Posts

Hemp vs. Chernobyl

-
Image
Claudia Himmelreich / McClatchy Before the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis off the coast of Japan, there was Chernobyl, "the worlds worst civil nuclear accident." Unlike Fukushima which was caused by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the 1986 Chernobyl power plant disaster was caused by human error. Damaged by a series of blasts, the Ukrainian plant’s reactor released a cloud of radioactive dust across northern and western Europe, reaching as far as the eastern United States. The radiation poisoned millions of acres of agricultural land in Ukraine and Belarus, with economic damage totaling over 235 billion dollars. The death toll estimates vary with present numbers reaching 734,000, plus an additional 70,000 who have been left with various disabilities.  A 19 mile (30-km) exclusion zone surrounds the disaster site and it could take up to 100 years for environmental remediation to effectively decontaminate the soil. Industrial hemp brings hope. A
2 comments
Read more

The Geopolitics of Industrial Hemp -A Duel with American Shale.

-
Image
          Painter: Aaron Jasinski  The international energy market has been going through a major transition over the past decade. The age of Saudi and OPEC domination is over and the culprits for the demise lie in the American heartland, not the Pentagon.  Over the past   five years, the shale and natural gas industries experienced substantial technological advances. The most noteworthy breakthrough, by far, has been the ability to liquify natural gas for storage. Add to that new horizontal drilling techniques and an updated network of pipelines and you have a country on track to becoming a net energy exporter, for the first time since the 1950's. In addition to solving the Middle East conundrum that condemned the Bush folks to the 9th circle of Hell, these gains paint a very positive portrait for the future of the American shale market. Environmental concerns notwithstanding, and there are  many , what could possibly upend this enviable market position?  The challenger
Post a Comment
Read more