Monthly Archives: March 2015
Hemp, the perfect plant?
I was a
t the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and ate a sample of hemp seeds. Then I said to myself, what am I eating that costs $20.00 per pound? Well, I ate the seeds of a highly nutritious plant. Sadly, the U.S. federal government has not legalized hemp’s growth, production or planting. Why? That is a good question. Hemp could significantly help to heal the planet and be good for U.S. economy. So, why is hemp good? Hemp’s impact strength is ten times stronger than steel; in fact, Henry Ford used it to make a Model T car. Plus, European car plants are now making car part panels from hemp based composites. The panels are half the weight, bio-degradable, and safer than fiberglass ones.
Hemp is also great for your health. It is easily digested and provides 10 essential amino acids, 4 fatty acids and over 30% protein. And hemp oil keeps your skin from getting dry.
Here are other reasons to like hemp. It is stronger and softer than cotton, and can be used to make clothes and textiles. In fact, samples of hemp fabrics from China date back to 8,000 B.C. Additionally, it can fuel your car, and is mold and fire resistant when used for home building. And before I forget, hemp bio-degradable plastic bags would significantly reduce landfill waste.
Hemp was grown in the U.S. from 1776-1937. Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it. In fact, the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Yet U.S. farmers are not legally permitted to grow it. Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K., Canada, Australia, and other countries allow hemp plantings and commercial production. It is time for the U.S. to do so as well.
Health Matters
These past weeks have been challenging in many ways. I learned that a student of mine has lupus and another woman has lung cancer. Fortunately, neither condition appears to be life-threatening. And each person has access to quality medical care. I wonder though, how often do we take our good health for granted? It is easy to do, given our pace of life. We run around from dawn until dusk and do not always appreciate our ability to push open a heavy door, see a pink or red tulip in the yard, or smell the scent of pine trees. Perhaps you take excellent care of your health. You eat a wide variety of organic foods, exercise and get enough sleep. Sadly, this does not appear to be enough. And that is what worries me. I am concerned about the amount of pollution which is everywhere and affecting all of us.
Pollution comes in many forms. Soot, for example, belches out of our cars, airplanes, boats, and trucks. Then there is noise pollution from heavy machinery and industrial processes. Next comes soil treated with poisonous fertilizers and heavy chemicals. The list goes on and on. What I am trying to say is that pollution, in all its states, affects us. It affects our physical body and our mental well-being. Just think about how great you feel when you are outside at the beach on a sunny day. Contrast that to how you feel when you walk across the street and are caught in a cloud of exhaust fumes from an old diesel truck that just drove by.
So many people are sick with all sorts of diseases. Pollution weakens our immune systems and damages our health. It also weakens immune systems and damages the health of animals. Do we normally hear about animals with lupus or lung cancer? No. But the truth is animals all over the world are getting sick too. Imagine a dolphin breathing the exhaust fumes from a motor boat. Imagine a bird which eats a piece of plastic thinking it is a piece of food. We can do better. We can do better for them and for us. Ride a bike instead of using the car, use a row-boat instead of a motor boat. And remember, reduce, re-use, and recycle.
Sea Lions
A couple of years ago I had the chance to sit at the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco and watch the sea lions. They made me laugh with their antics. They bark very loud if one invades the other’s space yet don’t seem to mind sitting all squished in alongside one another. And they appear to delight in the attention of the humans watching them. Did you know? Approximately 300,000 sea lions live between the Mexican border and the state of Washington.
To my great dismay, I just learned that 940 young starving and dying sea lions turned up on the shores of California in the first two months of this year. This is a record. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) said that is four times the number California would typically see.
Normally, sea lions eat squid and sardines. Yet the warmer ocean is pushing those prey deeper beneath the ocean’s surface. In fact, the ocean is up to five degrees hotter. This means sea lion mothers must go further for food. And it means their pups are left alone for longer periods of time than usual. Weakened and devoid of sustenance, the pups wash ashore.
Animal rescue shelter employees and volunteers are rushing to save the sea lions. Unfortunately, they cannot save all of them. Often, they must leave some sea lions on the beach because they do not have space to take them. It is like leaving injured patients at an accident scene because there is not enough room at the hospital.
This is the third year in a row for a high number of sea lion pups to die or be stranded. The death number was so high in 2013 that experts declared it an “unusual mortality event” for the species. Perhaps you would like to donate money to a marine mammal rescue center or volunteer to help the sea lions. You can also help by reducing your carbon footprint. Make a difference, time is running out.