Main Objective
Organize a system enabling everyday people to grow hemp in their backyards, patios, balconies, community gardens, and places of business to sequester carbon.
Sub Objectives
1. Compensate growers with utility credits to lower the impact of rising utility
costs and create some relief for struggling families.
2. Suspend hemp growing restrictions for home growers.
3. Educate the public on the benefits of hemp.
A. Participation in the growing program
B. Art will be posted on social media and
public spaces through interviews and articles.
C. Private moderated online communication hub
for the growers & organizers. This area will help
educate program participants and create material
to post to the public.
D. A public website that would include curated material
from the private communication hub, full-length interviews
with program participants (growers, community partner
participants, community leaders, and people using hemp they
have grown, craft ideas, and innovations.
E. Town halls, and public informational meetings, these meetings
can also happen online.
4. Create a partnership with educational institutions to explore innovation and
to further the understanding of the material.
A. Work with science students/departments so they can
test and experiment with the plant to see how it interacts
with the environment and what else it can be used for.
B. Provide students in various departments like art and
engineering hemp materials to experiment with and
create new things.
C. Provide students and the university in general with
products made from hemp: like paper, plastic, seeds,
soil, mulch, hempcrete, particle board, fiber, and biofuel,
to replace products we currently use that put a strain
on our environment and supply chain, like petroleum-based
products, and or products made from trees.
5. Intensely increase demand for hemp-based products. Help hemp
farmers and Indigenous communities make higher profits and
incentivize more people to grow hemp. Get more carbon sequestered.
A. Public Education
B. Grower communities
C. School integration
6. Partner with the city, county, and state infrastructure programs and use
hemp products to update materials into carbon-neutral fixtures.
A. Hempcrete (hemp-lime) continues to absorb carbon in
this state.
B. Hemp-based particle board, when possible, to
avoid using trees
C. Hemp rebar and bio-metal
D. Hemp bioplastic
7. Create jobs, students will be able to supplement some positions if we can
make those partnerships, but we will also need teams assigned to help large
groups of home growers. They will be responsible for teaching them how to
grow and harvest the plants. They will teach them about retting. Help with the website and online forums. They will be available for growers who have
questions about their plants' health and provide them with any help they might need.
make those partnerships, but we will also need teams assigned to help large
groups of home growers. They will be responsible for teaching them how to
grow and harvest the plants. They will teach them about retting. Help with the website and online forums. They will be available for growers who have
questions about their plants' health and provide them with any help they might need.
Positions, Tasks & Goals
1. Data collection and planting should be done in intervals to track how
weather affects the plants, water restrictions, and growing methods.
2. Incentive exchanges, working with the power company, negotiating
incentive agreements and implementing them to ensure growers are
adequately compensated.
3. Paying the workers, including student workers. Student workers may
be able to be compensated with a combo of class credit and
monetary compensation.
4. Community site & public website building and maintenance, along with
monitoring, in case a grower needs help or a member of the public has
a question, the community stays family-friendly. (i.e., restricting the use of
"bad" words, staying on topic, i.e., talking about their experience with the
growing project and the plants themselves. Other topics will be removed
so that the online community does not alienate anyone and everyone feels
safe.)
5. Art and media team. They will need to create educational art that engages
with the public respectfully and generatively. We want people to dream of
new ways to use this material and feel comfortable participating in the program.
6. Organizing and negotiating donated hemp material allocation, keeping track
of which growers need to make testing appointments if they want to sell the
hemp or make items to sell using the hemp and new grow communities.
7. Planning and execution involving the pickup and processing methods.
8. Negotiate fair compensation terms for the growers. It is essential to
compensate growers with non-monetary compensation so that we do not
undercut farmers and Indigenous communities directly written into the
2018 Farm Bill as the benefactors of monetary compensation for growing
this product. Eventually, having people at home grow hemp should help
benefactors make more money than they are currently making. Right now,
the demand is low thanks to the stigmatism attached to hemp motivated
by industry giants looking to save their industries and profits over the
well-being of the people on the planet. However, implementing this program
will create interest and demand and help the farmers and Indigenous
communities make a higher profit. We will be growing fiber hemp in
backyards and community garden spaces and shorter grain hemp at
homes that have smaller outdoor spaces to work with. In addition, hemp
in this program will be grown in shorter cycles so that the plants do not
get taller than 12 feet for the fiber plants and 6 feet for the grain.
Farmers grow hemp year-round to produce the tallest plant, reaching up
to 22 feet. Because of this, we will not be able to compete in the same
markets because farmers have created the standard. The inability to
conform to these standards is another reason I suggest working with
educational institutions vs. established commercial markets. We can
make new markets by giving away the hemp to not go against any of
the current restrictions on hemp production that does not get tested
for THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) levels before being harvested.
(If we can not get utility companies on board, we need to find different types of compensation, like debt relief vouchers which could be applied to credit, medical, and student debt. Alternatively, saving plans for people without debt can be used for education, medical expenses, and home improvements that align with an environmental conservation metric, like maybe Energy Star).
Obstacles
The 2018 Farm Bill allows farmers, Indigenous communities, educational institutions, and research institutions to grow industrial hemp. However, it does not let everyday American citizens grow industrial hemp at home. (McConnell, Merkley, Paul, Wuden, 2018)
California state law allows citizens 21 and older (18 and older for medical reasons) to grow up to 6 marijuana plants at home. Depending on city and county ordinances, the plants can be grown outside or must be grown inside, and the local law enforcement agency must be aware of residents growing marijuana in their yards or homes.
Farmers, Indigenous communities, and institutions that plan to have their hemp crop participate in commerce must have their plants tested for THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) levels 11 days before harvesting. Farmers have to destroy approx. 10% of their harvest each season because plants test over .03% but are usually under 1%, which is still an insufficient amount to make anyone high. The issue is that marijuana is still listed as a narcotic by the DEA, and non-psychoactive industrial hemp is still associated with marijuana. According to the 2018 Farm Bill, industrial hemp is not considered marijuana if it tests under .03% THC when dry but is considered a class one narcotic if it does test over.03% THC because, at that point, it is considered marijuana again. (McConnell, Merkley, Paul, Wuden, 2018) It is not a problem in science-based research papers, but it is listed as a problem on government sites and some college sites that teach industrial hemp cultivation.
Farmers do not understand what causes hemp plants to get hot. Farmers call hemp plants that test over .03% THC "hot." This program might also help us determine why hemp goes hot because growers will grow such low amounts. We will monitor how they produce them, along with natural occurrences, like temperature and watering. Plus, we will be trying out different methods of watering conservation. Like DIY (Do it yourself) irrigation methods and growing seedlings in smaller containers to limit water use during the first six weeks when hemp plants need the most water and then transplanting them afterward when they need less water. (Place, 2019)
Ideally, growers at home could grow up to 10 plants. Unfortunately, not everyone can accommodate that amount, like those in apartments, condos, and townhouses, which will have to grow shorter grain varieties instead of the fiber hemp people with yards, community gardens, and businesses can opt into growing. However, since California residents are already allowed to grow six marijuana plants per household by a citizen 21 and older (and 18 and over with a doctor's permission), maybe we can share that privilege with non-psychoactive industrial hemp. Marijuana plants are not subject to testing because they are expected to have high levels of THC, so this is not an issue they have to deal with.
Another exception for testing within California's legislation is that untested hemp that stays out of commerce.
a. Industrial hemp produced by registered hemp breeders that does not
enter the stream of commerce shall not be subject to the sampling
requirements outlined in Section 4941(b) if the sampling method to test THC
concentration has the potential to ensure at a confidence level of 95
percent that the plants grown will not test above the acceptable hemp THC
level pursuant to Part 990.3 in Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(October 31, 2019), which is hereby incorporated by reference
(CDFA, 2022, pg.26)
As a pilot project, hopefully, we can find a compromise between these two laws so that growers can grow hemp plants in their backyards to help curb the effects of climate change because hemp is such an effective carbon sink.
If we let growers hold on to the hemp, they grow to use as compost, to experiment with processing, to use in arts and crafts (if a person wants to
use their hemp in commerce, then they may have the option to get the hemp tested themselves), home improvement projects. All projects and experiments would have to be documented and posted on the community website, which would, in turn, help promote the various uses for hemp along with different ways to process it. Home growers would only be permitted to use dry retting. They would be prohibited from using wet retting due to water/drought restrictions and chemical retting to protect growers, animals, and the environment from adverse effects.
Growers not interested in experimenting and or using the hemp they have grown may donate their plants to the city, which can decide how to use the hemp in infrastructure projects and/or educational institutions.
Hemp plants could also be burned, turned into hemp char, and buried to keep sequestering carbon underground.
Growers will be compensated for growing hemp and sequestering carbon independently from how the hemp is used afterward.
Related Research
What is Carbon Sequestration & how does it work?
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing, securing, and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The idea is to stabilize carbon in solid and dissolved forms so that it doesn't cause the atmosphere to warm. The process shows tremendous promise for reducing the human "carbon footprint." There are two main types of carbon sequestration: biological and geological.
In many ways, carbon is life. A chemical element, like hydrogen or nitrogen, carbon is a basic building block of biomolecules. It exists on Earth in solid, dissolved, and gaseous forms. For example, carbon is in graphite and diamond but can also combine with oxygen molecules to form gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2).
Carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas produced both in nature and by human activities. Manmade sources of carbon dioxide come from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil for uses in generation and transportation. Carbon dioxide is also released through land use changes, biologically through oceans, the decomposition of organic matter and forest fires. (Think agriculture and food waste in landfills)
The build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can trap heat and contribute to climate change.
Learning how to capture and store carbon dioxide is one way scientists want to defer the effects of warming in the atmosphere. This practice is now viewed by the scientific community as an essential part of solving climate change.
Biological carbon sequestration is the storage of carbon dioxide in vegetation such as grasslands or forests, as well as in soils and oceans. About 25 percent of global carbon emissions are captured by plant-rich landscapes such as forests, grasslands, and rangelands. When leaves and branches fall off plants or when plants die, the carbon stored either releases into the atmosphere or is transferred into the soil. Wildfires and human activities like deforestation can contribute to the diminishment of forests as a carbon sink. (CLEAR Center, UC Davis, 2019)
Non-psychoactive hemp (Cannabis Sativa L. ) absorbs 3 times as much CO2 per hectare as forests. Hemp grows exceptionally tall and fast like a small thin tree enabling it to absorb more carbon in a shorter period.
(Plants are grown close together to discourage excessive leaf growth and to promote stalk growth which is the part of the plant that absorbs the most carbon. )
(Collins, Harper, Kime, Manzo, Roth, 2018 and Jacobs, date not listed)
These are quotes from 9 different papers and studies from around the world that have researched the environmental benefits of using hemp to curb the effects of climate change, both as a carbon sink and as a material that could be used to replace current problematic materials. Some studies also emphasize the need to educate the public to increase the demand for hemp-based products to improve the overall success rate of hemp being used as a carbon sink.
(I am using quotes because I am an artist, not a scientist, so they can explain the science much better than I can):
Hemp's fast growth and development makes it one of the fastest sources of CO2-to-
biomass converter. Hemp has been proven to be an ideal carbon sink as it can
capture more CO2 per hectare than other commercial crops or even forests. For
example, one hectare of hemp can absorb 22 tons of CO2 per hectare. High biomass
crops like hemp, that are grown for fiber, can sequester higher amounts of carbon by
photosynthesis and then store it in the plant's body and roots through bio-
sequestration. Most of the carbon is stored in the harvested hemp stem and less in
roots and leaves. Hemp could produce at least 13 tons of biochar per hectare
annually. One of the other potential uses of hemp biomass would be the production
of biochar for soil applications that could potentially improve soil carbon
sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Adesina, Bhowmik,
Sharma, Shahbazi, 2020, pg.5)
When hemp grows it takes in CO2 and converts it into glucose, cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin. The CO2 molecule is broken down, with the carbon locked
up in the plant and the oxygen given back to the atmosphere. It takes 1.84 tons of
CO2 to make each ton of dry hemp. So the more hemp we use, the more CO2 is
removed from the atmosphere.
(Cazac, Mutean, Galatanu, Taus, 2016, pg. 6/23) (*pdf. pg. #/ article pg. #)
Hemp is an annual plant characterized by a well-developed leaf system and is one of
the fastest growing plants on Earth. It can absorb approximately 10 t of CO2
(depending on plant variety) from the atmosphere during one vegetation period,
improving air quality, thermal balance and ensuring a positive environmental impact.
(Zimniewska, 2022, pg.2/1-3/2), (*pdf. pg. #/article pg. #)
According to Defra, UK farming emits a total CO2 equivalent of 57 million tonnes in greenhouse gases (GHGs). UK agricultural land use is 18.5 million hectares. This amounts to an average of around 3.1 tonnes of CO2 per hectare total embodied emissions. In comparison, one hectare of industrial hemp can absorb 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare. Hemp contains around 65-70% cellulose (wood contains around 40%, flax 65-75% and cotton up to 90%); Hemp represents a sustainable and carbon- negative source of plasticizing material. (Wilson, date not listed, pg.2)
Hemp absorbs four times the amount of carbon dioxide as trees to amid its snappy 12-14 week development cycle. Delivering hemp plastic likewise requires 22-45% less energy than non-renewable energy source based items. (Karachi (Professor), Karachi (Student), Modi, Saeed, Shahid, Younas, 2018, pg. 3)
Hemp is attracting more attention in different industrial sectors for competitive physical properties against man-made counterparts and capability of higher carbon sinking. Industrial hemp has emerged as a highly successful commercial crop due to its carbon- sequestering property, higher biomass production, and various end-use products. Researchers believe that it can be successfully used as a cover crop since it can remediate contaminated soils through phytoremediation and can be produced without pesticides. Even hemp residues can act as botanical insecticides or miticides and inhibitors to soil nematodes and pathogenic fungi. It can replenish the soil by killing and displacing other tiny crops or weeds and absorbing heavy metals from soils. Hemp can be used for insulation and acoustic purposes in the building sector, paper industry, medical purpose, textile industry, biofuel, cosmetics industry, food and beverage industry, and fiber can be used as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites pr in biocomposite as a substitute of glass and carbon fiber. (Ahmed, Islam, M.S. Mahmud, Sarker, M.R. Islam, 2022, pg. 2/3), (*pdf. pg. #/article pg. #)
Hemp yields more biomass than wood, offering even two times more usable fibers than forests. Industrial hemp consists of a maximum of 77% cellulose which is three times more than wood and other agricultural wastes. This indicates a quadruple amount of paper can be produced from hemp against forests grown in the same area. In addition, hemp is a short rotation crop that can be harvested after four months of cultivation, whereas hardwood and softwood plants require 8 to 12 years and 20 to 80 years, respectively in rotation cycles. Again, the opportunity to recycle hemp bast fiber-made papers is twice that of wood based papers. Hemp stalks are composed of long bast fibers and hurds, where the latter is four times more by weight than fiber. Hemp's central woody portion contains 36% cellulose and 27% lignin, whereas bast fiber contains 72% cellulose and 4% lignin. The whole hemp stem contains 47% cellulose and 18% lignin, which is more favorable than pine and birch wood. Hemp stalk contains the highest percentage of cellulose, with the lowest lignin content over almost all non-woody stalks.
However, hemp bast fiber secures second for alpha-cellulose after cotton. The lignin and cellulose content in hemp stalks considerably vary among cultivars and growing seasons. (Ahmed, Islam, M.S. Mahmud, Sarker, M.R. Islam, 2022, pg. 5/6), (*pdf. pg. #/article pg. #)
"As mentioned earlier, climate change has emerged as one of the foremost threatening facts for lives on earth. Various types of initiatives are being implemented for the encapsulation of the threat. The European Union has set a goal of reducing greenhouse emissions by 40% by 2030. Construction of buildings and roads consumes nearly half of the raw material and energy across the world [169],
and the inside utility services like lighting, heating, and air conditioning emit almost
47% CO2 in the UK. Thereby, it can be concluded that this sector is a major
contributor to world climate change and requires intensive focus for a review of
material design, sourcing and building design as green buildings for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As an alternative to conventional filling material, hempcrete can be a better
choice for its lighter weight, hydrothermal and acoustic performance, carbon
negativity, and natural sink of CO2. It has been reported that 260 mm thick
1m2 hemp-lime wall requires up to 394 MJ of energy and sinks up to 35 kg
CO2 over a 100-year life span, whereas Portland cement-based equivalent
concrete wall requires 560 MJ of energy with an additional release of52.3
kg of CO2 [189]. Therefore, the most potential use of hempcrete in terms of
CO2 sinking is that its regrowth cycle is in one year, much shorter than
forest regrowth for storing carbon over the lifetime of the composite and
thereby delaying the emission of greenhouse gas. (Ahmed, Islam, M.S.
Mahmud, Sarker, M.R. Islam, 2022, pg. 20/19), (*pdf. pg. #/article pg. #)
Industrial hemp is a strain of Cannabis Sativa that contains lower
concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the narcotic component of
cannabis and can be utilized as a carbon sink. Hemp can capture between
10 Mt and 22 Mt of CO2 per hectare, making it more efficient at CO2
sequestration than agroforestry. It was found by that hemp production might
boost net CO2 abatement by up to 21 Mt Co2e annually by replacing 25%
of oilseed rape (OSR) and sugar beet production.
(Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.2)
First qualitative data in the form of environmental policy in Ireland is studied,
followed by quantitive data analysis in the form of CO2 emissions and carbon
tax. This will bring together a comprehensive account of the benefits and
limitations of the cultivation of industrial hemp as an agricultural crop to
sequestrate CO2. This is aimed at gaining in- depth contextual knowledge and
exploration of the environmental and economic CO2 sequestration of hemp
in Ireland. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.3)
Plants with large biomass, such as hemp, can sequester more carbon through
photosynthesis and then store it in the plant's body and roots through
bio sequestration. Hemp stems store the most carbon, while roots and
leaves store the least. Industrial hemp can sequester between 9 to 28
Mt CO2e. The carbon storage estimation for this study areas follows.
A low scenario conservative estimation, a mid scenario mid estimation and
a high scenario overestimation. This is based on hemp capturing between
10 Mt and 22 Mt of CO2 per hectare. The annual carbon sequestration
estimations for hemp in this study are based in a single and double crop
per year, as hemp can be cultivated twice annually. It is assumed due to
the novelty of this crop and licensing timeline that only one crop of
industrial hemp was cultivated. Low scenario underestimation: 1 hectare
of hemp on average sequesters on average 10 tonnes of net CO2
per hectare. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.3-4)
Mid scenario mid estimation: 1 hectare of industrial hemp can absorb
on average 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare. High scenario high estimation:
1 hectare of industrial hemp absorbs an average 22 tonnes of CO2
per hectare. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.3-4)
Farmers participating in the programme will be paid for environmental
functions such as biodiversity enhancement, improved water quality,
improved soil health, and CO2 sequestration.
(Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.7)
The results show that in 2019 the total CO2 emissions from agriculture
was 21,151 million Mt. In the same year, at its peak, there were 547
hectares of industrial hemp cultivated, which accounted for 0.0079%
of total land use and 0.0123% of total agricultural land use in Ireland.
Due to the novelty of industrial hemp and the nature of the licensing
timeline, it is assumed for this study that one crop of industrial hemp
was cultivated annually during this time, the results that follow show
the ranges of possible carbon sequestration from underestimates,
mid estimates to overestimates of possible CO2 sequestration benefits
of industrial hemp cultivation in Ireland.
Low scenario underestimates, based on a sequestration rate of 10 MT
of CO2, it is estimated a single cultivated crop could sequester a total of
14,660 million of CO2 and a double crop could have sequestered 29,320
million of CO2 from 2017 to 2021.
Mid scenario mid estimates, based on a sequestration rate of 15 Mt of
CO2 , it is estimated a single cultivated crop 2017 to 2021 could sequester
a total of 21,900 million of CO2 and a double crop have sequestered
43,980 million Mt of CO2.
High scenario overestimater, based on a sequestration rate of 22 MT of
CO2 CO2e per hectare. It is estimated a single cultivated crop could
sequester up to 32,252 million Mt of CO2 and double
crop could have sequestered a total of 64,504 million Mt of Co2 from
2017 to 2021. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.10)
Due to hemp's ability to re-mediate contaminated soils through
phytoremediation, convert high levels of atmospheric CO2 into
biomass through biosequestration, and produce bioenergy from
hemp biomass, hemp has significant environmental benefits. Hemp
also has excellent potential to remove heavy metals from land. It is
a promising candidate for soil remediation because of its high biomass
output and ability to thrive in a variety of situations. The fertilizer
requirements vary with the type of hemp grown, whether for seed,
fibre, or CBD oil and can require a wide range of nutrients. Growing
energy crops does not inflict an impact on the environment when compared
to potato and wheat. Cultivating hemp does not affect agricultural lands
used for food production. It is also possible to incorporate hemp into
other crops. The use of the entire hemp plant could be the key to long-term
economic, environmental, and social viability. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.12)
Removing toxins from the soil has shown promise in small-scale testing
in Italy and the United States. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.14)
Hemp crops require little potassium. According to, the dry matter of the stem (where 80 percent of the atmospheric carbon is stored) increases as the nitrogen balance of the soil changes, with nitrogen levels between 0 and 120 kg/ha having the potential to sequester up to 22 Mt tons of CO2 per hectare. When slow-release fertilizers like UREA are utilized instead of synthetic fertilizers like ammonium nitrate, hemp farming has a superior vegetative development and seed quality.
Industrial hemp is a scalable crop that has the potential to improve both the economy and the environment, the true valorization of industrial hemp will hinge on the significant innovation and the development of high-value applications. The newest technological applications of hemp may be the most promising. Stem material from hemp can be harvested in large quantities, at between 10 Mt and 14 Mt tons per hectare. Ref. Using no agrochemical input and with only minimal fertilization, hemp produced a high biomass yield in Ireland (>10 t /ha). The carbon sequestration rate of fibre-based hemp crops can surpass both urban and forest tree plantations. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.15)
Due to its physical and genetic similarities to its psychoactive-rich (>0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), extensive community outreach and education are required to eliminate the stigma associated with industrial hemp. (Madden, Ryan, Walsh, 2022, pg.16)
"Industrial hemp is a scalable crop that could provide significant and environmental benefits; however, the true valorization of industrial hemp will hinge on significant innovation and the development of high-value applications. Utilization of the whole hemp plant may be key to attaining economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Further, strong community outreach and education is required to overcome the stigma attached with industrial hemp due to its morphological and genetic similarities to its psychoactive- rich (>0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)) analog. This editorial identifies critical research, educational and community outreach, platdors to develop a robust US industrial hemp program, with a goal to enable the renaissance of this miracle crop. (Lucia,Pal*, 2019, pg. 1)
Hemp has been described as the most heralded and traded commodity in the world until 1830's and such a favorable past reputation has been attributed to the diversity and importance of its byproducts. There are approximately 30 countries that currently permit farmers to grow industrial hemp, while is was only recently that the United States reintroduced its production through the 2018 Farm Bill. Industrial hemp, which has the Latin name Cannabis sativa L., is defined as containing less than 0.3% content of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (psychoactive substances). This makes it unsuitable as a narcotic, but very useful for a myriad of other applications. (Lucia,Pal*, 2019, pg. 1-2)
Hemp can be reharvested after just four months of cultivation to give a fiber that consists of an outer ring of more valuable long phloem fibers ("bast") and an inner core of less valuable short xylem ("hurd") fibers. The separation of hurds from fibers can be accomplished either by using a traditional process commonly known as "retting" (related to rotting") through several methods for selectively removing binding substances (such as pectin) or using a modern decortication process resulting in nearly 3 tons of bast fibers and 7 tons of hurds per hectare. Bast fibers are the long fibers favored for composites, textiles, and specialty papers. Hurd fibers, on the other hand, are widely regarded as a low-value byproduct primarily used for animal bedding and hemp-lime construction applications. (Lucia,Pal*, 2019, pg. 2)
Industrial hemp has some favorable features as a pulp resource. The core fibers of hemp hurds allow facile pulping liquor penetration due to their thinness. Sodium carbonate, the alkalinity of which is too weak to be effective for most wood resources, can be used for its pulping and fibrillation. Autohydrolysis, in conjunction with enzymes, is another approach that has proven efficient for the defibrillation of fibers from hemp without harsh chemicals associated with pulping (e.g., the Kraft process).
Though the hemp hurd fibers cannot be expected to provide the levels of strength associated with typical wood-pulp fibers, they may be suitable as part of fiber blends in products where such attributes as absorbency and smoothness are needed. The longer bast fibers of industrial hemp can be considered, along with softwood fibers, for reinforcement of tissue and associated products. Packaging and heat-molded can also be considered." (Lucia,Pal*, 2019, pg. 4)
Major considerations for noval crops as identified by the expert panel during
workshop discussions: Marketability: Market price and required economics
of scale consumer demand, either local or otherwise - is there a niche
market available? Contract issues with purchasers Consumer perception
of the product (e.g., hemp's association with marijuana) (Gardner, Gaston, Maclean, 2021, pg.5)
The panel were enthusiastic about the huge diversity of industrial applications for hemp, which include use as a bioplastic and graphene substitute, but raised the ‘chicken and egg’ problem, similarly high-lighted by, that many industries that could and would use hemp products are challenged by lack of supply, yet producers will not invest in growing crops to supply a market that does not yet exist. Hemp is grown mostly for its oil and fibre, but hemp seed protein is also sold as a vegetarian food supplement. Experts discussed that, given the right environment, yields could be very high compared to other crops and hemp was also considered environmentally friendly due to little harmful accumulation or emission of chemical in- puts and the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by carbon sequestration. However, it was emphasized that a major drawback to growing hemp is the crop’s association with the use of the illegal narcotic marijuana. This means it can be difficult to acquire seeds and that a licence from the Home Office is required to grow hemp in the UK. The licence lasts only for one growing season and both new licences and licence renewals involve a fee. Licence applications from farms near to ‘sensitive areas’ such as schools or areas of public access are more likely to be rejected. (Gardner, Gaston, Maclean, 2021, pg.7)
The Plan Details
*(Please note the original proposal that Elizabeth Ene from Bob Blumenfield's office has a copy of includes a specific plan for that district. This is because I live in this district and want to participate in the program as a grower while also running the program. However, now that Elizabeth Ene has advised me I must get all the city council members on board for the city of Los Angeles, I think including the whole city in the pilot program would be better. )
Organize a system enabling everyday people to grow hemp in their backyards,
patios, balconies, community gardens, and places of employment to
sequester carbon.
1. Find funding. This project embraces the goals found in California Governor
Gavin Newsom's plan for climate action and the country's climate goals in
the Inflation Reduction Act. Hopefully, we can work together on this
project, and the city can allocate funding from those sources to help to
complete and grow this project. If other funding sources are available,
that would also be helpful. Ideally, we can start working on this project as
soon as possible. (California Climate Commitment, 2022 & New York Times, Shoa, 7 Key Provisions in the Climate Deal, 2022)
2. Create an agreement with utility companies. Maybe they could qualify for a
tax credit through the Inflation Reduction Act if they worked with this program
since the main goal is to sequester carbon and cut consumer utility costs.
(New York Times, Shoa, 7 Key Provisions in the Climate Deal, 2022)
3. Produce educational materials about hemp, its benefits, how to grow
hemp, and what can be made with it. We should have something we
can show people they can read and watch in person and online. We
will also start a social media campaign for the project that highlights
the program's benefits and hemp. Design and produce hemp project
participation signage.
4. Recruit people to help recruit growers, build websites & databases, to
organize and keep track of growing schedules, payments, incentives,
growing and processing methods, and develop art and marketing teams.
5. Train people on how to recruit growers and teach them everything they
need to know about hemp & the program. They will need to be able to
explain the benefits of hemp for the environment and recognize which
people might be more interested in saving money on their utilities versus
helping the environment. The areas I have picked for the pilot project have
a varied population when it comes to positions regarding climate change,
but everyone likes to save money. This incentive will be particularly popular
here in The Valley, with rising utility costs due to air conditioning during
extremely high temperatures. They will also need to feel comfortable
discussing the differences between industrial hemp and marijuana. It will
be helpful for them to have visual material on hand and easily accessible
online information.
6. We will also need to design and build the websites and databases and
register with the national hemp grower database if that is applicable for
this pilot project.
7. Develop educational programming. This educational programming should
include images used on social media, plant care tutorials, troubleshooting,
information on what hemp can be used for, and how it can replace
petroleum-based material to help fight climate change even more.
Also, explain how growing hemp here in the US helps to create a
bigger domestic market for hemp and hemp-based products. We can
also talk about the health benefits associated with using hemp. We can
host workshops in person and online. Talk to and interview people in
the program, growers, scientists, activists, students, city and state
officials, 'and maybe even utility company representatives if they
are interested. Use the community resources this project will build and
share them with the rest of the community and anyone willing to listen.
8. Recruit growers and work with the city to decide on the areas and
numbers best suited for the project. We will recruit growers until we hit
our target or reach the last planting session, which will be 12 months
after the first planting month. Alternatively, we could spend the first 3
months recruiting growers. If additional people are interested in
participating, we could have a signup sheet available online for the
next project cycle happening in their area.
9. Acquire seeds. (There is a seller in California, Hemp Traders, that sells
hemp seeds to farmers; we could get them there, or maybe the city
knows of a place, Field teams (the people who recruited the growers) will
hand out the seeds, and we will keep track of how many plants each person
is growing. Plus, how well they are doing and what kind of plant management
system they use.
10. Create partnerships with community colleges and universities to help
research the hemp and find people interested in working on the project.
Students at Pierce College's agricultural program and students from other
college science departments, including their climate science, biology,
geoscience, engineering, and biochemistry programs, can work with the
hemp directly to be able to talk to the public via interviews and workshops and
to be able to find new uses for the plant. It would also be great if they could
help us measure the amount of carbon being sequestered, improvements to
soil quality, and help recruit growers. We could work out a deal to do a
project with the students that also gave them class credit and monetary
compensation—creating a project partnership with the colleges' art
departments. Ideally, students would have access to the hemp used in
the project to make art. This availability will help us understand the material's
flexibility and what we can make with hemp. Art projects would also be a great
way to illustrate to the public how these materials work and what they look
like and inspire even more possibilities.
11. Start tracking and mapping grower locations and planting schedules.
12. Meet with local law enforcement, share maps, and schedules, and agree
upon the place to put signage for the growers so that law enforcement
is always aware of who is and is not participating in the program to help
keep the growers safe.
13. Start planting. Planting should be done in cycles and using succession
planting to see how the plants react to different changes in the weather.
So the various care methods, including watering routines, can be tested
to determine the most successful results.
14. Establish check-in dates and procedures for growers and helpers. Schedule
pick-up dates for those who want to donate their hemp back to the
city/program. Ask them how they would like the hemp to be used
(mainly for curiosity and to see if the educational programming is working).
If they keep the hemp, show them how to do dry retting and explain that
they are not allowed to do chemical or water retting. Establish online
community groups so that the growers, advisors, researchers, and other
people involved in the program can participate in troubleshooting issues
as well as celebrating successes. Have active moderators to ensure the
space remains safe. Use success stories and troubleshooting issues on
the website to help educate the public, including the growers.
15. Have meetings with growers, and vote for community-based grow leaders
with high success rates and who would like to help other growers in the
area. A community leader who would be taking on more responsibility
could earn more utility discounts.
16. Find new communities that want to participate in future versions of this
project, and have a sign-up sheet on the website expressing interest.
Contact city officials to talk to them about the project and see if it can be
done there too.
Drought Considerations
California is experiencing extreme drought conditions right now, which this project is very mindful of. ( I could not find studies that addressed this problem at this scale because hemp around the world is being grown in farm scenarios or labs and is not being studied from the perspective of a home grower, only raising approximately 10 plants at a time.) So instead of looking at this problem through the studies of others, utilize more of a DIY (do it yourself) approach to how gardeners are handling short water supplies in general when it comes to managing their home gardens. Here is some referenced information from a hemp farmer in central California connected to the company Hemp Traders.
Hemp plants need the most water during the first 4 weeks. They need well-drained soil. One study looked at growing hemp in pots due to drought concerns, but the study also looked at the use of Nitrogen and not just water discrepancies. This study was the only one I could find. They did say that hemp plants could bounce back from significant water stress, The Hemp Trader's farmer suggests that hemp is grown best using an irrigated drip system because it needs a constant amount of water, but the soil needs to drain well because the roots do not like to be wet.
Different methods should be used to determine which works best and under what conditions. We should try keeping some of the hemp plants in pots for 4 weeks and then transplanting them when they need less water. Most of the plants' growth takes place after the first four weeks. Sprouting occurred at 2-3 weeks after planting.
It should be noted that areas of the field which did not get adequate water with our sprinkler system did not germinate. However, the seeds did germinate later when we added our drip irrigation system. Plants which germinated earlier outcompeted the plants which germinated later, resulting in a higher mortality rate. Therefore to achieve a lower mortality rate and a higher yield, make sure you get all the plants to sprout evenly at the same time.
Fiber hemp has an incredible growth rate. Densely planted hemp limits the lateral branches and forces the plant to grow taller to compete for sunlight. At four weeks, the plants just averaged 4 inches. But by seven weeks, they averaged 2-3 feet. And by 10 weeks, the plants were 6-7 feet, increasing in height by 1 foot per week. By harvest time, the plants were 15-20 feet tall. (Sebin, no date listed)
(Their growth cycle is year-long, so we are capping our growth cycle at four months (15-16 weeks) so that plants do not grow higher than 12-14 feet. Limiting the number of plants may also affect how high the plants grow because there will not be as much competition for sunlight)
Other hemp plants can be grown in the ground directly, whereas other plants will stay in pots. Some may have to get transferred into larger containers.
We will try various DIY (do it yourself) watering systems. There are a lot of water bottle conversion ideas. Some use cotton swabs to control the water dispersion, while others use cotton string. Some use rocks at the bottom of the water. At the same time, others use physics to control the bottle's pressure by poking a hole at the bottle and loosening the lid to deliver different amounts of water pressure. These regulate when the water comes out of the bottle and how fast. Other options include using terracotta pots to release the water/moisture into the soil a little bit at a time. We could also use methods that recycle the water in a closed or covered container so mosquitoes are not attracted. Other people could use an irrigation hose if they already have something like that available. New solutions should come up in the online community area since growers will get to grow 4 different cycles of hemp for the pilot project.
For processing, we will use dry/dew retting, which entails cutting down the stalks at the base of the plants. Then, take the leaves off (which can be composted) and lay the stalks on the ground for about 2 weeks. The process plays out when dew makes the stalks wet in the morning, and then they dry out during the day. The process initiates a bacterial response, and the bacteria eat the sticky substance embedded between the layers inside the stalk. When the stalks are completely dried, the layers become easier to separate and process. {USDA, date not listed}
The fiber needs to be beaten and combed serval times to be softened and untangled before it can be spun into yarn. It is easier to spin wet, so if the grower or processor wants to dye the fiber, it would be more water efficient to dye it right before spinning it.
The hurd can be broken down into various weights to make compost, hempcrete, or hemp plaster, or growers could experiment and find more ways to use the plant if they decide not to give the plants back to the city.
If they decide to donate the plants, we could work with a processing company to process the plants for us. Alternatively, we could donate the plants to educational institutions, and they could explore new ways to use the plants. We could cut the plants down at harvest time and pick them up at harvest, but without a processing plan or destination point, we will have to find another location to ret the plants. Alternatively, we could let growers ret the plants and then pick them up when they are dry.
The Ask
Please remove or pause the restrictions surrounding hemp to complete this project. Then, after its success, we can expand it to all of LA County, Southern Ca., all of California, and then across the United States.
The restrictions that need to be lifted include where hemp can be grown. Only farmers, members of Indigenous communities on Indigenous land, and established educational and research facilities are allowed to grow hemp. Additionally, anyone 21 and over or 18 and over with a doctor's permission can grow up to 6 plants of marijuana at their home. It would be great to have people grow up to 10 plants in their yards, but starting with 6 plants per cycle is also a great way to start.
People should be allowed to help solve climate change in a way that does not force them to spend money they do not have and allows them to participate even if they are not homeowners. Even if curbing climate change does not end up being the motivation for their participation, everyone should still be able to benefit from this program. Communities rarely have the opportunity and the ability to come together and help solve life-threatening problems. It is a situation usually reserved for movies and tv, along with stories about the Greatest Generation that pulled together to help defeat a common enemy during a war. Like then, this moment allows us to provide a better future by working together now. We are already suffering through the effects of climate change; each year is projected to be worse than the last. So allowing everyday people to participate by growing this plant to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere could make a huge difference. It could create understanding, innovation, and a higher demand for those allowed to sell this product for profit.
While at the same time, it could also clean our soil and sever our reliance on fossil fuels and foreign ties. It could help us establish cleaner production practices. It could help companies reach Newsom's goal for plastics to become completely compostable or recyclable by 2030. It could help Biden achieve the climate goals set in the inflation reduction act by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Funding is needed for this project, which should qualify for financial assistance in the form of grants under Governor Newsom's Climate Bill for California and the federal bill that just passed, The Inflation Reduction Act. Both bills have allocated funding for innovative projects that reduce CO2 emissions and promote innovation to curb the effects of climate change.
Homegrown Proposal, Dawn Ertl, 2022,
homegrown.thehempproject@gmail.com
*denotes 2023 proposal updates
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