Hemp Gas (Bio-Diesel) Adds Fuel To Fire Of Pending Marijuana Legislation

[MedicalNeed]

With the high cost of gasoline and other petroleum based products, should we expect any less from our healthcare? What are the true costs when our item is scanned or energy paid for? Why did we not move towards energy sustainability or independence when we had the chance and surplus budgets?

Everyone has many questions and only a few have sensible answers.

I found some answers in a recent article entitled Hemp Produces Viable Biodiesel featured on Environmental Protection.

Industrial hemp, which grows in infertile soils, is attractive as a potential source of sustainable diesel fuel.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut have found that the fiber crop Cannabis sativa, known as industrial hemp, has properties that make it viable and even attractive as a raw material, or feedstock, for producing biodiesel — sustainable diesel fuel made from renewable plant sources.

"For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel," says Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives, peanuts, and rapeseed. "It's equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won't need the high-quality land."

If you mix in the addition to high unemployment, higher government waste and even higher profits for big business on the foreign territory most of us consider "Wall Street", well, that just seems to be making people upset. Well growing Industrial Hemp for fiber may have a desirable by product, gas. The article goes on to say:

"If someone is already growing hemp, they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce," he said. "The fact that a hemp industry already exists means that a hemp biodiesel industry would need little additional investment."

Well, that is in countries other than the United States of America, land of the free and home of the foreign oil dependent. As the alternative fuel industry fires up, our country is left at a disadvantage before the game even gets started. The article goes on to rub more facts in our face:

The hemp biodiesel showed a high efficiency of conversion — 97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to biodiesel — and it passed all the laboratory's tests, even showing properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any biodiesel currently on the market.

What energy is it going to take to bring the people back to politics and ultimately restore order to a broken two party system. One can only assume it will take the ideas that can ignite a variety of folks for a large movement. To light a fire under someone and motivate them to take action seems to take a personal touch. The article reminds us again that The United States is not growing industrial hemp, for any reason.

Although growing hemp is not legal in the U.S., Parnas hopes that the team's results will help to spur hemp biodiesel production in other parts of the world. UConn holds a patent on a biodiesel reactor system that could be customized to make biodiesel from a range of sustainable inputs, hemp included...

... are preparing to build a pilot biodiesel production facility using a two-year, $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy.

I thought it a very personal touch that they not only remind us again about not being able to touch the hemp cannabis plant in the USA. Although based in the USA, the Connecticut based study adds insult to injury as their work helps produce jobs elsewhere. Maybe this is the fuel need to settle the smoke and mirrors game we have come to know as "war on marijuana".

Every time you go to the gas station and fill up your automobile or flip on a light switch, ask your self if there could be a better way.

To read the entire October 7th article on Environmental Protection, the following link has been provided for your convenience.

Hemp Produces Viable Biodiesel -- Environmental Protection

Biodiesel Magazine also covered the story: UConn work shows benefits of hemp biodiesel - Biodiesel Magazine

BusinessGreen.Com story also mentions hemp gas (biodiesel) will be made from a non-psychoactive plant. Crazy I know...they even add that they will use the plant fibers to make the actual car. Now that is taking it green to the extreme. Scientists say it is high time for hemp-based biofuel - 11 Oct 2010 - BusinessGreen.com

As with many other commercial uses of hemp, Parnas's process would use the Sativa variety, which unlike its cousin the cannabis plant is not psychoactive. Hemp fibre is also being used as a core material in some car body designs.

NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:jayselthofner.com
Contact: Jay Selthofner - Independent Candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly District 41
Copyright: 2010 JaySelthofner.com and Friends of Jay Selthofner.
Website:Hemp gas (bio-diesel) adds fuel to fire of pending marijuana legislation | Jay Selthofner for WI State Assembly District 41

 

[michaelkaer]

As far as I know you can also make a form of alcohol and a form of gasoline from hemp. It would be much better to re-tool gas engines to take higher alcohol content(since it burns cleaner than biodiesel) since we have so many gas vehicles compared to diesel. The big rigs are all diesel, but there are few personal vehicles that are diesel relatively speaking. You can use the hemp hurds to make the alcohol and still use the seed as food. My advice is to grow so much that you do not have to choose!

 

[michaelkaer]

There is another part to this that many people do not understand, cannabis likes soils which tobacco likes (marginal) and since it improves the soil, it can be grown in non-food bearing soils and "brown" spaces. Farmland does not have to be used.

 

[MedicalNeed]

They also used Hemp to cleanse the soil at chernobyl.
Higher Education Support | McGraw Hill Higher Education


Or Google.
hemp to clean the soil at chernobyl

 

[geekgoddess]

Great article, thanks for sharing!

 

[MedicalNeed]

geekgoddess

Welcome to 420 Magazine!

I am glad to have posted this for your enjoyment.

 

[NORML Jay]

Thank you for posting, this was a popular article.

 

[Odin]

As far as I know you can also make a form of alcohol and a form of gasoline from hemp. It would be much better to re-tool gas engines to take higher alcohol content(since it burns cleaner than biodiesel) since we have so many gas vehicles compared to diesel. The big rigs are all diesel, but there are few personal vehicles that are diesel relatively speaking. You can use the hemp hurds to make the alcohol and still use the seed as food. My advice is to grow so much that you do not have to choose!

There is another part to this that many people do not understand, cannabis likes soils which tobacco likes (marginal) and since it improves the soil, it can be grown in non-food bearing soils and "brown" spaces. Farmland does not have to be used.

You can make pretty much anything from hemp. Its why its such an amazing plant. I think "retooling" gas engines would be far too vast an undertaking. Maybe on new cars it wouldnt be a big deal, but not retrofitting older vehicles. Instead, they should focus on producing more diesel powered cars. The entire world gets a huge line up of diesel vehicles from all makes and models. Ford for example sells a Diesel Focus in Europe, but not the States.

Toyotas sells most all of the vehicles they sell in the USA elsewhere (and a ton of other vehicles we don't get), only in diesel version. Toyota USA however, offers no non-industrial vehicles in a diesel in the USA. Places like Australia have far more Diesel vehicles than gas. The USA on the other hand has way more gas than Diesels. The Government, petrochemical, cotton, and the timber industry have seen Hemp/Cannabis as a MASSIVE threat for a long time. William Randolph Hearst started the crusade against Hemp to protect his own interests in Timber. A chain of events later ending in the Marijuana Tax Act, the Hemp industry was killed. Diesel has been regulated into the ground here as well, only allowed for the obvious application that require a Diesel, such as big trucks, boats, etc. I used to drive big trucks for a living, and our gas box trucks just did not compare to the diesels in terms of economy and hauling ability.

In my opinion, Diesels are the way of the future. Not hydrogen cars, not electric cars. Rudolph Diesel invented the Diesel engine to run forever practically, on peanut oil. However, there is no plant better suited in terms of pounds produced per acre than Hemp. Also like Michael said, it can be used to improve the soil. We need to be growing hemp everywhere. The idea of growing food for fuel is moronic at best. There are more than a billion people starving every day in this world, and we are going to turn food into fuel? All around bad idea. Electric cars are too environmentally costly to build, hard to work on, expensive, and not viable for most applications besides commuting in a big city. Hydrogen does have some potential, so we will have to see where that goes. Hemp, and diesel engines however are definitely the way of the future. Or at least until some other magic option is discovered.

They also used Hemp to cleanse the soil at chernobyl.
Higher Education Support | McGraw Hill Higher Education


Or Google.
hemp to clean the soil at chernobyl

Fascinating article, I did not know that. Thanks for sharing!!

Spreading the word about Hemp is just as important as spreading the word about Cannabis, especially considering they are the same thing more or less. All this talk about saving the world these days, it baffles me I never hear environmental zealots preaching about hemp and biodiesel.

Instead of going and buying a Pruis to trick myself into believing I am doing something for the good of the planet, I am going to recycle an old Mercedes Diesel car, and convert it to run on alternative fuels. With a few simple modifications, you can make them run on damn near anything. My friend has done the conversion and after filtering used engine oil, brake fluid, atf, veggie oil, whatever he has, he pours it in the tank and drives around getting low to mid 30 mpg range. Its about the "Greenest" way to get around I think.

I'm looking forward to getting my Alternative Fuel Benz project rolling. Just waiting for the right car and deal to fall in my lap.

This is a cool movie a couple of guys did recently about using alternative fuels. Along their journey, they stopped at my friend's offroad shop and had him do some work on their Japanese Toyota Biodiesel Firetruck. Its a great video, you can check it out here.

Oil + Water - The Movie - The Adventure

Hemp really will save the world.

 

[NORML Jay]

Industrial Hemp, Medical Marijuana and Recreational cannabis subject matter is vast and full of facts that can easily arm any activist.