Earth Day offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on your own actions and consider what you could do to help this beautiful planet we share. It could mean taking time to recycle or using public transportation instead of Uber. One way (that is also more fun, if you ask me) to show your love for our earth is to support cannabis brands which prioritize the environment.
There’s also the bigger picture.
A look at the long-term environmental impact of cannabis cultivation demonstrates how vital it is that everyone — especially those in the industry — does their part to prioritize Earth’s health. There are a lot of different ways to for big companies to practice sustainability — and as a consumer, you can get in on the action by ditching disposable vape cartridges or buying your bud from a local source. Some critics think family farming could herald in a greener future for cannabis, while others have hopes for responsibly grown cannabis on a larger scale. No matter what the result, the cannabis industry (and cannabis itself) will still play a role in keeping Earth healthy.
Do you want to know how cannabis, by itself, can improve the well-being of our planet? Discover how this plant is able to make a significant difference in the world, and not just for Earth Day.
Hemp provides sustainable, alternative goods
From textiles and paper to housing, food and fuel, there are so many uses for hemp that could completely change how everyday items are produced and consumed forever.
Hemp is easy to grow, freshly legal and best of all, it’s a zero-waste plant: Everything from the seeds that can be eaten or used in wellness products to the stalks that can be converted into hempcrete, a building material which can be used to construct ecologically-friendly houses.
Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation Can Help Reverse Climate Change
It is possible to grow cannabis in an environmentally-friendly way. Farms like Beija Flor in southern Mendocino County that utilize a carbon sequestration model make a major difference, with plants that capture carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to help mitigate or defer global warming and reduce the consequences of climate change.
Cannabis could be the game changer. Carbon sequestration is a natural process that occurs with plants and trees.
The Legal Grows Save Energy and Water
When cannabis cultivation is illegal in a state, cultivators are often forced to resort to clandestine techniques that may cause serious environmental harm. The fallout could include massive carbon emission, severe water depletion and energy waste. The legalization of marijuana would reduce the illegal growers that harm and deplete the resources on the planet.
And coupled with the emergence of progressive techniques like dry farming, a cultivation technique that involves using no water whatsoever, there is hope that legal cultivation can further reduce its carbon footprint.
It can help to restore soil that has been damaged
Hemp can replenish the nutrients in soil through a process called bioremediation, which cleans up environmental pollutants and toxins. This means the plant can be used to help reverse previous damage — a property that could majorly impact on the future of farming and cultivation. The plant has even been called a miracle crop due to the fact that it can clear soil contaminated with metals and hazardous substances like crude oil, pesticides and solvents.
Hemp Helps Stop Deforestation Untimely
In the long run, the destruction of forests for paper and building material has irreparably damaged the world’s trees. It is not just that hemp grows faster than trees but it takes less to make the same quantity of products. This makes hemp an ideal raw material for wood and paper.