chycho

Chycho.com - Analysis and discussion about the world we live in.

A recent report from the Oxford-based Global Canopy Programme states that while the “transport and industry” sector accounts for 14 percent of global CO2 emissions, deforestation accounts for up to 25 per cent of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere.


The urgency implied in the statistics presented in this report can not be over emphasized. Deforestation "in the next four years alone”, will “pump more CO2 into the atmosphere than every flight in the history of aviation to at least 2025.” “According to the latest audited figures from 2003, two billion tons of CO2 enters the atmosphere every year from deforestation. That destruction amounts to 50 million acres - or an area the size of England, Wales and Scotland felled annually.”


The report states that to help stop global warming “the political will and a system of enforcement and incentives” are required that make “trees worth more to governments and individuals standing than felled.” However, this is extremely shortsighted, since our consumption of paper can not be curtailed in time to save the environment, especially considering that “for every 100 pounds of trash we throw away, 35 pounds is paper.”


This problem is even further exasperated by the propaganda being produced by the pulp and paper industry. These corporations continually release reports claiming that forests are a renewable resource and that they are “committed to recovering 50% of all the paper Americans use.”


A fifty percent return rate means that we are on a fast track to destruction, especially if you consider that casinos make billions of dollars by having slot machine return rates as high as 98-99%. The minimum legal payout percentage for slot machines in “Nevada is 75 percent and in New Jersey is 83 percent.” This means that if we apply the same legal standards, that bankrupts millions of people around the world, to the pulp and paper industry, they would be considered thieves and immediately put out of business. Then why are we allowing this shortsightedness to destroy the environment and the future of generations to come?


Unfortunately our governments are just as guilty of producing misleading propaganda, maintaining the status quo. The US government has even created a children’s websites claiming that for every tree that is cut down, “another is planted to replace it”, conveniently forgetting to mention that a sapling does not have the same environmental benefits as a large tree and that it may take decades for it to reach maturity, if it actually reaches maturity. This claim that “paper companies plant trees specifically for papermaking, much like an apple farmer grows apple trees to produce apples.” even becomes more absurd when you consider that afforestation is only a historically recent practice.


There is however a solution, but it must be implemented immediately to reduce CO2 emissions, allowing the environment ample time to rejuvenate before we reach the point of no return. The solution is Hemp, a variant species of Cannabis, and its use is as old as civilization itself.


The United States of America initiated the global war on Hemp in the “early parts of the 20th century.” It was a multi faceted program geared to increase profits for the oil and the pulp and paper industries, and to create a two-tear social system. Propaganda and coercion were used to manipulate world opinion into accepting this agenda. These tactics were and are frighteningly similar to those used to wage war in the Middle East, and unfortunately with the help of the media the United States has been able to, until recently, criminalize the production of Hemp.


Cannabis products span the consumer spectrum making it the only plant in the world that can help us curb global warming. It has “over 25,000 potential uses.” It rejuvenates the soil, it can replace wood products saving our forests, it is medicinal, it can be used as a building material, textiles, paint & plastic, fuel, paper, food and body care. For a great introduction to the benefits and potential uses of hemp see the following documentary: “Hemp Revolution”

Part 1 (33:40)

and

Part 2 (39:04).

The Global Canopy report continues to state that “forests offer the single largest opportunity for cost-effective and immediate reductions of carbon emissions", and that "If we lose (our) forests, we lose the fight against climate change." Considering that “more than 50 per cent of life on Earth is in tropical forests, which cover less than 7 per cent of the planet's surface”, is it not about time that we began to preserve our natural habitats?


To help stop what indigenous elders have called “Mother Earth is crying,” we need to stop the war on Cannabis. Even though we were manipulated into accepting a war that has cost us billions of dollars and million of lives, it’s time for us to grow up, accept responsibility, and make changes. To reduce our contribution to global warming we must begin the cultivation and consumption of hemp en masse globally.

chycho
Chycho.com - Analysis and discussion about the world we live in.

chrstphrgthr

On top of it all, I think you forgot to mention that trees are alot harder to turn into paper than Cannabis, due to wood being a hardier material. It also takes much more in terms of chemical process and waste (bleaching and such) to make wood into paper.