Hemp vs Oil

In 1900 at the Paris Exposition Universelle, Rudolf Diesel showed an engine running on peanut oil. There were also ideas about running an engine on corn oil, because methanol can be derived from corn, but corn oil is hard to produce.

However, today there is another alternative: hemp oil. Hemp is a great alternative to traditional oil This is because it can also produce methanol, it grows a lot faster than corn. Thus, more oil at a faster rate. Hemp fuel is biodegradable, and can be used to make a wide variety of products.

Back in 1990, it was cheaper to run engines on gasoline, but that is no longer the case. We have so many other resources available to use, especially hemp oil.

Sources: https://www.theweedblog.com/can-your-car-run-on-hemp-fuel/ & http://www.boiled-peanut-world.com/biodiesel.html

Got Plant?

There are so many materials that industry and consumers use daily that are made from petroleum: plastics; nylons; and fiberglass. Lately, bio based alternatives have been up and coming. These days businesses can buy durable plastic-like industrial materials without petroleum-based polymers. Consumers can buy grocery bags, cups, forks and spoons that act like plastic but are biodegradable and compostable. There are even soft, washable fabrics that seem like nylon but are made of plants and biodegrade. Even Reebok is working on a shoe made out of corn based materials. Reebok has begun manufacturing a shoe made from non-food source corn stalks and hopes to begin selling the shoes by fall of 2017.

From Reebok's video ad about its new Cotton + Corn initiative of making shows from "things that grow."

Reebok’s head of Reebok future Bill McInnis says "With product development, we’re using materials that grow and can be replenished rather than the petroleum-based materials commonly used today." Yet it is tailored to meet the same demands athletes have of other Reebok shoes. "When the product hits the market, we know our consumers don’t want to sacrifice how sneakers look and perform," McInnis said.

For more information visit: Got plants?

A Nuclear Option

One alternative to oil on a large scale is the use of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy does not produce any greenhouse gases, and it produces power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is the only clean-air source of energy to do so. Nuclear power is land-efficient as well. For the same energy produced by a nuclear power plant, a wind farm would need 260 square miles of land. Nuclear power plants are a huge boon to the economy of local and state communities. There is enough uranium in the world to power reactors for more than 100 years, giving the world enough time to optimize fully renewable energy sources.

   

Many people have concerns about the safety of nuclear energy, with high-profile disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. The United States has strict safety regulations in place to prevent disasters, and even increased regulations following the Fukushima disaster. There have been many studies showing 0 adverse radiation-linked health effects in the US. However, as with anything, risk can never be 100% mitigated, as the unforeseen does happen. Several countries, such as Germany and Switzerland are phasing out their nuclear programs and are shifting towards solar and wind. Japan is updating its reactors with new safety regulations and is starting to reopen them. Every country must decide how to handle the benefit-risk ratio. In the United States, nuclear energy has been a huge benefit to the environment and to people in the search for alternative sources of power.
Patrick Moore, the co-founder of Greenpeace, changed his mind about nuclear energy, and is now an active proponent of it. He has come to the conclusion that nuclear energy is an important resource that the world must utilize. He acknowledges the risks and strongly advocates for safe ways of developing nuclear energy plants. To get his perspective, here is an opinion article he wrote for the Washington Post:

From Food To Crude: 3 Ways to Avoid Consuming Petroleum

The proliferation of petroleum oil in our society has no better example than its silent insertion into the foods we ingest on a regular basis. Oil in food is usually made from animal or vegetable fats, but it can be made from petroleum as well. However, it will not be labeled as such. Since no one wants to see ‘petroleum’ listed as an ingredient in their food, companies usually list it as ‘mineral oil’. Be on the lookout for packaged baked goods that use mineral oil to extend their shelf lives.

Petroleum products can even be disguised as paraffin wax in chocolate, but they are not even required to be listed as such! They can fall under the category of ‘other flavors’. Companies like Hershey’s are very reluctant to reveal what goes into their chocolate, but many food scientists will tell you that paraffin wax is a likely ingredient. If, like me, you want to keep chocolate as the bedrock of your food pyramid, you are better off purchasing higher quality chocolates that don’t use wax-based fillers (your taste buds will thank you as well).

One last tip, wash your fruits and vegetables before you consume them! Petroleum products are sometimes used to coat produce so that they stay shiny and fresh-looking longer. Buy produce from your local farmer’s market to ensure that no petroleum products are used in the preservation of your food.

The True Cost of Oil: Tedx Talk by Garth Lenz

Garth Lenz is a photographer who created the exhibition The True Cost of Oil. His shocking photos capture the environmental devastation of the Alberta Tar Sands mining project and have become a pivotal part of the resistance against Alberta Tar Sands mining. 

The Canadian boreal forest houses the largest oil reserves in the world outside of Saudi Arabia. These reserves contain vast amounts of the tar-like substance bitumen. To harvest the bitumen, there are two methods. The first is mining. There are ten mines so far in the Alberta Tar Sands, and each mine is huge - one mine is compared to a large metropolitan area in size. 

The next method is called the "in situ," which involves the heating and pumping of colossal amounts of water underground through a tunnel-like network system. Both of these methods are incredibly damaging to the environment, partly because this type of oil - bitumen - is called the world's dirtiest oil. This type of oil required more water than any other oil process. 

One of the most devastating ecological effects of the Alberta Tar Sands mining project is how it has affected the food chain of the people who live in the area - namely remote Northern aboriginal communities. It's too expensive to fly food into the area, so these people are forced to hunt and fish in order to survive. The fish are carcinogenic due to all the toxic byproduct waste deposited into unlined "tailings ponds" (more aptly called wastelands), which has led to cancer rates in the region to rise to up to 10 times higher than the average in the rest of Canada.

In this TedX video, Lenz shares some of his images with the audience and gives us context for the threatened ecosystems under attack due to the mining project. 

Chewing on Petroleum Products?

Did you know that most chewing gum is a petroleum product? The original source of gum base was from tree sap but in our modern age this has been replaced with synthetic polymers. Chewing gum is mostly a delivery system for sugar but there are some health applications such as tobacco abatement and teeth protection. You might want to consider some of these healthy alternatives:
Licorice root, sunflower seeds and nuts are good if you just want to chew on something. If bad breath is a concern then parsley and (surprise!) water are great options.

Plants Not Plastic

In a society that is fueled by capitalism and petroleum, often we are blinded to the adverse affects of petroleum based products. What alternative products exist to help us move away from our Mountain Dew bottles piled up in our bedrooms?

PlantBottle technology is an initiative started by the Coca-Cola Company in 2009 as a first step toward producing environmentally friendly packaging for their products. This alternative oil product makes up 30 percent of all Coca-Cola Company plastics in North America. In the last decade, Coca-Cola has worked with major companies worldwide to use PlantBottle such as Nike, Proctor & Gamble, and H.J. Heinz.  The goal is to work towards 100% plant-based plastics.

With so many major companies interested in PlantBottle and other plant-based technologies, we will continue to see more products that are alternatives to our copious amounts of petroleum based plastics.

Another company that is paving the way for alternative plastic products is the Tipa Corporation. Through years of hard work and dedication Tipa Corp. was able to manufacture a plant-based plastic product that is 100% bio-degradable. 

One of the biggest barriers for bio-degradable packaging is the durability of the packaging over long periods of time. In the past, these plant-based packages were unable to keep products fresh and properly sealed. 

 Plastic waste is an issue that affects every person on the planet. If we as a whole can continue to combat this issue, we may be able to reduce our carbon footprint, one step at a time.

Sources:

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/great-things-come-in-innovative-packaging-an-introduction-to-plantbottle-packaging

https://www.biobasedworldnews.com/clever-orange-peel-design-for-plant-based-packaging-imitates-nature-and-acts-as-compost-for-future-growth