Post by Bens Hemp on Jun 22, 2010 18:28:49 GMT -5
According to this North Carolina farmer, Kenaf could help clean up the oil spill.
www2.wnct.com/news/2010/jun/03/oil-absorbing-plant-ar-211045/
Scientists and businesses agree:
www.agcomintl.com/kenaf.htm
When grown for fiber, hemp is actually somewhat similiar to kenaf. Both crops are easy to grow, do not require much water or chemical inputs, and have high yields per acre. Both have been cultivated for thousands of years for fiber, and have been used for industrial purposes. Kenaf can be used for paper products, bio composite materials, and other products that require biomass (ie, biodegradable plastics and cellulosic ethanol). Now, Kenaf isn't quite as good as hemp though; it's not as strong and doesn't have the seed component, which makes Ben's Hemp oh, so healthy.
From the biomass perspective, kenaf is generally comparable to hemp. A Hemp study bill in Arkansas actually asked for a study of hemp and kenaf. When talking about general paper products, kenaf is certainly better than trees and much more sustainable. Why aren't we using kenaf? It's already legal!!
Unfortunately, programs to promote the use of kenaf have generally failed. For paper, for example, we still need a massive paper plant to produce the huge amounts of paper that corporate America consumes. For fuel, cellulosic ethanol has more than enough problems with switchgrass, which is easier to process than kenaf (switchgrass doesn't have fiber to separate).
But this is ridiculous. Kenaf can be used to clean the oils spill, and they're not using it?? WHY?!?!
Hemp would do the same thing. Why aren't they using either?! This is why hemp has the potential to be a real game changer. It's easy to ignore kenaf.... who knows what kenaf is? Do you even know how to say it?
But Hemp- everyone know what hemp is. They might not know that it can absorb oil, but everyone knows that hemp is something that they don't know much about. Why they're not using kenaf to clean up the mess, it's because kenaf isn't strong enough to stand up to chemical dispersants and corporate/government bureaucracy. Hemp on the other hand, might make people think twice about what they're doing and why.
Thoughts?
www2.wnct.com/news/2010/jun/03/oil-absorbing-plant-ar-211045/
Scientists and businesses agree:
www.agcomintl.com/kenaf.htm
When grown for fiber, hemp is actually somewhat similiar to kenaf. Both crops are easy to grow, do not require much water or chemical inputs, and have high yields per acre. Both have been cultivated for thousands of years for fiber, and have been used for industrial purposes. Kenaf can be used for paper products, bio composite materials, and other products that require biomass (ie, biodegradable plastics and cellulosic ethanol). Now, Kenaf isn't quite as good as hemp though; it's not as strong and doesn't have the seed component, which makes Ben's Hemp oh, so healthy.
From the biomass perspective, kenaf is generally comparable to hemp. A Hemp study bill in Arkansas actually asked for a study of hemp and kenaf. When talking about general paper products, kenaf is certainly better than trees and much more sustainable. Why aren't we using kenaf? It's already legal!!
Unfortunately, programs to promote the use of kenaf have generally failed. For paper, for example, we still need a massive paper plant to produce the huge amounts of paper that corporate America consumes. For fuel, cellulosic ethanol has more than enough problems with switchgrass, which is easier to process than kenaf (switchgrass doesn't have fiber to separate).
But this is ridiculous. Kenaf can be used to clean the oils spill, and they're not using it?? WHY?!?!
Hemp would do the same thing. Why aren't they using either?! This is why hemp has the potential to be a real game changer. It's easy to ignore kenaf.... who knows what kenaf is? Do you even know how to say it?
But Hemp- everyone know what hemp is. They might not know that it can absorb oil, but everyone knows that hemp is something that they don't know much about. Why they're not using kenaf to clean up the mess, it's because kenaf isn't strong enough to stand up to chemical dispersants and corporate/government bureaucracy. Hemp on the other hand, might make people think twice about what they're doing and why.
Thoughts?