Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hemp Can Help Clean Up Gulf of Mexico Oil

OIL SPILL PROBLEM: Soil & air pollution from exposed crude and dispersant. 

HEMP SOLUTION: Institute a Hemp Phytoremediation Program 

Hemp was helpful around Chernobyl, with a bit of planning by a hemp experienced mastermind alliance, can be used to help clean up the environmental mess in the Gulf of Mexico caused by BP, and other disaster areas.

The same way hemp was used in Chernobyl, we should be using hemp to clean up the toxins from the Gulf of Mexico "oil spill" (more like a volcano) and other environmental crisis situations.  How?  Engage in large scale hemp planting in affected areas via a modern Hemp For Victory program.  

Hemp’s 6’ or longer root system aerates soil.

The McGraw-Hill Companies reported 

February, 2000: Chernobyl (Ukraine)  - Using Plants To Clean Soil  "Phytoremediation is a process that takes advantage of the fact that green plants can extract and concentrate certain elements within their ecosystem. For example, some plants can grow in metal-laden soils, extract certain metals through their root systems, and accumulate them in their tissues without being damaged. In this way, pollutants are either removed from the soil and groundwater or rendered harmless."

"In 1998, Phytotech, along with Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP) and the Ukraine's Institute of Bast Crops, planted industrial hemp, Cannabis sp., for the purpose of removing contaminants near the Chernobyl site. Cannabis is in the Cannabidaceae family and is valuable for its fiber, which is used in ropes and other products...

Overall, phytoremediation has great potential for cleaning up toxic metals, pesticides, solvents, gasoline, and explosives. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 30,000 sites in the United States alone require hazardous waste treatment. Restoring these areas and their soil, as well as disposing of the wastes, are costly projects, but the costs are expected to be reduced drastically if plants provide the phytoremediation results everyone is hoping for." 

To understand how to use hemp to solve our environmental problems, read the book HEMP FOR VICTORY: A GLOBAL WARMING HEMP SOLUTION by Richard M. Davis, founder and curator of the USA Hemp Museum.  I also found a quick two page report A Citizens Guide To Phytoremediation.


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