Hemp can fertilize soil and restore ecosystem health. In most cases, hemp cultivation does not require pesticides and promotes the growth of microorganisms in the soil. Hemp roots also stabilize soil, help other plants grow, and prevent desertification. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is a major factor in the deterioration of soil health. These chemicals kill beneficial microorganisms in the soil and disrupt natural nutrient circulation. As a result, soil loses fertility and crop yields and quality decline. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers can run into groundwater and rivers, causing eutrophication. Eutrophication promotes the overgrowth of algae, which results in a decrease in oxygen levels in the water. This phenomenon is deadly to fish and other aquatic life, leads to the deterioration of water quality, and destroys ecosystems. The use of chemical fertilizers causes the release of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere. This gas has a greenhouse effect about 300 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2) and is a major factor in global warming.
In contrast, hemp cultivation strengthens the soil's natural resilience.
As hemp roots penetrate the soil, they improve the soil's structure and its ability to retain moisture and nutrients.
Hemp absorbs twice as much CO2 as cedar plantations.
Hemp is a plant that can efficiently absorb and fix CO2. A cedar forest of the same area absorbs about 6 to 7.5 tons of CO2 while hemp absorbs more than twice as much CO2 A hemp hectare has the capacity to absorb about 9-15 tons of CO2 A hectare of hemp absorbs about 9 to 15 tons of CO2.
Hemp, which absorbs 9 to 15 tons of CO2 per hectare, is called “the crop that absorbs the most CO2” by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) and is considered to be the plant that can contribute the most to reducing CO2 emissions. Desertification of 9.504 billion hectares, or 66% of the Earth’s total land area of 14.4 billion hectares, is in the very near future. However, if hemp, which can stop desertification, were to be planted on the 9.504 billion hectares of desertified land, it could absorb 85.536 to 142.56 billion tons of CO2 per year.
Desertification, which is mainly caused by agricultural expansion, overgrazing of livestock, urban expansion, infrastructure development, and unsustainable land management such as mining development, is resulting in the loss of food production infrastructure such as agriculture and pastoralism, accelerating poverty, increasing the number of refugees, and spreading social disorder and instability, which in turn have a negative impact on society as a whole. This in turn leads to wars and regional conflicts due to social unrest, lack of cooperation, and other factors. Planting hemp and stopping desertification can only be beneficial. It is one of the goals of the Green Transformation (GX) and will become the main stream of carbon credit trading, creating various jobs and a wide variety of industries, and achieving carbon neutrality in all processes from cultivation to production, use, and disposal. It will also lead to the revitalization of local communities and the creation of a recycling-oriented society.
Fast growth, 3-4 months to maturity
200 million years solved in 3 months!
Cannabis can be harvested for fiber in about 3 to 4 months and seeds in about 6 months. Depending on the region, it can be harvested multiple times a year, and the speed of CO2 absorption and fixation is fast, so it can absorb more CO2 in a shorter period of time and contribute to mitigating climate change. It can also be expected to have a bioremediation effect. Oil takes 200 million years to produce.
Modern human life is so dependent on petroleum that it is no exaggeration to say that “human beings are made of petroleum. This is true in all areas of medicine, clothing, food, and shelter. The most popular theory of petroleum is that it was formed from the carcasses of plankton, algae, and other organisms during the Mesozoic and Jurassic periods, approximately 200 million years ago, and the Cretaceous period, approximately 60 million years ago, through the effects of geothermal heat, bacteria, and other factors.
We have a choice between a future in which we dig deep holes to extract products that took 200 million years to create, even though they are natural, and choose to live in a petroleum-soaked world that causes environmental destruction and health problems, or a future in which we can improve our environment and health in just a few months, replace almost all petroleum-based products on the surface of the earth alone, and choose to live in a sustainable world symbolized by hemp. The other is a future in which we can choose a life symbolized by sustainable hemp, which can improve the environment and health in just a few months and replace almost all petroleum-based products on the surface alone.
In the first place, oil is merely a substitute for hemp, and now that the distortions and evils of the petroleum society, in which hemp has been substituted for oil, are reaching their final stages, we need to break away from an oil-dependent society and restore a hemp-based lifestyle.