May 29, 2011. Paul Hixon
credit: tonrulkensAs the earth shudders under a rapidly rising human population that is constantly using ever more powerful and damaging technologies to produce an imbalanced, unsustainable lifestyle, we can ask ourselves quietly and honestly: can anything be done? Fortunately, even with climate change at large, there are some bright lights of hope on the horizon for humanity.
One of these is the nascent technologies surrounding bio-fuels. Renewable energy ideas regarding bio-fuels range from using hemp to switch-grass to even making synthetic oil with a state of the art bacterial fermentation procedure. However, this highly advanced synthetic petroleum technology requires a huge amount of infrastructure and large sums of money being spent on research. Even with this being the case, the amount of oil that can be produced using this method is very small.
However, growing oil through fermenting algae can make a dent in the oil supply equation. However, it requires a large amount of land being used unproductively with enormous oil vats instead of useful plants. The likelihood of this becoming a prominent form of oil production appears to be gaining traction as one of many sensible renewable energy ideas. However, oil is not used for very much energy production and is primarily used as a fossil fuel in cars, trucks, buses, trains and various industrial uses. This solves an energy problem but it does not solve the problem of our energy contributing to climate change causing emissions.
This means that even if this oil production method, which is one of the promising recent renewable energy ideas, did become popular and institutionalized world, then it would actually hinder rather than help the overall efforts to combat climate change. This becomes far more economically viable and profitable than ecologically wholesome and healthy. For these reasons, this possibility carries a rarely mentioned dark side that actually makes many environmentalists oppose this innovation in energy production.
On the other hand, hemp grows at a rate roughly four times faster than trees do. This makes it ideal for bio-fuels. Also, hemp is less harsh on the ground than other crops, like corn, that are used for bio-fuels. This means that it can be used intermittently in a crop rotation without requiring expensive chemical fertilizers that also require intensive work that is dependent on cheap oil. Or, it can be used continually without depleting precious parts of the earth for more years than crops such as corn.
Hemp oil can be used for bio-fuels while the rest of the plant is either made into rope or tilled back into the ground to improve the fertility and nutrient content of the soil. This makes it so that the land can be healed at the same time that our energy and fuel needs can be met. Highly intensive chemical warfare has been waged against agricultural land for several decades. This unwritten policy has been highly successful. The microorganisms living in the soil, the worms, the bacteria, trace elements, and other essential parts of the ecosystem of soil have been systematically eradicated. Farms have been transformed from a living ecosystem into a giant petri dish. This is what makes the hemp revolution so potent to transform not only our culture but the very land on which our industrial culture is built.
However, many governments around the world have made it illegal to grow hemp on land. This makes it very difficult for farmers to begin gaining experience and healing their fields with this marvelous plant. That makes the likelihood that this incredibly useful plant will not be conscripted to fight in the battle for better renewable energy ideas.
Updated May 29, 2011. Published May 10, 2011. Paul Hixon
