While searching for sound progressive Think-Tanks and proactive organizations, I found this organization that is searching for individuals with great minds:

The Apollo Alliance for Good Jobs and Clean Energy

"The Apollo Alliance is a broad coalition within the labor, environmental, business, urban, and faith communities in support of good jobs and energy independence. It has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO and 23 international labor unions as well as a majority of national environmental organizations. The Alliance is developing public education campaigns and communications strategies to link allies and build a new national constituency for a bold, broad based, and immediate program of public policy to achieve energy independence."


Please check it out. You might have the missing link!

It is unfortunate enough that US lawmakers choose to continue confusing themselves and their constituents with "Hemp = Marijuana" misinformation. It doesn't help when proponents of hemp do the same. While the scientific name for both is the same, "Cannabis Sativa", marijuana plants have been bred over decades to yield a high concentration of THC, the active drug component. Industrial hemp plants, if smoked, might give you a bad cough but nothing more.

Hemp has the potential of producing much of our energy needs, as well as fiber for building materials and clothing, plastics, and nutritional supplements. And it can thrive without the fertilizers and pesticides (both petroleum derived) that ordinary crops such as corn and soybeans require, the Archer Daniels Midland choices for ethanol production.

OK - I'll whip out an "old chestnut" that makes the school kids go "....ooooooooo"

The Constitution of the United States is written on hemp paper.
All lines/ropes used in WWI and II were made from hemp.

"Road Weed" is alive and well in Iowa - where many farmers grew it for the US Government.

What a waste of a good, natural resource.

An ancestor of mine was the builder of the U.S.S. Constitution, and a "heavy user" of hemp:

"A 44 gun frigate like our cherished Old Ironsides took over 60 tons of hemp for rigging including an anchor cable 25 inches in circumference."

Very good to see others out there have started to see there are substantial differences between hemp and marijuana. I don't think the "misinformation" is an accident though, as noted in my last paragraph.

Minor detail, first quoted paragraph: Hemp does contain some nicotine, and if anyone smokes enough of it they will probablly feel a little dizzy and/or nauseous, particularly if they don't smoke cigarettes.

Additional issues on the positive side: Hemp requires very little water compared to almost any other field crop, or even marijuana. It grows much faster and taller than marijuana. Hemp seeds contain an extremely low sulfur diesel fuel (an edible vegitable oil) that can be easily pressed from the seeds, leaving a high protein food stock. The farmer would get more than one profitable product from a single crop of hemp, fiber, feed, and diesel fuel. Hemp also protects the soil from errosion in times of heavy rains.

Then there's the issue that anti-marijuana folks don't like to admit, and pro-marijuana folks don't want to hear, large scale hemp production will make it a lot tougher to grow good marijuana. Hemp pollen is airborne and will carry far and wide, pollenating any marijuana plants in the area.

Also, just checked out the Apollo Alliance site a little.

Much thanks Lcyberlina!

You're welcome!

I just checked out the site and am glad that someone is finally bring this to the front again, but I'm confused, does The Apollo Project support hemp legalization?
I've been an advocate for that for years but I didn't see anything that would suggest that they would support using it.

To be honest I have no idea where the poster that started the discussion on Hemp got that from.

The Apollo Project is about presenting alternatives to fossil fuel and promote economic and job growth. I also, did not see anything on their site regarding Hemp legalization/criminalization, so the poster under the name Don needs to clarify.

A poster ("marijuanifornia?") made a lengthy post promoting the use of hemp as an energy alternative, but confused the legalization of hemp with marijuana in the process. It appears that he/she and his/her posts have disappeared in the meantime.

The Apollo Project doesn't seem to have an opinion one way or the other about hemp. I do support the legalization of hemp as stated above.

Lcyberlina

Check out zinc air fuel cells. Companies like eVionyx. ZAFCs using zinc oxide pellets, potassium hydroxide as a catalyst, and viola, an alternative.

I have wondered through most of the Apollo Alliance site now. Their event calendar shows no scheduled "events" through early 2006. Very disappointing. Just not posted, or none exist?

They do not seem to be calling for technical papers to be submitted for publication or for confidential review and assessment, or any other variation along those lines.

They don't currently seem to have any system by which an indepentent inventor can demonstrate a working prototype of an energy related, potential job producing nature, for confidential review and assessment.

They don't seem to have anyone answering their email. They don't seem to have any Blog link on the site. I hope they will really get the ball rolling someday, but there are many thousands of people that could benefit from an organization like this one "could be someday", now.

Sign a petition, sit on your thumbs and wait. So far, this is not the answer we all need.

-Don
The American Energy Independence web site has a page dedicated to attempting to clear up the misinformation and give support for hemp as an energy crop.
www.AmericanEnergyIndependence.com/hemp.html