The other day, I came across an article that suggested to look at the hemp tree as a tool in combating climate change! Apparently, the tree grows very fast and captures twice as much CO2 as normal trees do, and that means 8 to 22 tonnes of it per year per 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of plantation.
Now just in case you don’t know, hemp tree is a close sibling of the Marijuana tree, but it has too little THC (the psychotropic ingredient) to be a narcotics, so it is OK to grow it, especially since it is a noble cause (environment).
Hemp has 2 distinct categories of uses: 1) in the industry to make ropes, textile, plastic, and 2) in food items, especially its seed, as food additives, and energy supplements. So, captures high amounts of CO2, and is also useful as an industrial material and food additive. Can you do better? Yes, some people would say, the Marijuana tree with high (17-20%) THC. This way, you have a triple function: industrial material, food additive, and medicinal/pleasure usage.
Dream on, you say? Maybe, but there are many countries that have legalized Cannabis, be it in the hemp form or the cannabis form, and it may be a matter of time (short time) before much of the western world accepts its use in all the applications mentioned above.
One last note on this topic. Given the numbers above (8 to 22 tonnes of CO2 capture per year per hectare), a typical 1 hectare plantation of hemp captures equivalent of 2 typical cars’ worth of annual CO2 emissions. So, for example, in the UK there are about 33 million cars, whose CO2 emissions would require about 16million hectares of hemp trees to absorb it. No one is of course expecting to only use hemp plantations as CO2 capture, but the numbers just give an idea. When you compare this number to the fact that in the same UK, the surface area of woodlands is only little over 3 million hectares, we realize how silly it is to think that planting trees alone can solve our environmental problems!
So, how long would it be before our media ads entice us to wear it, eat it, drink it, or smoke it - it’s good for us and it helps the environment?!
Paris, December 12, 2022
Zeejay