| Global Warming - Industrial Hemp - Twenty-First Century Land-Use - Toward The Compassionate Global Society - That government (federal and state) must assume some responsibility for taking measures in advance of, and pursuant to, scientifically-researched and reasonably anticipated natural disasters, is understood. Prolonged summer drought conditions occurring in many areas across the U.S. (possibly due to global warming) will be devastating; failure to develop commensurate responses at federal and state levels will certainly mean serious consequences for the well-being, directly and indirectly, of all Americans and others similarly affected the world over. In all scientific studies of global warming the role of trees and forests is underscored time and again. Every tree, beyond its intrinsic and natural beauty, becomes significant as a sponge for carbon dioxide, a purifier of air, a dependable standby for erosion control, a helper in sustaining water table levels, and more. Fortunately, for the environmental future of our planet and its inhabitants, a uniquely versatile plant is available (requiring no genetic modification) which can supply food, clothing, paper and in fact all of the construction materials presently obtained from trees: industrial hemp. The reintroduction of industrial hemp in the U.S. (part of a larger worldwide trend) can (1) reverse the conversion of forests to pastures, (2) arrest the utilization of forests for papermaking, (3) provide an alternative to the use of trees for building materials, (4) assist in the restoration of water table levels. "Since 1937, about half the forests in the world have been cut down to make paper. If hemp had not been outlawed, most would still be standing, oxygenating the planet." This observation, made editorially in a conservative California newspaper in 1988, also has pertinency to forests cleared for grazing purposes (hemp seeds can produce hempburgers, cheese, milk and ice cream), as well as to building materials (hemp fiberboard has been demonstrated to be twice the strength of wood fiberboard). "Hempcrete" blocks, which are "lighter, stronger, and easier to work with than masonry concrete", are now being produced from industrial hemp at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota (start-up costs were under $10,000.00). At first sight even the most minimal government intervention at the onset of predicted global warming - when confronting legally and deeply entrenched property rights of landowners - would appear to be formidable. However, the existence of cultivable federal and state-owned lands can prompt proactive legislative approaches leading to viable options of (1) land exchange programs (i.e. private for federal or state), (2) the cultivation of industrial hemp on federal and state-owned lands (with profits used to promote and subsidize the conversion of privately-owned pastured-lands to lands primarily devoted to fruit and nut production where feasible - the subsidies continuing until acceptable levels of income are reached), (3) direct government assistance (federal and state) to encourage the conversion of privately-owned pastured-lands to lands used for the purpose of growing both food-producing and non-food producing trees either separately or concurrently, depending upon land suitability. Permaculture Such legislation must take into account the property rights of landowners while at the same time recognizing the Positive Generational Constant (Human Empathy and Compassion) as it relates to basics fundamental to the Compassionate Global Society: (a) a healthful, sustainable environment for every planetary citizen, (b) universal health care, publicly supported, (c) education for all based upon individual capability, (d) creative/productive employment for every citizen, (e) financial security upon completion of work career. Forelaws Homepage "The Golden Rule is a natural consequence of the recognition of the unity of being" (Esme Wynne-Tyson, The Philosophy of Compassion, Centaur Press, 1970). |
| last edited 10/22/02 |