BC is burning. Forests all over the world are in flames right now. When you also consider all the effects of air pollution and carbon emissions, the threat to our lungs has gotten quite real. According to the Annual State of the Global Air Report published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), ninety percent of the planet’s population is breathing unhealthy air. It’s very easy to look at the world and the direction it’s heading with fear and dread. However, there are solutions and one of them is cannabis. Believe it or not, the fact is that the cannabis plant can help clean the air.
Cannabis acts as a carbon sink
A carbon sink is a natural system that sucks carbon out of the soil and the atmosphere and stores it. Our biggest natural carbon sinks are the ocean, plants, and soil. Thanks to deforestation and the increase in greenhouse gasses, a vicious cycle of climate change has been sped up. So, in order to clean the air quickly, we need to plant hemp in every possible place that we can. While that may seem extreme, it’s actually backed by science. In an effort to reduce their global emissions, the Australian government ordered a study on “The role of industrial hemp in carbon farming“. What was found was that hemp provided an ideal solution in both the environmental and economic sense.
The Science behind the clean air with cannabis
Hemp works as one of the best plant carbon sinks because of its growth rate, molecular makeup, and the biomass of its cannabis stalks. The cellulose content in industrial hemp is very high and it gets displaced with carbon it takes out of the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, that carbon permanently bonds to the molecules, thus, any concern about contaminating its surrounding environment is completely eliminated.
Using the Fibers
The chemical makeup of cannabis is truly incredible and we could use it to replace all oil-based and plastic products. From the moment it is planted, hemp removes C02 from the soil and air. Whatever is sucked out of the air gets locked within the plant. Plus, these fibers can be used in everything from building materials, everyday household items, cosmetics, and even in cars.
The fires are burning, smoke is thick and it’s hard to breathe outside right now; but at least there’s a way we can scrub the sky, plant cannabis plants. To help lighten the mood and make this information stick, here is a wildfire wordsearch.
Edited August 15, 2021