Energy is required to perform work. In earlier times, all this energy came from renewable and sustainable sources like food, water and wind. All work was performed by humans, animals and machines that channelized these forms of energy, and human development was sustainable for the planet. Slowly with the advent of newer energy sources, such as the burning of wood and other natural materials, humans were able to tap into release much more of the latent energy locked up in these materials. This enabled us to do more work, and build bigger machines capable of doing the work of large numbers of humans and other animals. This released additional energy meant that human wants also increased correspondingly. The ability of the released energy to do more work for us led to the creation of even more complex and larger machines that catered to the growing wants of humans, and enabled us to feed the larger wants that we had created for more people in the process. The release of this locked up energy in natural materials came at a cost. This was barely noticeable in the past, but the process of contamination of air, water and land had begun with the advent of wood burning, metallurgy and other civilizational processes.
The landmark event, in terms of when the problems of our newfound energy sources started becoming a significant problem, was the discovery of coal. The ability of coal to release much larger amounts of energy from smaller quantities led to its rapid adoption across the board. The problems of coal based environmental pollution were already well chronicled in books like Hard Times by Charles Dickens in the 19th century, when humans discovered petrochemicals at the turn of the 20th century. Since then, we can definitely say, humans and life on earth entered a new path. Petrochemicals were lauded as the wonder fuel, in comparison with coal. They quickly became one of our main sources of energy, even as coal continued to grow in parallel. Since then we have discovered natural gas, which is touted as even more energy efficient than petrochemicals, as well as tapped into the energy of the very atoms. Atomic energy released from nuclear fission, and potentially nuclear fusion, is so potent that a minuscule amount of material is sufficient to release the kind of energy that would require huge amounts of fossil fuels.
The term fossil fuels encapsulates three forms of energy - coal, petrochemicals and natural gas. All this comes from the fossilized remains of animal and plant matter that have been buried for millions of years under the ground under enough pressure to solidify, liquefy or turn into gas this organic material. Today's world runs on fossil fuels. The energy requirements of every single nation in the world is met through fossil fuels. The wants of humans has grown to such an extent that even the humongous amounts of energy released by these fossil fuels is insufficient, they say. Coal fuels thermal power stations that produce the bulk of the electricity in our world today. The byproducts of the thermal power stations fuel the construction industry through the raw materials for cement and concrete. Petrochemicals fuel the transportation sector, besides providing the raw materials for a wide range of industries including fibers and plastics. Natural gas fuels a number of industries and domestic applications.
The release of energy bound in nature to such large extents has come at great cost to humans and the planet. Today, fossil fuels are the number one contributor to the way humans have changed the environment that sustained them itself. The changes in climate, due to the warming of the planet as a result of the tremendous amount of heat energy released from the burning of fossil fuels, threatens us in many ways. On the one hand we face the threat of cooking ourselves and all other beings in the heat. On the other hand we face the threat of drowning ourselves in all the water that has been created through the melting of the planet by the heat released. In addition to this, we ingest all the toxins released from the burning of fossil fuels through the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.
It is no wonder then that every year all the leaders of humanity meet to discuss, with increasing urgency, to find a solution to the problem. In the end they walk away having made no progress at all. This is because the addiction to the wants, that fossil fuels hold the promise of meeting, are so great that we cannot get ourselves to move away from fossil fuels. To add to that, we have embraced fossil fuels in such a way that we have made the fossil fuel industry the richest and most powerful industry in the world. The amount of influence and money power that this industry exerts is so great that no government is able to break away from it, even to a small extent.
One of the significant things that happened, in parallel to the rise of the fossil fuel industry, is the decline of the hemp industry. At about the same time that petrochemicals started being incorporated into main stream human civilizational aspirations, hemp started getting pushed out. By the turn of the 20th century, the US and Britain had already taken significant steps in the prohibition of hemp cultivation. This provided the much needed leg-up for the petrochemical industry, enabling it to gain a foothold and climb to the top of the pile where it is firmly perched now in the energy world. The petrochemical industry sits there today, swatting and crushing any potential competitor to it as a form of energy.
Even though hemp, as a source of energy, was not explored much at the start of the 20th century, its world wide prohibition ensured that any further efforts in this direction would be impossible. Global hemp cultivation nosedived and became as good as non-existent by the end of the 20th century. It is only now, with the growing cries of alarm by humans all over the world, with the mass extinction of whole categories of living beings - such as reptiles, amphibians, birds and fishes, and the disappearance of vast stretches of natural vegetation around the world, that more and more humans are starting to wake up and explore alternatives to fossil fuels. Many still believe that we still have a chance to avoid global catastrophe if we act now. The recent COP28 meeting of global leaders to address the issues of climate change saw an overwhelming number of 200 leaders committing finally to look for an alternative to fossil fuels. Whether this itself is too little too late remains to be seen. To add to the problem, even though the commitment has been made, there is absolutely no clear strategy in terms of how this goal will be achieved. What is urgently needed is multiple clear alternatives, and each alternative needs to be pursued in earnest, if we are to make any headway at all.
It is undeniable that humans will not curb their wants, and that we need energy today. Of course, the curbing of wants is the most significant step to take. I see that as a change not in the physical world, but one in the psychological world needing different strategies. So how to become more energy efficient, sustainable and less fossil fuel dependent is the challenge in the physical world. One of the strategies, by far the most promising, to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is that of bio-fuels. Bio-fuels involve the use of biomass to create the fuel for our energy. This biomass comes from crops grown as a part of agriculture, rather than digging into the earth to retrieve our sources of energy. In monetary terms, it means living on the interest, rather than the principle, of the planet's natural wealth. As long as the principle, i.e. the planet stays in place, it will generate the interest, i.e. agricultural crops that can be used and renewed, without further damage to the planet.
Hemp, as a source of bio-fuels, is one of the key crops, in addition to other crops with bio-fuel-producing potential such as kenaf, switchgrass, sugarcane, corn and sorghum. In addition to this, hemp as an agricultural crop provides a large number of applications, besides biofuels, medicine and recreation. Hemp Grower reports that - 'Where the plant shines is in its higher yield per hectare—agronomy data suggest the per-hectare yield of hemp stems alone is at the same level as entire switchgrass and sorghum crops. “For growers, hemp can be more profitable [than other bioenergy crops] because you have both the fiber and grain,” says Shi. “The fiber can also be used to make paper, clothing, building materials and more.” Beyond hempseed oil, the plant has potential to produce ethanol and methanol, both forms of alcohol that can be used as fuel. Cellulolysis ferments and distills hemp biomass to extract ethanol. Methanol is generally produced from woody plant matter through the process of dry distillation. The majority of biofuel currently comes from corn or sugarcane. Although their high sugar content is a robust source of ethanol, utilizing these plants for fuel production can cut into a farm’s food manufacturing profits, says Pearce. Conversely, the leaves and cellulose fibers from hemp are not valuable food sources'
Hemp is a sustainable, renewable crop that is healing for the planet just by growing it. It rejuvenates the soil, sequesters carbon, requires minimal or no chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and grows in diverse climatic conditions requiring minimal water for growing. It has short growth cycles and can be planted more than once a year. Hemp was once one of India's foremost agricultural crops, with its use being primarily in the areas of medicine and intoxication. In the US, hemp was reported to be the six most valuable crop in 2022, just three years after its reintroduction into the economy by its legalization through the Farm Bill of 2018. Globally, besides the US, countries that are key producers of hemp are France and China. China uses its hemp primarily in the textile industry, whereas the main uses of hemp by France is not clear to me.
The adoption of hemp cultivation, and its use in the production of bio-fuels, will make every single nation in the world fuel independent and sustainable. There will no longer be the dependency on the OPEC nations for petrochemicals, nor the need to dig up precious forests to obtain coal and natural gas. Every nation can grow as much hemp as it needs for its energy purposes, in addition to the vast array of other sustainable applications, without having to import from anybody else at huge costs. Even the introduction of bio-fuels in the fuel mix as an additive can reduce the amount of fossil fuels needed for our energy. All other crop sources for bio-fuels come nowhere close to hemp's potential in this regard. Most other crops can only be grown in certain geographies and climate conditions. Many of these crops are needed to meet our food requirements. A number of them need extensive supplies of water that make them unsustainable for such a large undertaking as meeting our global energy needs. It is only hemp that meets all this criteria.
Ironically, the global drug laws - that ban cannabis for medical and recreational use - do not ban the use of hemp for industrial purposes. Yet, most countries around the world cite the 1961 Single Convention Treaty as the key reason for prohibiting the cultivation of hemp. In most countries, it is not prohibited outright, it is just discouraged, or given very little attention and support. Much of the anti-hemp policy of most governments can be attributed to the pressure and lobbying by the fossil fuel industry to ensure that hemp is not promoted. This is because, the ramifications of global adoption of hemp will be very serious for the fossil fuel industry. Not only will the introduction of hemp-based bio-fuels directly impact them, the introduction of hemp-based biodegradable plastics, the introduction of hemp-based construction materials, and the introduction of hemp-based textiles and fabrics will be an additional triple-whammy for the fossil fuel industry, a potential KO that it will struggle to come back from. But the time has come to consider how we want to go ahead, and what is more damaging - a KO to the fossil fuel industry or the destruction of the planet by its continued usage.
What the COP28 and all other climate action programs have failed miserably in, so far, is bringing hemp to the table. It is not just bringing hemp to the table that is required, it must be given the central place in our global strategy against fossil fuels. It is not at all a difficult task to do. All that is required is that we have to make a change now, and that hemp offers us a sustainable way out of the problem.
Related Articles
The following articles are related to the subject.
'In a previous study, Shi’s team learned that, for a given amount of biomass, hemp has biofuel-producing potential comparable to other bioenergy crops such as kenaf, switchgrass, and sorghum.
Where the plant shines is in its higher yield per hectare—agronomy data suggest the per-hectare yield of hemp stems alone is at the same level as entire switchgrass and sorghum crops.
“For growers, hemp can be more profitable [than other bioenergy crops] because you have both the fiber and grain,” says Shi. “The fiber can also be used to make paper, clothing, building materials and more.”
Beyond hempseed oil, the plant has potential to produce ethanol and methanol, both forms of alcohol that can be used as fuel. Cellulolysis ferments and distills hemp biomass to extract ethanol. Methanol is generally produced from woody plant matter through the process of dry distillation.
The majority of biofuel currently comes from corn or sugarcane. Although their high sugar content is a robust source of ethanol, utilizing these plants for fuel production can cut into a farm’s food manufacturing profits, says Pearce. Conversely, the leaves and cellulose fibers from hemp are not valuable food sources'
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/postponed-promise-hemp-biofuel-biomass-hempseed-oil-uk-uconn-hia/
'Reducing fossil fuel reliance is considered a great challenge for several progressive emerging economies. The development of alternative renewable fuels tends to improve energy security as well as diminish fuel supply vulnerability. This paper details an enhanced protocol intended for the manufacture of hemp biodiesel over two-stage base catalyzed transesterification from crude hemp oil (CHO)...Since the estimated fuel properties fall well within the range of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, HB could be considered as a sustainable fuel alternative to conventional diesel. GC-MS results demonstrate that the HB contains unsaturated long-chain fatty acids like 9,15-Octadecadienoic acid methyl ester as dominant in the mixture. The FTIR spectrum of crude hemp oil and the synthesized biodiesel confirm the conversion of triglycerides in the CHO into methyl esters in the HB. The findings obtained from TG-DSC/DTG are in near agreement with the results of GC-MS and FTIR. It is therefore proven the hemp oil has abundant potential to be used as an inedible source for the manufacture of bio-diesel.'
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15567036.2020.1842559
'Highlights
• Industrial hemp biomass is an excellent alternative candidate for biofuel production.
• Hemp biomass has higher cellulose content compared with other agricultural residues.
• Research activities and barriers on converting hemp biomass to ethanol was reviewed.
• Innovative research approaches for boosting sugar and ethanol yields were suggested.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001623612031721X
'What exactly is hemp used for? The better question is what can't it be used for. Hemp is a durable material that can be fashioned into everything from food and beer to clothing to beauty products. Hemp can also be used to make plastic, an alternative biofuel, cars, and an estimated 25,000 other products.
Is it difficult to grow? Nope, hemp is a farmer's best friend. It's good for the soil, helping to remove toxins. It grows well with little fertilizer, no pesticides, and less water than many other crops. It's also extremely dense, which means it takes less valuable farmland. It's relatively profitable (Canadian farmers are reporting $300 per/acre profits). And it grows fast—that's where the name weed came from.
So I've heard it's good for combating climate change. Why's that? While not a silver bullet for climate, hemp is one of many possible agricultural solutions for a variety of reasons. Hemp actually absorbs more CO2 than trees, needs less water than plants like cotton, and can also be used to make a sustainable biofuel.'
https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2019/01/whats-fuss-about-hemp
'Hemp could challenge fossil-fuel-based products in a range of areas: Innovations in hemp-based bioplastics and biofuels (spurred by falling production costs) will lead to hemp-based products’ challenging petroleum-based products, including (as is already being done) BMW vehicle interiors. Ever since TV host and comedian Jay Leno posted an online video of himself test-driving a 2017 Renew sports car (with a chassis fashioned from 100 pounds of woven hemp), fewer potential participants have been willing to get left behind;
Hemp cultivation in less-developed countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America will provide a high-volume, low-cost source for CBD, posing a considerable challenge to higher-cost producers in North America and Europe. Nevertheless, given the nascent hemp production in the developing markets, need will persist for the transfer of significant knowledge, technology, and capital for such emerging nations to develop the requisite processes and quality standards to sufficiently serve international markets.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/global-hemp-poised-to-make-its-impact-with-a-post-industrial-heyday/
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