Hemp has played an important role throughout our history thanks to its properties which enable it to be converted into a variety of useful items such as clothing, paper, rope, and other resources. There’s evidence that we’ve been using hemp since 8,000 BCE, which makes it the first known cultivated plant. However, while hemp has undoubtedly been a valuable resource throughout history, it may become even more important in our immediate future.
It’s important to note that hemp is not the same as marijuana. Although hemp and marijuana look and smell alike, there is a key difference: the amount of THC. THC is the psychoactive substance in marijuana that’s responsible for the “high” that users experience. Whereas marijuana contains anywhere from five to 20 percent THC, the hemp plant contains only around 0.3 percent. Another difference is that growing hemp is legal in far more locations than growing marijuana is – and that’s a good thing, because the hemp plant is positioned to make a huge difference in the way we do things as a society.
Mountains of plastic, harmful fossil fuels, and a booming population are either polluting us to death, or draining the earth of its natural resources. Our current path of unsustainability is the number-one problem of our time, and without solutions, the ending does not look very happy.
The good news is that the answer may not require groundbreaking formulas or profound technological advancements. No, the solution to our problem may be as simple as a humble plant. Hemp can replace our most crucial resources – here are four important ways how.
1. An Alternative to Plastic
Just 100 years ago, we believed that plastic was the end-all, be-all product with countless uses. Today, however, we are facing the horrific reality it has created. In fact, we have accumulated more than nine billion tons of plastic – a number that becomes more incredible when you consider that plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose. It takes so long that we don’t even know firsthand precisely how long is “long.” We can’t get rid of the plastic that already exists on earth, but we can use biodegradable alternatives, such as hemp.
It turns out that we can use the fiber inside hemp to create a plastic alternative that provides the same benefits of plastic – but it’s completely biodegradable.
2. Sustainable Fuel
As if a plastic alternative wasn’t enough, hemp can also help us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We can use hemp to produce two types of fuels:
- Ethanol/Methanol: Made from the fermented stalk
- Biodiesel: Made from hemp seed oil (Wright & Well uses both hemp seed oil andhemp root oil in our products.)
Our need for a natural alternative to traditional fossil fuels only increases as the problems surrounding it continue to snowball. As the only alternative fuel we can use in any unmodified diesel engine, hemp offers a solution that’s affordable, efficient, and sustainable. Fun fact: Henry Ford’s first car used hemp and was designed to run on hemp fuel!
3. Saving the Trees
Trees are one of the natural resources most affected by our growth. A 2015 study found that the number of trees on earth has decreased by 46% since the beginning of human civilization, and that we continue to cut down a staggering 15 billion more every year. It’s essential that we make a shift because trees serve several important roles:
- Fight climate change
- Clean the air
- Provide shade
- Cool cities
- Conserve energy
- Prevent soil erosion
- Protect from UV rays
- Provide a habitat for wildlife
- Provide wood
Besides, trees are beautiful!
Hemp fiber offers a great alternative to wood and an ideal solution to the tree problem. This fiber can be used to produce paper, wood, and more. On top of that, it’s an efficient and cost-effective choice.
4. Fewer Negative Effects of Industrialization
The same hemp fibers that can be used to produce plastic, fuel, paper, and wood can also be used to create a variety of environmentally-friendly alternatives to traditional building materials. These include:
- Hempcrete. Hempcrete is a natural material that can replace drywall, concrete, and insulation. It’s much lighter and can provide thermal regulation, efficient insulation, and fire resistance.
- An alternative to steel. Amazingly, hemp can even be used to produce a steel alternative that’s many times stronger and better at bending and mending than steel. Hemp will reduce the negative impacts of steel production, such as excess energy usage and harmful emissions.
- A replacement for wood. The wood alternative made from hemp can replace traditional wood in roofing, flooring, insulation, and many other building applications.
What is Hemp Oil? How Does it Compare to CBD?
Questions such as “What is hemp oil?” and “What is THC?” are prevalent when it comes to learning about this versatile plant and all it has to offer. It can be particularly easy to confuse CBD, THC, and hemp oil because people often use these terms interchangeably while they are indeed different products. The simple answer is:
- THC is the cannabinoid found in the marijuana plant responsible for its psychoactive effects.
- CBD is also a cannabinoid but is not psychoactive.
- Hemp oil is typically used in food and skincare products, while CBD is used more often in holistic or therapeutic products and supplements.
There are also different types of hemp oil, such as hemp root oil and hemp seed oil. You’ll find that at Wright & Well, we choose hemp root oil for most of our products because of its many advantages, including its fresh aroma, lighter weight, and rich terpene content.
The Future of Hemp
Hemp has served as a vital resource throughout our existence, and it remains essential to our survival. Even with the remarkable solutions hemp can offer, it is meeting resistance due to government bans and public stigma. Awareness and education are vital in bringing these solutions to reality.
Why not try one of these hemp alternatives in your own life? It won’t be easy to repair the damage that’s been done to our planet, but with everyone doing their part, we can make a difference.