resins, medicines, and many other uses, we now use paper and synthetic petrochemicals. Hearst owned huge forests and interests in lumber mills.  Dupont made synthetic fuels and fibres (nylon, rayon, plastics) from petroleum.
Police now claim that industrial hemp production should not be allowed because they can’t tell hemp from pot with their infrared scanners.  In the January 7, 1998, Haleakala Times, an anonymous writer sums it up well:

In today’s world, intelligent people are beginning to realize that giving up the benefits of industrial hemp because of a few million pot smokers just doesn’t make good sense.

When I watch the “black snow” ashes from the burning sugar cane fall on my organic lawn, I think of the defoliant, the PVC irrigation pipes, and everything else they put or sprayed out there that goes up in smoke too. Is smoking marijuana actually worse than breathing that?
Legalizing industrial hemp production is a completely different issue than legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.  Confusing these issues robs the farmers and consumers of this country of an extremely valuable cash crop that can do the environment and the economy a world of good.
In order to preserve our environment, reduce our dependence on sugar subsidies and tourism, and protect the health of the residents of the State of Hawaii, industrial hemp should be legalized and grown immediately.

   Scott Supak

A new baby entering your life can create an enormous number of unexpected changes. Along with the little one comes a whole new category of things to purchase—not only the obvious large items like furniture and diapers, but also all the unforeseen extras that seem to accumulate. While having a baby is consumer heaven, the key is to not be gulled into an unnecessary buying frenzy. In truth, a baby has very minimal needs. On the flip side, there is more to a sustainable life with your baby than cloth diapers, organic baby food, and fair-trade clothing…read on for more. 

1. Diapers (aka Nappies) Studies are divided on the subject of environmental impact of disposables vs. cloth. But knowing that your baby will use approx 6,000 diapers before toilet training, and that disposable diapers take 200-500 years to decompose, this is certainly a key issue to ponder. Washing cloth diapers takes water, energy, and chemicals (not to mention time), but you might want to consider the benefits of a laundering service. One study has found that home-washing cloth diapers has only 53% of the ecological footprint of disposables, and if you use a diaper laundering service that impact is halved again.Cloth: Reusable diapers aren’t what they used to be and the days of diaper pins are all but bygone. Go for fitted cloth diapers with Velcro or snap closures for convenience, made from an eco-friendly material such as hemp, bamboo, or organic cotton. Use an organic wool cover that is both warm and breathable, minimizing diaper rash and cold bottoms at night. Use either removable or flushable liners and when washing either use a laundering service or wash at home at lower temperatures. With a new baby around you’ll probably notice a lot more laundry piling up, so make sure you’ve optimized your setup with an efficient machine and non-toxic detergent. If you can line-dry, that is ideal, but don’t bother ironing.Biodegradable diapers: Made with plant-based plastics (also known as bioplastics), these diapers non-petroleum based and are compostable. While these have been found not to break down under landfill conditions, there are other options to compost them such as using a composting toilet, an earthworm system, or a highly active and properly conditioned composting area. Hybrid diapers, like gDiapers, have removable inserts that can safely biodegrade when flushed.

2. Breast or bottle This one’s a no-brainer: breastfeeding is best. It’s free, has health benefits for mother and baby, has no environmental impact, and is a precious bonding experience. However, in our commerce-driven society there are products for everything, and breastfeeding is no exception. For breast pads, ditch disposables and try re-usable organic cotton or wool felt pads. While there are many great, organic nipple creams available, some locally produced olive oil or organic lanolin does a great job.If bottle feeding becomes a necessity, pumping your own is the first choice. Beyond that, using a fair-trade organic infant formula is preferable. If this is neither affordable nor accessible, then the next best thing is to ensure the brand of formula you buy is from a company not profiteering from marketing their product to developing countries. These companies disregard or try to get around the marketing code set by The World Health Assembly.

3. Solid foods At about six months, babies starts to eat real food. Rice cereal and mushy veggies turn to combinations of fish, meat, eggs, legumes, and vegetables—yep, a regular person’s diet. Buying jars of food is sure convenient, but as an adult you don’t live out of jars, so why should your baby? For those occasional situations, purchase organic or fresh frozen baby foods. Otherwise, make your own. Cook up veggies, casseroles, or tofu and lentils, whatever is your thing, and freeze it in tiny containers or ice cube trays ready to take out and defrost when needed. (Be sure you discuss any concerns over dietary requirements with your health professional)

4. Clothing All those designer baby clothes are cute and oh so hard to resist in their fruity colors. But be careful. Not only does a baby grow out of clothes amazingly fast, they are constantly sending bodily fluids flying onto those precious outfits. The baby couture might be better replaced with convenient one-piece suits in practical white terry cloth. Choosing organic hemp or cotton, bamboo or wool fabrics made without toxic chemicals are best against a baby’s sensitive skin and last longer with the constant washing. Second-hand clothing is the cheapest and most sustainable option. Get hand-me-downs from friends and family or look in thrift shops, Craigslist, or Freecycle.

5. Body care and bath time It’s very easy to get sucked into the constant advertising of baby powders, creams, and lotions. But the best baby lotion is plain old olive oil—cheap, natural, and un-perfumed. As for other products, keep it as natural, organic, and fragrance-free as possible.

6. Laundry and washing It’s quite possible that our war on germs is actually making things worse. Studies have shown that children brought up in over-cleaned houses are more likely to develop allergies, asthma, or eczema. The best thing you can do for sensitive baby skin is not to cover it with synthetic chemicals. Wash nappies with pure soap and warm water. Make your own non-toxic cleansers with simple ingredients such as baking soda and vinegar.

7. Toys Get back to basics and try old fashioned wooden toys and organic cotton or homemade teddies. Because babies put most things in their mouths, go as natural as possible, then when baby is a little older, get hold of second-hand toys. Also aim for toys that helps build a child’s bond with nature and the natural world. The sad truth is that the average American kindergartener can identify several hundred logos only a few leaves from plants and trees.

8. Furniture and accessories Babies don’t need much—a secure place to sleep, a car seat, a high chair, and a way to be trundled around. Go for second-hand furniture, everything except cot mattresses (some research suggests a link between second-hand cot mattresses and sudden infant death syndrome) and car seats, (which can have invisible accident damage). If you buy new furniture, purchase high quality, durable pieces made of sustainable, low-toxicity materials. Think about some alternatives to the regular old wooden baby bed; try using an organic cotton baby hammock or a cot that extends into a bed and lasts 6-7 years. The most ethical option for stroller (pram) is recycled.

9. Household environment It goes without saying that alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking while pregnant are bad for a baby. But it is also very important to avoid exposure to the synthetic chemicals contained in everyday products such as paints, carpet, furniture, bedding, and pesticides. When decorating the nursery, use natural and low-VOC paints and don’t lay new carpet before the baby is born. Suspicious new items should at least be left outside to off-gas for a few days before bringing inside.

10. Wipes and linersDiaper wipes and liners commonly include propylene glycol (a binder also found in antifreeze), parabens (a family of compounds commonly used as preservatives) and perfume, which can be made from up to 600 different chemicals. Try using good natural organic cotton wool and water and avoid disposable changing mats and perfumed diaper bags.

A new study by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory looked at the impact that plug-in hybrids (and indirectly, electric cars) might have on the US electricity grid in the next few decades. They found that, as they say, timing is everything: If the cars were recharged after 10 P.M. there might not be a need for new power plants (in their “high-demand” scenario, 8 new plants are required).This means that we would get the net benefit from the removal of all these gasoline and diesel vehicles without much more pollution coming from the grid. Actually, we hope that by that time any new generation built will be clean (wind, wave, solar, geothermal, etc).What if the timing was bad? The researchers looked at what would happen if all these vehicles were plugged in at 5 P.M. (at 6 kW of power on average, with a 25 percent market penetration by 2020) and found that up to 160 new power plants would have to be built. That might still make sense if many of those are clean and if it means millions less fossil-fuel powered cars on the road (someone would have to do the math), but it definitely would be sub-optimal.Of course, we can’t assume that people would plug their cars at night without any incentives or ways to balance out the inconvenience, but we don’t think that would be a show-stopper.Smart-metering could make the electricity rates vary almost in real time based on the supply-demand situation, and programmable chargers could be set to only charge cars between certain hours, or when rates are below a certain level. You wouldn’t need to get up late at night and manually go plug the car; just plug it whenever, and the charger will do the rest.Fully electric cars would of course need more power than plug-ins, but by using smart-charging and smart-metering we could use the power that we already have more efficiently. For example, have cars start charging whenever we’re producing more than we’re using (day or night). This might be a very windy or sunny day and wind and solar farms are producing more power than can be used. Of course at some point new power generation will be needed, but if it is clean and internal combustion cars are replaced, it could still be a big gain.

Ten Basic Tips to Help Stop Climate Change

Don’t have a lot of time, but want to take action? Here are 10 simple, everyday things each of us can do to help stop climate change. Pick one, some or all. Every little effort helps and adds up to a whole lot of good.Change a light. Replacing a regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent one saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.*Drive less. Walk, bike, carpool, take mass transit and/or trip chain. All of these things can help reduce gas consumption and one pound of carbon dioxide for each mile you do not drive.Recycle more and buy recycled. Save up to 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year just by recycling half of your household waste. By recycling and buying products with recycled content you also save energy, resources and landfill space!Check your tires. Properly inflated tires mean good gas mileage. For each gallon of gas saved, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide are also not produced.Use less hot water. It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Reducing the amount used means big savings in not only your energy bills, but also in carbon dioxide emissions. Using cold water for your wash saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and using a low flow showerhead reduces 350 pounds of carbon dioxide. Make the most of your hot water by insulating your tank and keeping the temperature at or below 120 degrees.Avoid products with a lot of packaging. Preventing waste from being created in the first place means that there is less energy wasted and fewer resources consumed. When you purchase products with the least amount of packaging, not only do you save money, but you also help the environment! Reducing your garbage by 10 percent reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1,200 pounds.Adjust your thermostat. Keeping your thermostat at 68 degrees in winter and 78 degrees in summer not only helps with your energy bills, but it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well. No matter where you set your dial, two degrees cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer can mean a reduction of 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.Plant a tree. A single tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.Turn off electronic devices when not in use. Simply turning off your TV, VCR, computer and other electronic devices can save each household thousand of pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Professors, at university, would often draw the analogy of environmental awareness and the battlefield. The struggle for what we knew and at what cost. The battle between the expense now and the cost in the future. The sacrifice that would be justified by the hope of avoiding suffering. Doomsayers never got very good publicity, in fact they were more a magnet for ridicule. “Right, so this global warming thing could cause an ice age? Yeah.“ This was the bane of the environmentalist, to be branded a fanatic instead of the shaman.

Much of the battle was fact. Oil would run dry one day. ”Oh they can find more” would be buglers response. Yeah and maybe it’ll just get so expensive that less gets used. The battle raged on losing site of what the war was all about. What was the war about anyway? To some it was security, to others it was success, to some it was free choice, and to those with tears in their eyes it was the future. The future to be free, secure and successful. To a future where water could be drank from a stream or from the falling rain, or air could be safe to breathe, the sun safe to bask in, the food not a poison.

The battle plan was amended. No fanatical declarations to offend those that needed to see what was actually happening so that change could come. It had to come. The facts were there. It was recorded in the rocks that gave us the oil. It was recorded in the ice sheets that reservoir our water. It was in the corrosion of our monuments. It was profound. It was deep and disturbing. It brought tears to my eyes and it was coming fast. Predictions were mollified to not be too alarming and still the opponents bugled that the weather always changed “it’s nothing unusual”.

The tide is actually rising. The high tide that is. It’s rising faster than the mollified predictions, to no great surprise. Waterfront properties are hearing the battle cry, but is it too late? Has the time for war passed? Are we left to dig in and suffer the onslaught? Can we actually stop the swing of the pendulum before it smashes our future into battlefield debris? The war we didn’t want to fight. The war that rocks the very foundation of our faiths. Time will tell but who will listen? Who will act? Holding back the tears from the lost innocence of memories of a wholesome environment, who will fight on ? Who can win the war? How can the war be won? Where is the battlefield? When will the war be over? What is the war about anyway? Why does tomorrow, no matter how long I may close my eye, never come?

By – Capt’n Rusty Hooks for thegreenselection.com

Craig Venter, who mapped his own genome and jump-started the biotechnology business, announced this week that he is turning his attention to the creation of fourth-generation fuels — life forms that feed on CO2 and generate methane fuel as waste. The challenge, according to Venter, is not in creating the organisms to consume CO2, which already exist, it is extracting the CO2 in quantities large enough to create a fuel supply. Venter presented his ideas this week at the influential Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference. You can watch is presentation at this link.

Cambridge Energy Research Associates – called “as close as it gets to a proxy for conventional wisdom within Big Oil” by a Wall Street Journal blogger – just finished a new report that says global warming represents the world’s first serious challenge to the dominance of fossil fuels. Companies know this and are starting to do more about it.
While fossil fuels aren’t going away tomorrow, there’s ‘lots the government can do to encourage their adoption and further innovation: Put a price on carbon dioxide emissions, set standards for a certain percentage of our energy to come from renewables, and provide subsidies to encourage cleantech. While clean energy supporters have been saying this for years, does this sentiment from big oil mean we’re starting to see some enlightenment?