Biofuel

Naturally Advanced Technologies Agrees with the National Research Council of Canada to Collaborate on Research for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol from Sustainable Feedstock

This Research is Intended to Develop New Enzyme Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol Manufacturing

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff

Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (NAT) amended its agreement with the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada to include collaboration on cellulose technology research for the production of cellulosic ethanol from sustainable feedstock, such as corn stalks and straws, the unexploited byproduct in agri-food production. In my opinion, this is a huge step toward sustainability and mankind's ultimate survival.

Research Timeline

* The NAT - NRC collaboration began in 2004 and was extended in 2007 for the design and construction of advanced enzyme technology for the extraction and cleaning of industrial hemp fiber for the textile sector, as spearheaded by Dr. Wing Sung. (See Video Below)

* As this research is in the final stages, the two parties have agreed to divert existing funding commitments to pursue additional opportunities for the advanced enzyme technology, namely in cellulosic ethanol.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibers. Events were organized around the world to enhance awareness of the benefits to workers, consumers and the environment of using natural fibers and to bring natural fiber organizations together to promote common interests. Accordingly, natural fiber organizations will continue working together beyond 2009 under the auspices of the 'Discover Natural Fiber Initiative.'

Natural fibers are being used increasingly in industrial applications, especially as reinforcement for plastics. A new book, 'Industrial Application of Natural Fibers,' will be available in April 2010. This essential resource brings detailed information about natural fibers, including information about agricultural production, fiber separation, fiber processing and manufacturing of final products. The book focuses on important materials such as emerging applications in polymer composites, non-woven or felted products and textiles.

The book has 20 chapters spread over 576 pages and covers structure, properties and technical applications of most natural fibers, including coir, cotton, flax, hemp, jute, silk, sisal and wool.

International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)


Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=...

The Fuel Film Sets The Green Standard To New Levels - The Choice Is Ours

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News staff

FUEL, is a comprehensive and refreshing look at energy solutions in America, compiled by biodiesel advocate and filmmaker Josh Tickell. The film has taken over twelve years to assemble, won the Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and is an ever evolving project. It is a historic time line of where we have been, identifies our present predicament and a searches for a solution to our dependence on foreign oil and food supply. The film evokes emotions that compel viewers to participate in local community projects in the aid of our planet.

For Immediate Release:

The Office of the Secretary of State received a certified ballot title from the Attorney General on February 2, 2010, for initiative #73, proposing a statutory amendment, for the General Election of November 2, 2010.

In addition, Secretary of State Kate Brown determined that the proposed initiative petition was in compliance with the procedural requirements established in the Oregon Constitution for initiative petitions.

The certified ballot title is as follows:

Permits personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale

Result of "Yes" Vote: "Yes" vote permits state-licensed marijuana (cannabis) cultivation/sale to adults through state stores; permits unlicensed adult personal cultivation/use; prohibits restrictions on hemp (defined).

Result of a "No" Vote: "No" vote retains existing civil and criminal laws prohibiting cultivation, possession and delivery of marijuana; retains current statues that permit regulated use of medical marijuana.

By WRN Contributor / John Colbert-WIBA

A legislative panel is moving toward allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp, a crop that used to be big in Wisconsin before the War on Drugs. Louie Molepske Jr. (D-Stevens Point) is behind the effort which was approved by the Assembly Agriculture Committee Thursday.

Hemp is a resilient plant that can be used for fiber, oil, and in food. Molepske adds Wisconsin was once the number one hemp growing state, this bill “sets in motion” a path back to that level of productivity.

The Stevens Point Democrat says there’s no worry about getting “high” by smoking the crop, as Marijuana contains around 15 percent THC, industrial hemp has only a fraction of one percent.


Source: http://www.wrn.com/2010/01/hemp-bill-clears-panel/

Because hemp is the ultimate cash crop, producing more fiber, food and oil than any other plant on the planet.

By Paul Stanford, THCF/CRRH

According to the Notre Dame University publication, The Midland Naturalist, from a 1975 article called, "Feral Hemp in Southern Illinois," about the wild hemp fields that annual efforts from law enforcement eradication teams cannot wipe out, an acre of hemp produces:

1. 8,000 pounds of hemp seed per acre.

* When cold-pressed, the 8,000 pounds of hemp seed yield over 300 gallons of hemp seed oil and a byproduct of
* 6,000 pounds of high protein hemp flour.

Airlines have high hopes for a new range of biofuels

By Dominic O’Connell, Times UK

At Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport last Monday a gaggle of aviation executives, politicians and journalists trooped aboard a KLM jumbo jet for a flight to nowhere.

The trip was uneventful — the plane and its 40 occupants circled above Holland for a couple of hours before landing where it took off. However, in a small way, it was historic. It was the first flight by a biofuel-powered airliner to carry passengers.

In fact, the plane was only partly powered by biofuel. One of its four engines ran on a 50:50 blend of biofuel and normal aviation fuel. The biofuel was made from camelina, an inedible green shrub.

Despite the limited experiments to date — Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and a clutch of other carriers have run test flights without passengers — airline executives are thrilled with biofuels.

Their industry is a target for politicians and environmentalists in the crusade against carbon dioxide emissions and the prospect of a fuel that will allow the industry to grow while reducing its emissions is enticing. “In the decades ahead, the airline industry will be largely dependent on the availability of alternative fuels in its drive to lower emissions,” said Jan Ernst de Groot, KLM’s managing director.

By Wayne Hauge, American Citizen

I am a fourth generation farmer, grandfather of three, and have never been arrested for anything. I traveled to Washington, D.C. to join hemp business leaders in a symbolic planting of hemp seeds on DEA headquarters' front lawn. This action was taken to raise awareness of the distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana. Today non-dairy milks, protein powders, cereals, soaps and lotions are made from the nutritious omega 3 rich hemp seed, while everything from clothing to building materials to automobile paneling is made from the fiber and woody core.

Along with another North Dakota farmer and state Rep. David Monson, I am involved in a lawsuit against DEA, now in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, to prevent DEA interference with licensed North Dakota farmers cultivating and processing industrial hemp under North Dakota's state industrial hemp program. However, it has been almost a year since the case was given to the judges to decide if states can act without federal government intervention.

By Matthew Brown, Associated Press

BILLINGS – The state this month issued its first license for an industrial hemp-growing operation to a woman who said she wants to develop a domestic market for the plant despite federal law barring its cultivation.

Laura Murphy, of Bozeman, was the first to apply for the two-year licence since the state Legislature approved its commercial cultivation in 2001.

Federal law prohibits such activity, but the license issued by the Montana Agriculture Department on Oct. 14 could challenge whether the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is willing to override the state.

Hemp is similar to illegal marijuana but without the mind-altering ingredient of the drug. It is grown in parts of Canada and Europe and has a range of uses, from fibers for clothing to a source of biofuels.

Murphy called the application process "pretty easy."

"I went in and had a criminal history check and fingerprints and said I had land to grow it on," she said. "They didn't have an official license for me; it's just a letter."

She said she intends to lease 160 acres of unused ranch land near Ennis and is trying to arrange contracts with buyers.

Montana applied to the DEA in 2002 for recognition of the state's hemp growing law. The request was denied, but Montana Agriculture Department attorney Cort Jensen said it could be reconsidered now that a license has gone out.

Bill would promote plant's use for fuel and fiber

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Herald Leader
Photo by Mark Cornelison, Herald Leader

Within the next three weeks, State Sen. Joey Pendleton plans to take a group of Kentucky farmers to study the industrial hemp trade in Canada where the crop has been grown legally for the past 10 years.

Pendleton, D-Hopkinsville, has introduced a bill for 2010, renewing a push to legalize industrial hemp in Kentucky as a cash crop and as a source for alternative fuels.

"The timing is right," Pendleton said. "It would give farmers another crop to raise." Production of hemp is already legal for research purposes in Kentucky but is untried due to federal barriers.

A hemp processing plant from around 1908 still stands on land owned by Margaret McCauley's family in Versailles. She preserves artifacts from the era when hemp was legally raised in Kentucky.

Pendleton's bill comes at a time when federal legislation decriminalizing hemp for industrial use has been introduced in Congress and proponents are encouraged by stances taken by the Obama Administration.

In Versailles, where the remnants of an old hemp processing plant still stand on property that Margaret McCauley's family owns, McCauley said she hopes Pendleton is successful.

By Aimee Pianosi, Canoe.ca

In a white cloud of pollen, 43 acres of hemp was harvested from Hartacre Farms last Tuesday. Herb Hart grew the crop in partnership with Performance Plants Inc. of Kingston, as part of a biofuels project for Lafarge Bath Cement plant, which is working on methods of reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.

According to Kevin Gellatly, director of biofuels business development and media relations for Performance Plants, this particular test plot faced some challenges.

“There were some tough conditions on the lower ground, it got rained out.” There were delays in planting, and then rain and more rain which soaked out some of the seeds.

Gellatly said they were hoping for four to five tonnes per acre, but final yield won’t be determined for a while.

Because it’s a test plot, the seed was provided to Hart, but he said the input costs for the entire season were much lower compared to corn, but similar to other crops. Based on soil tests at the beginning of the season, he added 100 pounds of potash, 25 pounds of 11-52-0 and 20 gallons of UAN. The test plot Hart used is a randomly-tiled field and he said “you can see the patterns of the tiles in the height of the plants.”

“I added no chemicals after planting and that’s one of the biggest savings right there,” he added.

One other positive impact of hemp is that it breaks the disease cycle of other crops, as it is added into a crop rotation, according to Gellatly.

By Tom Grace, Cooperstown Bureau

The Chenango County Board of Supervisors has voted to legalize the growing and processing of industrial hemp to help the county's struggling farmers.

The resolution, sponsored by the county's Planing and Economic Development Committee, was passed without opposition July 13. It has been sent to state legislators and is on the way to federal representatives, committee Chairwoman Linda Natoli of Norwich said Friday.

The measure reads, in part, ``Whereas Chenango County has a rich agricultural history and agriculture continues to play an important role in the county's economy," and ``Whereas the decline in agriculture in recent years provides the opportunity for alternative crops such as hemp, and ``Whereas industrial hemp is now cultivated in more than 30 countries, including Canada, France and Great Britain."

The measure goes on to note that "industrial hemp has no intoxicating properties and is genetically distinguishable from marijuana, and the U.S. "is the largest importer of hemp-based products in the world" in citing the benefits that could be had through local production.

Natoli said she pushed for the measure because she sees no reason that local farmers should not be allowed to grow the cash crop.

``When we began to study this, I didn't know much about hemp and didn't have a position on it, but the more I learned, the more convinced I became that our farmers should be allowed to grow it,'' she said.

By Jay, Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute Staff Writer

Art Bell and Willie Nelson talk about hemp cannabis marijuana in this clip no longer available on the original Coast to Coast site. In this clip from Friday May 9th, 1997, country music legend Willie Nelson chats with Art Bell about the state of hemp criminalization. You may find it surprising how little has changed in the last dozen years.

While several states now allow medical marijuana and thousands of people have been able to emerge from under the dark cloud of criminalization, millions more still fear for their freedom because they enjoy the benefits of this herb superb. The country as a whole still suffers under the unnecessary burdens of the expensive and ineffectual War On Drugs while being denied the financial benefits of this valuable commercial crop.

By Sarah Harlan, WFIE

KENTUCKY (NBC) - Some Kentucky activists said they've found a way to make cleaner fuel without depleting food resources.

A Kentucky oil awareness group is holding a series of meetings to discuss bio-diesel instead of ethanol, which comes from corn and soybeans.

The group wants to use algae and hemp instead.

Right now, it's illegal to grow the crop in the United States.

"In Jessamine County, KY in front of the courthouse is a historical marker," Harry Lee with the oil awareness group said. "It talks about the hemp crop that Jessamine County used to grow. 1850 they grew 40,000 tons, they sold it for $5 million bucks."

In the mid 1800's, three Kentucky counties produced more than half of the hemp in the U.S. used for rope and twine, among other things.

Today, studies show it could be used to make bio diesel.


Source: http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=10713526

Every man-made fiber we wear, sit on, cook with, drive in, are by-products of the petroleum industry -- all of which could be replaced by hemp.

By Dara Colwell, AlterNet

As the recession renews interest in the growing hemp marketplace as a potential boon for the green economy -- even Fox Business News has touted it -- hemp is becoming impossible to ignore.

But the plant's potential extends far beyond consumer-generated greenbacks. A low-input, low-impact crop, industrial hemp can play a significant role in our desperate shuffle to avoid catastrophic climate change.

"In terms of sustainability, there are numerous reasons to grow hemp," says Patrick Goggin, a board member on the California Council for Vote Hemp, the nation's leading industrial-hemp advocacy group.

Goggin launches into its environmental benefits: Hemp requires no pesticides; it has deep digging roots that detoxify the soil, making it an ideal rotation crop -- in fact, hemp is so good at bioremediation, or extracting heavy metals from contaminated soil, it's being grown near Chernobyl.

Hemp is also an excellent source of biomass, or renewable, carbon-neutral energy, and its cellulose level, roughly three times that of wood, can be used for paper to avoid cutting down trees, an important line of defense against global warming.

By Michelle Cole, The Oregonian

SALEM -- When the history of the 2009 Legislature is written, it may record that this was the year lawmakers put Oregon in the industrial hemp business.

The Senate voted 27-2 Friday to approve a bill that clears the way for hemp to be grown and processed in Oregon if and when the federal government gives growers a green light.

Senate Bill 676 still must pass in the House before the session ends later this month. But its sponsor, Sen. Floyd Prozanski, says he's convinced it will pass.

The bill would authorize the production, possession and commerce of industrial hemp and products. It would put the state Department of Agriculture in charge of regulating growers.

Industrial hemp is a cousin to marijuana. But it contains just trace amounts of THC, the psycho-active chemical in marijuana.

Hemp seeds are cultivated for food and other products in China, Canada and other countries. Hemp was grown in the United States until 1970, when it was redefined by the federal government as marijuana.

Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat, said he first learned about industrial hemp while campaigning in 1994. He's convinced it would be an economic boost for Oregon and has been pushing legislation to promote the industry since 1997.

By Barney DuBois, BiobasedNews.com

We're talking trillions of dollars. The world's apparel industry is one of the three necessities of life, remember? And we humans spend more for clothing than we do for anything else but the other two - which are food and shelter.

It wasn't long ago that we depended on large department stores plus neighborhood boutiques and shops - augmented by an occasional catalog order or lay-away purchase - to keep ourselves snappily attired for anything. This was interrupted by Wal-Mart, Target and the hundreds of specialty retailers whose brands we have memorized and forgotten. And now, the Internet is taking us to yet another level of confusion - and making lots of business for FedEx and UPS!

The term "green clothing" emerged somewhere during this massive retailing shift of the past decade, and the term's definition is yet being decided in the open market. Vogue magazine's latest issue underscores the importance of this debate, featuring the hottest new "green" styles (including an eco-bikini) worn by actress Cameron Diaz. The fashion mag's cover is even printed in green ink! But inside its pages are also the kinds of things you would expect - including a bachelorette party dress that requires $11,495 of your "green" and is about as recyclable as a can of motor oil.

By Ed Quillen, The Post

Historians of the future will doubtless marvel that a great and powerful republic, founded in part on "liberty and the pursuit of happiness" but now suffering from difficult economic times would waste billions of dollars every year in a futile war against a humble plant.

That plant, of course, is hemp — source of oil, fiber and a mild psychoactive drug. It's so mild that in all of history, no one has ever died from a marijuana overdose.

And those who used it in their youth, like the three most recent American presidents (Clinton claimed he "didn't inhale," Bush was "young and foolish" in his jejune days, and Obama confessed that "pot had helped" during his youth), somehow managed to go on to reasonably productive lives.

So why is the stuff still illegal?

For one thing, there's an immense federal bureaucracy, the Drug Enforcement Administration, which naturally seeks to stay in business. As long as pot is illegal, the DEA has plenty of work. And when the need arises for a headline to show that the DEA is on the ball, its agents can always drive to some home that uses too much electricity, shoot the dogs, kick in the door, and announce that American youth are protected because it just seized plants with an estimated street value of $4.2 gazillion.

For another, there's our pharmaceutical industry, a major source of campaign contributions. The pill-makers buy candidates so they can protect their revenue streams.

By Griff, capitolhillblue

Recently I've noticed quite a few columns, blogs and comments concerning the failed "war on drugs" and the idea of decriminalizing at least some currently illegal drugs.

To me, the general consensus seems to be that at the very least, hemp and marijuana should be decriminalized, if not outright legalized. At least among those that bothered to comment on it.

I won't get into the marijuana issue in this blog, but I would welcome the discussion. I want to talk about hemp.

As most of you may know, marijuana and its distant cousin hemp are listed on the DEA drug schedule as schedule I drugs. Right up there with the likes of LSD, PCP and mescaline.

For comparison, cocaine, crack and opium are schedule II drugs.

With the economy in tatters and with our faithful elected representatives preoccupied with devising new and different ways to legally plunder this country and its citizens, little time, if any, is paid to some of the "minor" bills being introduced.

One of these bills is HR 1866: Industrial Hemp Farming Act, introduced by rep. Ron Paul on April 2, 2009. You can read Paul's introductory statement here and the bill here.

A few quotes from the introductory statement...

"Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act requires the federal government to respect state laws allowing the growing of industrial hemp.

By Kathryn Glass, FOXBusiness

Hemp could be coming to a farm near you, and some legislators argue that that is a very good thing.

The Industrial Hemp Farming Act was introduced Friday by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). The bill would make it legal for U.S. farmers to raise "non-psychotative industrial hemp," a product which is used in soap, rope, clothing and even food.

Nine other U.S. House members, both Republicans and Democrats, gave their support to the bill. It is legal to import industrial hemp, but current drug policy prohibits it from being grown by American farmers.

"Indeed, the founders of our nation, some of whom grew hemp, would surely find that federal restrictions on farmers growing a safe and profitable crop on their own land are inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of a limited, restrained federal government,” said Rep. Ron Paul during his introduction of the bill.

Proponents of the bill say industrial hemp is significantly different from marijuana -- that there’s no detectable THC and that hemp seed has a multitude of nutritional benefits. Arjan Stephens, vice president of marketing for Nature’s Path, a Canadian-based organic food maker, said his company, which uses hemp seed in its granola, oatmeal and waffle products, would benefit greatly from this legislation, because it would open up a greater supply and change perceptions of hemp.

By Rev. Steven Thompson

Where did the word ‘marijuana” come from?

In the mid 1930s, the “m-word” was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant.

The tricks

From 1921 to 1932 Andrew Mellon was the treasurer and Dupont paint’s primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises.

For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word, “marihuana,” and pushed it into the consciousness of America.

Media manipulation

A media blitz of yellow journalism raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst’s newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marihuana. The menace of marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.

Films like ‘Reefer Madness’ (1936), ‘Marihuana: Assassin of Youth’ (1935) and ‘Marihuana: The Devil’s Weed’ (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy.

Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marihuana laws could be passed.

Examine the following quotes from “Reefer Madness”:

* A violent narcotic acts of shocking violence.

* Incurable insanity.

* Soul-destroying effects.

The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009

By Joe Kennelly, Seattle Drug Policy Examiner

Texas Republican Ron Paul, along with ten co-sponsors, is once again seeking to allow for the commercial farming of industrial hemp.

House Bill 1866, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009, would exclude low potency varieties of marijuana from federal prohibition. If approved, this measure will grant state legislatures the authority to license and regulate the commercial production of hemp as an industrial and agricultural commodity.

Several states -- including North Dakota, Montana, and Vermont -- have enacted regulations to allow for the cultivation of hemp under state law. However, none of these laws can be implemented without federal approval. Passage of HR 1866 would remove existing federal barriers and allow states that wish to regulate commercial hemp production the authority to do so.

Drug Enforcement Agency still bans crop, but 14 states have approved it.

By Mitch Lies, Capital Press

SALEM - Oregon growers looking for an alternative crop may have a new option if two state senators have their way.

Sens. Dave Nelson, R-Pendleton, and Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, are proposing a bill that permits production and possession of industrial hemp.

David Monson, a North Dakota farmer and state legislator who helped pass a law allowing hemp production in his home state, told a legislative committee in Salem Thursday, March 26, that hemp is an attractive rotation crop for his farm.

In a phone conference with the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, Monson said he can gross between $700 and $900 an acre on industrial hemp - more than any other crop he produces.

He urged the Oregon Legislature to follow North Dakota's lead and allow the production. Doing so, he said, could pressure the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to drop its ban on industrial hemp - a ban that to date has kept him from growing the crop, despite the fact he has a state permit.

By Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent

State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, passed out chocolate truffles topped with industrial hemp seeds at the House Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday. The nutritious seeds are legal to buy in Minnesota as food, but once they sprout, they are considered marijuana and subject to harsh legal penalties. A bill Kahn sponsored that would allow for the agricultural production of hemp passed the committee on Wednesday.

“It’s the one product that we can buy here, but we can’t grow it here,” said Thom Peterson of the Minnesota Farmers Union. Peterson hopes that one day farmers will have an alternative crop in industrial hemp.

The chief supporter of industrial hemp in the United States is an unlikely figure: David Monson, the Republican Speaker of the North Dakota House. He’s a farmer near the Canadian border whose neighbors were growing hemp while his barley crop was failing because of a blight. His efforts helped Minnesota’s neighbors to the west move forward with industrial hemp and its production.

Kahn said concerns that hemp farmers would clandestinely grow the similar-looking marijuana plant among fields of hemp were unfounded. “They would both cross-pollinate and ruin each other,” Kahn said, and the marijuana plants would be rendered useless as a drug, she said. “I understand you’d have to smoke an eighth before [feeling any effects].”