Friday, July 28, 2006

Cross-posted essay from Green Communist

Hemp Essay I Found A Long Time Ago

What's So Great About Hemp?
By Lee Hitchcox

Historical tradition, if not current federal law, favors hemp. The U.S.Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible, and Old Glory (our nation's first flag) were all made from hemp as was the favorite fuel of Henry Ford, the reading lamp oil of Abraham Lincoln,the paints used by Van Gogh and Rembrandt, and the parachute webbing that saved the life of George Bush. [1] Hemp canvas covered the Westward-bound wagons, the tall sailing ships, the biplanes and zeppelins of World War I. Hemp was so crucial to colonial America that its cultivation was mandated by law. [2]

"Make the most of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." [3]~George Washington, 1794

Industrial Uses

As an agricultural commodity, hemp is arguably the world's top renewable resource for fuel, paper, cloth, paint, plastic, protein, soap, oil and over 25,000 other products. [4] Anything made from oil or wood can be made from hemp. [5]

Hemp biomass can be converted into fuels (methane, methanol, gasoline) more efficiently than fossil fuels (coal, oil) and without the sulfur oracid rain. [6] Hemp fiberboard is stronger than wood; hemp houses are as strong as cement houses and better insulated. [7] Plastic, rayon, and cellophane made from hemp are biodegradable; plastic and nylon made from petrochemicals are non-biodegradable.

Read the entire essay at Green Communist

4 comments:

spartachris said...

Damn I had no idea.

Beats the hell out of my 12th grade hemp essay:

"Hemp is










"

Ken hWAKAKAkAK

Anonymous said...

the cotton people dont want to see their fields of white turned to fields of green. cotton takes out so much of the soils nutrients. if overused, the field will have to sit empty for a few seasons to allow the nutrients to return. hemp is nowhere near as devastating on the soil and is far more beneficial to society as a whole.

hemp is also stronger and longer lasting than cotton. how many jeans have you thrown away because of holes? now you have to buy another pair!

BigNewsDay said...

Great point CJ.

I've always heard that Levi Jeans were originally made from hemp.

Anonymous said...

europe and asia both made jeans out of hemp many moons ago. hemp is the way to go in this day and age