How Hemp can Help Save our Planet

 

Hemp a plant to save the planet

 How Hemp can Help Save our Planet

I'm excited, and you should be too. We have technologies and products within our grasp that can help us save the planet, help feed the hungry, provide construction, textiles and other materials and are eco-friendly.

The plant I'm excited about is hemp. It is part of the stavia plant family, cannabis, but hemp doesn't contain as much THC as cannabis, which gives it it's unique qualities.  Accordingly to wikipedia, Hemp has lower concentrations of THC and may have higher concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD), which decreases or eliminates its psychoactive effects.  

What Makes Hemp Great for Our Planet?

1) Hemp is one of the fastest growing planets on earth. It takes about 4 months for the stalks to mature.

2) Hemp is a great carbon sponge - for every tonne of hemp it removes 1.63 tons of carbon from the air, which is more than trees.

3) Hemp seeds are highly nutritious - Hemp seed provides more protein per gram than beef, and  more omega 3 and 6 than salmon.

4) Hemp is a plant that is organically grown, so it is good for the soil, and other plant, animal and  insect life because hemp requires no pesticides or herbicides, nothing is destroyed or poisoned in its production and it can grow just about anywhere, as it needs far less water than rice wheat or soy.

5) Hemp has multiple uses besides that of a food and skincare products. And by the way it is an impressive emollient, and fantastic for clearing skin conditions in a safe and natural way.  

Hemp and it's many uses 

Hemp has multiple uses and doesn't need pesticides to grow

6) It helps to reduce industrial and household waste. As far back as over 10,000 years ago it was the first plant to be woven into a usable fibre.  It's fibres which are cellulose can be used to make textiles, and other construction materials  such as a  Hempcrete, a biocomposite material which is used for construction and insulation.

 

 It can completely wipe out the need for plastic production and thereby cut out the toxic pollution created by this industry.  What is more it is a biodegradable product, so it won't damage our seas, soil and wildlife like plastic has done.  In fact BMW is using hemp products to replace it's use of plastic in some of it's cars.

Bioremediation - Hemp cleanses the soil 

Hemp cleanses the soil in crop rotation

It can help with soil pollution. -Industrial hemp has a natural ability to remove toxic chemicals from soil. After the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, hemp was used to help clear radiation from the soil, showcasing successful results as the roots of the plant are deep and wide and can reach down to a depth of 3 feet. They are tolerant to heavy metals enabling them to be more effective at expelling widespread contamination.

Taranto in Italy also used industrial hemp to help clear the air and soil from the massive toxic problems caused by Italy's largest steel works. 

In Taranto, according to experts, between 2004 and 2010 there were on average 83 deaths a year attributable to exceedances of particulate matter in the air, while hospitalizations for cardio-respiratory causes would amount to 648 per year. [ILVA] workers showed excess mortality from malignant disease (+11%), in particular for stomach cancer (+107), pleura (+ 71%), prostate (+50) and bladder (+69%). Among the non-cancerous diseases are found to be in excess neurological diseases (+64%) and heart disease (+14%). The workers with the qualification of employed presented excess mortality for cancer of the pleura (+135%) and brain (+111%). The impairment framework of the health status of the workers of the steel industry is confirmed by the analysis of hospital admissions in excess of hospitalizations for causes cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory.” (7)

3. Solution to Deforestation

Hemp can provide a solution to deforestation by providing the materials we need instead of needing to cut down trees to get it. Deforestation inflicts devastation on the planet, daily by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. It is also responsible for the extinction of many animal species in the Amazon and other countries.

How can Hemp Help with Global Warming and Climate Change?

Hemp Plastic

 

The more hemp we safely grow the more carbon is taken out of the air, reducing global warming. And since hemp has a plethora of uses the more we use it for paper, bio-fuel, textiles, construction materials, food etc. the less waste we will produce.the less deforestation will be required and we could potentially reverse existing damage afflicted by global warming and climate change.  

Buy Local

Many countries are producing hemp, so buy from your own country or a country close by. Don't increase the size of your carbon footprint because of price, it diminishes the objective of reducing air pollution.

I certainly won't be buying any of my hemp products from China because there is a great source of high quality, organically grown and processed hemp in the UK.

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Why are Mangrove Forests so Eco Friendly?

Why are Mangrove Forests so Eco Friendly? 

 

Mangrove Forest

That's easy to answer. They are a coastal ecosystem. Take a look at the list below. Basically they battle climate change on many fronts.

1) They absorb 5 times more carbon dioxide and store it in the ground as blue carbon, than the arboreal rain forest.

2) They can grow on the shores of the sea and river estuaries, because they can tolerate saltwater.

3) They are a natural barrier to tsunamis, as they can minimise the height of the waves hitting the land behind them. 
(It has been estimated that 5 miles of forest, can reduce wave damage by 95%.

4) They encourage all types of biodiversity of wild life and aquatic life to live amongst them, providing much needed opportunities for the people living next to them.

I first saw a mango and tasted the salt from it's leaf when I was in Egypt 5 or 6 years ago. I didn't then understand how significant their role was and is to the entire earth, not just their local communities.

Where are Mangrove Forests Found?

Mangrove wetland forests are found in the tropics and subtropics where weather conditions are harsh with levels of high salinity and lots of mud.

Over the last 2 decades over 35% of mangrove forests have been lost through changing the land for agricultural use, large scale shrimp farms or for property development.  But when you cut down the mangroves you destroy your natural defenses against the sea. Your land becomes more susceptible to damage from storm surges and tsunamis. This type of damage can completely destroy lives, property and once sea water enters agricultural farming areas the land becomes barren.

On the Ganges delta they are having a race against time to save some of their islands, many of which have had massive land loss, and some of the islands have been completely submerged by the sea.  Many small agricultural lands have been lost.  Many people have been displaced. Even hospital and school services, and some agricultural farming are now carried out on board ships because the land damage is so severe.

They are fighting back along with many other countries. They have developed mangrove nurseries, off site to grow mangrove trees and harden them off before planting them in the saline mud when they are 4 months old. These new trees are literally being planted by the millions  Some panting schemes have worked, and some haven't. The one's that haven't is because mono-planting has been carried out instead of using a diversity of the 3 major varieties..

As far back as 2011 a mangrove nursery manual was created by Guyana and Europe to help to successfully build new forest areas and regenerate areas that been cut down.

Affects of Climate Change

 

Mangrove Tree

Sea levels are rising and seas are becoming warmer. Even as far back as 2011, it was noted that the Arctic sea ice was shrinking because of climate change. 

In Florida mangroves are now being seen in areas further north than they were traditionally, because of the effects of warmer areas further north.  Also mangroves are protected in Florida, a person cannot cut them down or take them out. Specialised tree surgeons, who have a license to work with mangroves, are the only people allowed to work on them, and they can only cut the trees down to a maximum of 8ft.

If we can stop the loss of mangrove forests, and continue to create them, then the planet will have a much better chance of fighting global warming.

Great News From Thailand

News of a wonderful project in Thailand is showing what great benefits and opportunities can occur when reclaiming lands and turning them back into mangrove forests when all the community get involved.

Mangrove Forests are Legacy for the Health of the Earth

 

mangrove in flower

Mangrove forests are essential to the health of the planet, and careful management is required to ensure their survival.

Mangroves provide building materials, a human food source as well as a magnificent ecosystem for other wildlife and fish. They provide protection against devastating damage caused by storm surges and they can provide a good quality, sustainable life for those communities who live amongst them.

As people we need to stop being takers and start to be givers because the more we give back to the earth and others, ultimately leads to the more we all have given back to us to take.

 

Eco Friendly Lifestyle - Good Things are Happening All Around Us

As I was thinking about what eco friendly lifestyle or green lifestyle topic I could talk about this week, I came across some super initiatives that are already being used, things you can get behind.

 

Photo by Gabriel Manlake on UnsplashU

 

Unless you specifically look, you might think that nothing is being done to help the planet, but you would be wrong.  Granted it is only a small handful of people doing amazing things but the interest in people wanting to change to a greener lifestyle is growing, and will continue to grow. As let's face it, it's the ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION to save our beautiful planet.

So what is one of the great eco-friendly things that are going on that you can get behind?

One of the things being a vegan, I wouldn't eat, but it is the use of insects as an alternative source of high protein.  I mean think about it. This is such a positive solution to the growing food population problem and the predicted population rise to 9 billion by 2050.

Middle Eastern, African, Asian and other cultures have eaten insects for hundreds if not thousands of years. 

Who hasn't heard of cooked locusts? 

 

Who hasn't watched those celebrity shows where they eat what's in the jungle? (I have to hold my hand up to that one, I have never seen one of those shows.)

There are insect farms popping up all over the world.

Cricket farming started in the Netherlands and has spread over the world.

A YouTube clip from cricket farming in Kenya show the versatility of what cricket protein can be made into. Biscuits, bread, animal feed, chocolate coated crickets

In England, one cricket farm in the North of England has been in operation over 4 years.

Cricket products are available on Amazon and other places as well.  But because it is currently expensive to produce a kilo of cricket flour, it hasn't really taken off as an alternate high protein, highly digestible, food source for the masses, but make no mistake. This will happen in the future.

Raising crickets, black soldier flies or other varieties of insects, such as meal worms, is environmentally very sound.  It's a way to drastically reduce greenhouse gasses for the reasons listed below:

Cricket Farming

 

1)    The area of land to raise an insect farm commercially can be the size of a shipping container or               larger, or, you can raise your own. They only need clean plastic boxes, egg cartons and moist cotton        wool to collect the eggs, so you can raise them in a garden shed. When you compare that to the size        of land needed to rear cows, pigs, or even chickens, for that matter, there's no comparison in the           carbon footprint of land it reduces..

2)    Insects can be fed on left over food waste from supermarkets and restaurants. Instead of throwing           away excess food into landfill, where it will produce CO2 emissions as it rots down. Insects can eat        it and thus cut out the CO2 emissions.

3)    Insects are high in protein. Unlike mammals who eat to keep warm this is not the case with                   insects. The food they eat allows them to become a higher protein food themselves. They can also           be fed on protein chicken feed.

4)   The mortality of insects is very short.  They soon die after laying eggs. If a fly lives up to six                   months, that's a very long time.  Most insects have a life expectancy of around 90 days, so the               system is very sustainable and renewable.

5)    Flies require heat to hatch their eggs, so even the heat source, i.e. heat lamps, heat pads, or                      industrial heating schemes can be generated from using green technologies such as solar, wind               turbines, microwavable boilers or solar and hydrogen power in the near future.

6)    Egg hatching can take between 2 - 4 weeks depending on the level of heat in the incubation box.

6)    It's a win, win situation and many countries are getting behind or being lobbied to get behind insect        farming now that independent farmers have already proven that the system works.  

One such project has been given the go ahead in the UK. The Government have given millions of pounds, along with Tesco in funding the building of an industrial sized insect farm outside of London.

The Scottish people are also lobbying their Government to get behind a similar farming system.

Black Soldier Fly Farming

The black soldier fly farm is being built to provide protein to be used in animal feed, reduce carbon emissions from food waste and universities are also looking at being able to put fly lava to other uses.

Finally on a different subject relating to farming:

Environmentally Friendly Low Carbon Farming

Running a bokashi and using fly lava as additional fertilizer, if needed, could put farming on a completely different path.  A path of low carbon, artificial fertiliser and toxic free farming that's cost effective and has a low carbon footprint.

Bokashi cuts out the need to use fertilizer because it doesn't leak out nitrogen or anything else, It is nutrient rich and only takes 10 days to reach the end point from when waste is first put in the bokashi bins.    

This is fantastic. I'm sure that this is just the beginning. 

This is something you can get behind by!

Use bokashi yourself, if you have a garden, allotment or even pots with soil in that will allow it to breakdown.

Let everyone know about these beautiful green options.

Buy from farmers who are using green technology and toxic free farming to raise their plants and livestock.

When insect powder becomes available for human consumption, try it as an alternative to the animal protein you already eat.

If you fancy raising your own small cricket farm there's tons of information on the internet how to do it.

Look out next week for my next super exciting find on how so many people are making green technologies available right now for us to use and to help save our planet.