Biomass

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=...

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 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.

EDMONTON, AB — As combines mowed farmers’ fields across Canadian prairies this fall, there was a scene near Edmonton right out of a time warp: – a crew of workers actually using their hands to harvest plants.

The workers were taking down three-metre-tall hemp plants at a breeding nursery outside of Vegreville, AB. The plants, which dwarfed the workers, were being bundled, numbered, bagged and transported to researchers, who see a high-tech future for the ancient plant.

The Alberta Research Council (ARC) is working to help hemp find its way into everything from homes to cars to clothes. It’s part of a campaign to see our agriculture and forestry industries compete in the global push for sustainable products.

“ARC is evaluating hemp as a fibre crop for mature, large-scale industries looking for green products,” ARC crop and plant physiologist, Jan Slaski said. “Alberta’s soil and climate are perfectly suited for growing hemp crops.

“We analyze the seed and plant for biomass and fibre yield, as part of the breeding program for creating the perfect industrial hemp,” he added. ARC uses advanced breeding techniques to develop traits such as water- and nitrogen-use efficiency, with no useable trace of the psychoactive compound THC, which is found in marijuana. It is hoped the breeding program will ultimately lead to a stronger plant with a bigger yield.

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.

The Renewable House, a new demonstration house that has been designed to illustrate that low cost and low carbon are compatible, has been officially opened.

Press Release

The Renewable House, a new demonstration house that has been designed to illustrate that low cost and low carbon are compatible, has been officially opened.

Built at the BRE Innovation Park and officially opened at Insite 2009, the Renewable House is a demonstration of the commercial viability of building affordable homes from renewable materials.

The house has been designed to meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, with a build cost of £75,000, excluding groundworks and utilities.

Unlike many other houses that meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, the Renewable House features very few additional technologies. Instead the performance of the house has been made possible through the ingenious use of materials which have been used to create a thermally efficient and low carbon building envelope. By using limited technologies – which can have a short life span, therefore require on-going replacement, upgrading or maintenance – the house has also clearly demonstrated cost efficiencies.

By Press & Journal Staff

A SPECIAL energy-efficient house made from hemp, designed by Archial Architects, has been unveiled at the BRE Innovation Park, which showcases the future of low-carbon and sustainable buildings.

The three-bedroom Renewable House, which costs £75,000 to build, not including ground works or utilities, uses renewable materials to deliver a well designed, yet low-cost, affordable home.

The external walls are constructed from a revolutionary sustainable material called Hemcrete – provided by manufacturer Lime Technology – made from hemp plants grown and harvested in the UK and lime-based binder.

Hemp is one of the fastest growing biomasses and is often used in paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, health food and fuel.

It is estimated that The Renewable House’s carbon footprint will be about 20 tonnes lower than a traditional brick-and-block house. The hemp absorbs about five tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during its rapid growth period, which then becomes locked into the fabric of the building, making the thermal Hemp-Line walling solution “carbon negative”.

The Renewable House meets level 4 of the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) – a national standard which measures the sustainability of homes against a set of design categories such as energy consumption and building materials. The Government’s target was for all homes from 2016 to be built against code level 3 standards.

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 David Finlayson, Edmonton Journal

A car made of hemp may sound like someone's wacky fantasy, but it's as real as General Motors' bankruptcy.

Motive Industries in Calgary is building a vehicle using panels and other parts made of a hemp fibre material that's lighter and cheaper than glass fibre.

It's being put together to try to win the$10 millionXPrizecompetition for the car that gets 100 miles to the gallon and beats other green cars in a race.

And Motive will benefit from the $15 million Alberta Biomaterials Development Centre announced Thursday, says John Wolodko, polymers group leader at Alberta Research Council.

The structural components of the car, which will start trials in mid June, will still be made of more traditional materials, said Wolodko, whose team is helping with the Motive project.

Eventually more environmentally friendly fibres made of hemp and flax will replace glass fibre in cars and other manufacturing processes, he said.

"Some European car manufacturers are already using bio-materials."

The new centre, to be set up at ARC's agricultural research facility in Vegreville and at the University of Alberta, will also help Pildysh Technologies, which is developing portland cement blocks impregnated with bio-fibres that make them lighter and stronger.

Calgary-based Pildysh is a couple of years away from marketing a product, and vice-president Richard Bueble said the new centre should help speed the process.

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 sfnoggin, Daily Kos

Last week, Maine's Senate passed LD 1159 on a vote of 25-10. The bill would establish a licensing regime for farming industrial hemp. The State of Oregon is also on the verge of passing industrial hemp legislation. If the bills succeed, these states would join fifteen others that have passed hemp bills.

There's no doubt, it's our federalist system that is enabling this long stigmatized agricultural crop to rise from the ashes.

Follow me over the bump.

As many of you know, since 1937, this highly versatile crop (uses include food, fuel, building material, textile, and energy to name a few) has been linked - via the Marijuana Tax Act - to the recreational and medicinal strains of the same species: Cannabis sativa L. But make no mistake, they are genetically distinct and nothing like the other.

The battle has been long. The last legal hemp crop grown in the U.S. was harvested 50 years ago. In 1970, with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, farming hemp in the U.S. was effectively outlawed. And since then, the courts have offered no relief claiming only Congress can change the status quo.

Nonetheless, with the hemp renaissance's onset in the 80s - and the 90s when states began introducing hemp legislation - grassroots efforts have led to a growing hemp ground swell headed straight towards D.C.

By Michael Torrice, Mercury News

The plank looks like a polished piece of plywood, and someday people may build coffee tables with it. But this wood was not grown in a forest — it was born from the greenhouse gasses seeping from landfills.

The Stanford University researchers who produced this wood alternative are part of a movement to support greener buildings by developing construction materials that are created and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.

Green buildings are not only about replacing standard light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs or toilets with low-flush alternatives. Because manufacturing traditional building materials requires large amounts of energy and emits greenhouse gases, finding green alternatives will improve a building's overall environmental footprint.

However, inventors still must convince the construction industry that these products can replace centuries-old building materials.

"When it comes to construction and the environment, structural engineers make a mess and environmental engineers clean it up," said Sarah Billington, the Stanford researcher who leads the wood project. "We wanted to fix the mess from the start."

Building materials are responsible for about 20 percent of the greenhouse gasses emitted by a building during its lifetime, said Brent Constantz, founder of Calera, a company that is producing green cement.

By Sue Roesler, Farm & Ranch Guide

North Dakota State University needs to find another sponsor before it can build a security facility to proceed with its hemp seed research.

Half of the funding requested for the security system was approved May 14 at the North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC) quarterly meeting in Bismarck, N.D.

NDSU asked for $80,000 and received $40,000 from the commission.

Earlier, D.C. Coston, vice-president for Agriculture and University Extension at NDSU, estimated the cost of the facility at around $80,000 to $90,000 to meet the Drug Enforcement Administration requirements.

John Schneider, executive director of APUC, said the commission felt the other half should be raised as a matching grant.

This is the third time NDSU has requested funds to build a security facility to begin hemp research. It was fully approved in 2003, but NDSU continued to request extensions because it had not received a memorandum of understanding from DEA, Schneider said.

“We don't want funds out there not being used when other projects could be using them,” he said. Finally, the funds were returned.

NDSU again requested funds last year but didn't have the memorandum in place so it was turned down by the commission, Schneider said.

Wine Society's warehouse uses preformed panels of hemp and lime that locks in carbon dioxide

By Stephen Kennett

The UK's first warehouse building to be constructed using preformed wall panels made out of hemp has now been completed.

The £3.7m warehouse for the Wine Society in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, has been designed by architect Vincent & Gorbing and has exterior walls built of Tradical Hemcrete, which is a mixture of hemp stalk and modified lime. It is a development of cast insitu hemp-lime walling that locks carbon dioxide within the wall construction.

Mark Chandler, architect and director of Vincent & Gorbing, said: “The design responds to the requirement for minimal heating and cooling equipment with the resultant reduction in energy consumption.”

The cladding offers good insulation properties, explains Chandler, and helps maintain a stable internal air temperature throughout the summer and winter.

The 8.5m2 panels, which are 300mm thick, are mounted on the building's steel truss frame, while a 40mm-thick composite aluminium panel is used to provide weather protection on the external face.

Together with the highly insulated roofing system, it provides an insulated internal space that exceeds Building Regulations requirements.


Related: http://www.greenbuildingpress.co.uk/article.php?category_id=1&
article_id=202

Source: http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3139965

BY Andrew Reclusado, Times Staff

Marijuana legalization has been a controversial subject for years but recent developments could change all of that. On Wednesday, May 6, Gov. Schwarzenegger said that he is open to a public debate on the legalization and taxation of Marijuana. According to www.reuters.com, 56 percent of California voters support the idea of legalizing marijuana for recreational use and taxing its proceeds. Hopefully by next election we are able to vote on the possible passing of proposition that will make marijuana legal. Before immediately accepting the legalization of marijuana, Schwarzenegger said, “I don’t think it is time for that, but I think it’s time for a debate.” This is the right way to go for many reasons. Even if these debates only decriminalize the drug then that will save the state money by not having to incarcerate people with non-violent crimes.

Not only will the legalization of marijuana make lots of pot smokers happy, but that means people who actually need the drug for purposes will be able to get better and not have to worry about the stigma of doing something illegal.

“Medicinal marijuana for AIDS patients, for chemotherapy patients, etc. It is truly a wonder drug without having terrible side effects,” said J.P. Change (SJCC director of Student Health Services). “We can’t demonize the whole drug. ... There is no better medication than medicinal marijuana.”

By Innovation in Textiles

Paris - At the recent JEC Composites exhibition at Porte de Versailles, Paris, CELC Masters of Linen showcased the use of flax and hemp fibres in the future world of renewable composites. According to CELC, the environmentally sustainable properties of these two European-grown fibres are proving increasingly attractive to manufacturers seeking to incorporate sustainable solutions into their products.

The natural mechanical properties of flax and hemp bring high performance and competitive cost to new composite materials now being used in the Automotive, Furniture, Boat Building and Leisure Industries, the organization says.

“As renewable fibres, European grown flax and hemp help safeguard the environment, as their cultivation requires no irrigation, little or no artificial fertilisation and no pesticides. Their use within an otherwise intensive crop rotation regime, allows the land to recover fertility and quality, to enjoy an “environmental pause” , encouraging bio-diversity.” A spokesperson for CELC Masters of Linen said, adding:

“The mechanical properties of flax and hemp fibres, comparable to those of glass-fibres, offer lightness, low density and flexibility and are increasingly being used to reinforce PVC, PE and PP polymers replacing traditional synthetics. Both fibres can be structured into complex forms by extrusion or injection moulding."

By Bryan Sims, Biomass Magazine

A university and a plastic recycling company are taking the lead in developing novel, cost-effective methods to produce saleable biobased products.

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a synthetic wood substitute made from hemp fibers fused with a biodegradable plastic resin called polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), which can be recycled to produce more of the same. PHB can also be used to replace the petrochemical plastics used to manufacture disposable water bottles, according to Sarah Billington, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the university.

Last year, the California Environmental Protection Agency awarded Billington and her colleagues a three-year $1.5 million grant to help the researchers develop biodegradable plastic beverage bottles. In 2004, the group received a two-year Environmental Venture Projects grant from Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment to develop durable and recyclable faux wood.

The hemp-PHB biocomposite material has several characteristics similar to wood from trees, according to Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, who collaborated on the project. “It’s quite attractive looking and very strong,” he said. “You can mold it, nail it, hammer it and drill it a lot like wood. But, bioplastic PHB can be produced faster than wood, and hemp can be grown faster than trees.”

By Xinhua, Shanghai Daily.com

OFFICIALS in southwest China's Yunnan Province are promoting the cultivation of hemp for industrial use to increase the income of local residents.

A hemp fiber processing factory with an annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes began production yesterday in Menghai County in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, a mountainous region in Yunnan.

"The fiber from hemp is widely used to make socks and bulletproof clothes as well as top-grade suits," said Shi Dongming, board chairman of China Hemp Industrial Holding Investment Co Ltd, which runs the production line.

Local officials expect the plant to help raise the living standard of farmers.

The government provides the seeds for free to encourage cultivation. Farmers can also get technical training and instruction.

"Nearly 10,000 farmers are growing the plant, which can double their per capita income from less than 2,000 yuan (US$293) to about 4,000 yuan every year," said Jiang Pusheng, Communist Party chief of the prefecture.

Yang Yonghong from Manlu Village plans to plant more hemp next year. "The planting does not demand too much work. Companies will come to collect the hemp in the harvest time, so we are not worried about sales," she said.

Local officials said the growth would not lead to the production of illegal drugs, although Xishuangbanna is near the Golden Triangle region where drugs are produced and smuggled.

The environmental potential of hemp as a building material has never really been in doubt - it absorbs carbon as it grows and can be grown almost anywhere, cutting down on the need for energy-intensive transportation.

But is it any good?

A study underway at the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath is attempting to clear up any doubts.

"The idea of using hemp and lime has been around in the UK for ten or 12 years now and there have been a number of applications but there's still relatively little scientific information on the performance of the materials," Prof Pete Walker, director of the centre, told edie.

"We've identified this as a significant barrier to market uptake."

He said that mainstream engineers, architects and buyers were shying away from a potential tool in the fight against climate change due to the absence of reliable independent information on its characteristics.

The research project is providing concrete answers to the questions of the construction industry and also experimenting with different ratios of hemp to lime in an effort to maximise its carbon cutting potential.

"The lime has all the embodied carbon and energy and, if we're honest, the cost," said Prof Walker.

"The hemp offsets this. Using renewable crops to make building materials makes real sense - it only takes an area the size of a rugby pitch four months to grow enough hemp to build a typical three bedroom house.

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 BBC News

Hemp, a member of the cannabis family, could be used to build carbon-neutral houses, say researchers.

A team based at the University of Bath is looking at the cost and insulation efficiencies of using the plant in construction materials in the UK.

The hemp plant stores carbon, giving a "better than zero" carbon footprint.

A spokesman involved in the project said: "It only takes an area the size of a rugby pitch four months to grow enough hemp for a three bedroom house."

'Social benefit'

The building material uses hemp fibres that are bound together using a lime-based adhesive, which itself has a low carbon footprint.

Professor Pete Walker, who is working on the project, said: "Growing crops such as hemp can also provide economic and social benefits to rural economies through new agricultural markets for farmers and associated industries."

A carbon footprint measures the impact on the environment and is related to the amount of greenhouse gases are produced. Scientists believe that large amounts of greenhouse gases are leading to climate change.

The three year project will cost £750,000.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/7989924.stm