Eileen Claussen on Wash. Journal just said...

[slor]

she did not know about the energy uses of hemp to a caller. She is President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Strategies for the Global Environment. I find that to be quite mind-boggling.

[BridgeTheGap]

1. There is vast ignorance on the subject of hemp

This is just one more example of the ignorance.
We could achieve energy independence by producing hemp (diesel) fuel, not to mention all its other uses that are currently derived from petroleum.

[Saturday]

2. We need to do everything to be energy independent.

Google "plasma waste converter" and see what St. Lucie Co FL is doing.

[Aristus]

4. Can hemp fuel be produced without using fossil fuels to do it?

That seems to be the biggest obstacle to creating a biofuel infrastructure. Ethanol, for example, requires more fossil fuel to produce than it makes up for in fuel on its own.

We need to find a way...

[BridgeTheGap]

9. I assume electricity is involved in producing hemp fuel, so it depends on the source of electricity

but hemp oil can also yield plastic. Not sure if that's the case with other bio sources, i.e. soy, though I think soy oil can also be turned into plastic?

[yellowcanine]

5. Hemp Biodiesel may not have any advantages over other oilseeds

Hemp Biodiesel
Hemp plants can produce about half a ton of seeds per acre, but such production is currently expensive—Canadian-grown hemp seeds cost about $.41 American per pound, while other common oil crops (soybeans, canola, and flax) average $.10 per pound. Hemp seeds are about 30% oil, soybeans contain about 18% oil2, canola upwards of 30%3, and flax about 41%4. Thus hemp is, except in price, the equal of any other common oil crop. It is not without its problems—the oil degrades even more quickly than other vegetable oils and, as mentioned, it is much more expensive than current oil crops. Hemp biodiesel, as recently proven by the hemp car, would be a viable source of energy. However, it does not appear to offer any significant advantages5 over other biodiesel sources. To quote Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board:
"emp-based biodiesel now is really just a novelty, while biodiesel itself isn't a novelty<.>"6
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1466717


That said, hemp biodiesel could be part of the mix of things that comes from the hemp plant of course. It is unlikely that hemp alone could be the basis for energy independence. But nothing is. We need to think about a mix of things - including domestic petroleum, solar, tidal,wind geothermal, ethanol, biodiesel, etc. and good old conservation and efficiency.

[slor]

6. I am more intrigued by oil from algae but...

I was simply surprised that she was unfamiliar with the hemp potential.

[yellowcanine]

7. The truth is that anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of biology knows that any plant

has potential as a source of energy. The devil as always is in the details.

[RebelOne]

3. Here is plenty of info about hemp on Woody Harrelson's Web site

http://www.voiceyourself.com/article.php?section=4

[Cha]

8. Thanks for that link, Rebel..

I have my eye on this hemp sweater from Green Boat Stuff..

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-31755506130963_1979_1259743

http://www.greenboatstuff.com/grclbali.html

I think it's cool!