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Cannabinoids have been credited by consumers and researchers alike with many benefits to individual health. But now industry stakeholders are wondering if the hemp plant could be applied to an even bigger task – saving the planet.
Anxious to avoid a recurrence of the problems created by over-production of hemp earlier this decade, US growers have been seeking new ways to use hemp biomass, and today (1st April) plan to unveil proposals developed by a research team from the University of Colorado in Two Buttes.
If just a single state were to increase its hemp acreage to 32m acres (about half the total size of Colorado), they say, enough hemp could be produced to provide comprehensive flood defences for countries at risk from rising sea levels such as Bangladesh, Fiji, the Netherlands and Tonga.
Moreover, in addition to mitigating the effects of climate change, the plan would also provide a long-term boost to the US hemp sector. With melting polar ice progressively saturating the vast bales of hemp installed on vulnerable coastlines, the hemp would require regular replacement, ensuring a continuing market for American producers.
“This project is a win-win,” said Avril Furst, executive director of industry association Hemp to the Rescue!. “Not only do we see off those pesky sea levels, we ensure the long-term viability of the US hemp industry. Who could ask for anything more?”
The scheme is attracting the attention of potential investors, among them Elon Musk, though reports have suggested that he may prefer to fund another project that would bundle together billions of used disposable e-cigarettes and fire them into space to deflect threatening meteors.
– Hiram Schnauzer CannIntelligence natural disasters correspondent
