[backstop]

Solelum - Good post !

Could you give more detail of the establishment, harvesting and processing used for the bio-deisel ?

Also I'd be very intersted to hear more of the company you're working with, and the 'CSIRO'.

regards,

Backstop

[duff_beer_dragon]

Anyone that says you have to compare bio-diesels to petrol is talking sh*te ;

car engine was designed to run on vegetable fuels from the beginning -

see the Model T Ford original specs. for example.

You can, and many are already doing it too, run diesel engines on used vegetable oils - there's a van that advertisises this in the UK, it runs on used oil from chip shops and other fry up places.

The onus was on they who began the mining to prove how that was cost-effective in comparison to crop growing and oil processing.

[MrBean]

Good discussion. One more thing that has not come up yet. Am I right to assume, that if hemp was used to manufacture semi-durables and even durables on large scale, it might function as effective sink for CO2 and ease the climate change? Can somebody do the numbers?

[duff_beer_dragon]

http://www.hempplastic.com/newSite/index.htm

[djd]

And lest duff_beer_dragon think I only criticize:

I'd like to point to this as an example of an actual (partial) solution - though I still have concerns about the feasibility of hemp agriculture on a significant scale, and about what amount of energy is required per kilo of hemp plastic. No revolutionary breakthrough in our understanding of organic chemistry is required to make the plastic, though.

I feel much the same way about thermal depolymerization (partial solution) - but a lot of partial solutions may just add up to one entire solution!

I note in passing that the idea of making plastics from plants is not new - the first Rayon was made from plant material.
http://heritage.dupont.com/floater/fl_r ... ater.shtml

So, now that we may HAVE TO do it, it starts looking like a good idea for the future.

[duff_beer_dragon]

It's been around all along........it's nothing new.........

so, why hasn't it been used then? why the efforts to make sure it never saw the light of day then?

Industry loves new things that make them money - except sometimes? They like long term solutions.


Your note in passing was yet another example of the sort of insidiousness that shouldn't have to be put up with,

the link I provided inlcudes that information, yet you felt you had to add one of your own as if it was further informative -

you also deliberately selected Dupont because you know how integral that company was in killing the hemp industry in America and around the world - Dupont worked with Anslinger and bad-mouthed hemp in the newspapaers and invented racist scare stories about cannabis users to help keep hemp associated with those stories, Dupont stood to gain from making hemp illegal because they owned rights to chemicals that turned wood pulp from trees into paper.

Just keeps getting worse doesn't it?

[djd]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('duff_beer_dragon', 's')o, why hasn't it been used then? why the efforts to make sure it never saw the light of day then?

[djd]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('djd', '
')Show me where hempplastics.com mentions rayon.

[freelight]

I've read that hemp exceeds the potential that any other plant offers when it comes to replacing trees for paper, biomass, plastics etc... although i've never heard it mentioned by anyone who is aware of the problems peak oil presents. I personally believe that marijuana is only illegal in the U.S. because it allows the powers that be to keep hemp illegal in order to profit from timber, oil, pharms etc... so by ending a war on a fairly benign substance in order to free up funds wasted on nearly 1 million arrests a year, we could save $$$ and tax people who buy from legal sources in order to help pay for a severely outdated infrastructure. im no expert on the subject, but it seems obvioius. any thoughts?

[sventvkg]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('freelight', 'I')'ve read that hemp exceeds the potential that any other plant offers when it comes to replacing trees for paper, biomass, plastics etc... although i've never heard it mentioned by anyone who is aware of the problems peak oil presents. I personally believe that marijuana is only illegal in the U.S. because it allows the powers that be to keep hemp illegal in order to profit from timber, oil, pharms etc... so by ending a war on a fairly benign substance in order to free up funds wasted on nearly 1 million arrests a year, we could save $$$ and tax people who buy from legal sources in order to help pay for a severely outdated infrastructure. im no expert on the subject, but it seems obvioius. any thoughts?

[lostech]

hemp isn't a panacea or anything, but it is a very useful plant that will probably be widely planted again at some point in the near future. I've heard there have been relatively recent gains in technology that would make hemp clothing pretty much simply superior to cotton- it sounds like they solved the softness problem, and hemp of course is much tougher and cheaper to grow.

[frankthetank]

Grows wild around here...Narc agents would probably come out of the trees if I even stopped to investigate... This countries whole drug policy is shit... I don't use drugs/never will but I'm still trying to figure what locking someone up with a chemical dependency is suppose to help...along with the costs associated with keeping that person behind bars (over 30K a year/inmate)...

Hemp needs to be freed!

[ararboin]

Industrial hemp is catching on in Canada.

Check out hemp.com

[rerere]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('freelight', 'I')'ve read that hemp exceeds the potential that any other plant offers when it comes to replacing trees for paper, biomass, plastics etc... although i've never heard it mentioned by anyone who is aware of the problems peak oil presents. ...... any thoughts?

[Freud]

Isn't hemp and cannabis two entirely different plants? Correct me if I'm wrong.

You can't smoke hemp....... That's got to shoot a hole in a lot of motivations......

[freelight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rerere', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('freelight', 'N')o one mentions hemp in the same way no one suggest going out and killing whales to get oil - not overall a good plan.

[freelight]

meaning, thanks, in reference to the algea facts. i will check up on this and suggest you read up on what scientists are saying about cannabis for cancer, aids, stroke, chemo, tumors, glaucoma, nausea ect ect ect

[freelight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Freud', 'I')sn't hemp and cannabis two entirely different plants? Correct me if I'm wrong.

You can't smoke hemp....... That's got to shoot a hole in a lot of motivations......

[skateari]

I agree, hemp could have saved the world. But now it appears to be a little to late for that. Hemp can have great personal benefits to the indivisual. The only problem is that its illegal, in most places, esp. in America. My personal reason that i've felt the government has supressed marijuana is it aids CIA drug smuggling. It shoots two birds with one stone. It gives our government a way to spend its money, and looks like its putting it to a useful "war on drugs", and also increasing hard drug use. Its a proven facts communities that have a high marijunana useage also use a lot less hard drugs. So it gives our government a way to spend its money, looking like its a useful way, while increasing hard drug use. Its a well known fact that the CIA runs cocaine and herion drug smuggling operations, and its one of the biggest runners in the world. This money is laundered, and used in many of the largest corperations in America. Its one of the core illegal operations that keeps our government in the position it is in today.

But enough of that, our government has supressed the helpful use of this plant for what ever reason. Peak Oil may give us the oppurtunity to grow and use this plant in our everyday life, but dont do it now. If you do, it just gives all the more reason for the government to cease your assets, hold off on it until you think its safe and the athorities wont pay you a visit.

Now for its uses, besides meditational use, relaxing, and medical use, there are many uses of the non THC hemp plant. Its seeds can be ground up with water, to create a high protein milk. Its wonderful tasting, and it can also be used in the making of biofuel. The plant also contains the strongest fiber, so its great for making cloths, rope, and many more materials.

Personally, the only reason I would grow 'hemp' is for the relaxing, meditiation part, but that is because I dont have any first hand experiance dealing with hemp and how to use it. I just bought the book "The emporer wears no cloths", but have yet to read it. Wait on planting your crop though.., the cops are still in town and it is still illegal. After shit hits the fan, and your in you remote getaway, and you feel its safe, then go ahead and plant away for personal well being. I think its a great plant, even though I have no first hand knowledge in using it for every day life, I think we all could use and reap from its benefits. Peak oil will bring a lot of change, and it also means our government will no longer supress something so helpful and peaceful, as well as a lot of other stuff.