Hemp growing to be allowed in 10 states under agreement in farm bill

[RainDog]

8. Also the best source for paper products

such moves in industry that mitigate deforestation are excellent ideas.

The majority of paper should be made from hemp, not wood pulp. The move to wood pulp occurred in the 19th century, but wood pulp paper is an inferior product. It is more acidic and, therefore, more likely to degrade over time, or "fox" with oxidation - anything printed prior to 1830 is more likely to be on linen or hemp paper, and it shows because the condition of the paper is often better than items printed afterward.

Hemp has a 180 day growth cycle. It's the most efficient plant for the purpose of paper-making. While growing it captures carbon. Equally importantly, hemp paper means the forests are left alone.

The carbon capture from trees is important to our world as part of its cycle of climate regulation. Some trees (conifers) actually help regulate the earth's temperature by releasing terpenes into the atmosphere. The terpene molecules seed clouds and, thus, cool down the air.

So a switch from wood pulp to hemp would be a great thing to heal the earth's fever from our consumption.