Eugene weekly., April 20, 2017, Page 9, Image 9

LET TERS
HEMP HEMP HOORAY
REVOLUTION NOW
Do you want to save the trees but still
need wood products? The answer is easy:
hemp.
The only semi-valid argument against
the hemp industry in Oregon was that
hemp could pollinate smoking marijuana.
Now that we’ve successfully legalized
medicinal and recreational pot, if this is a
problem we could import it from Southeast
Asia or grow it with air filters indoors.
Some hemp strains reach tree sizes of
20 feet in height; the plant has a continuous
set of unbroken fibers going from top to
bottom. Wood’s fibers are shorter. For pa-
per processing wood requires sulfuric acid
and bleach; four-to-seven times the amount
of harmful chemicals. The real gift of using
pot instead of cutting our precious forests
(i.e. the Elliott) is that in equivalent plots
of land, hemp will out-produce mass in the
form of pulp and fiber 4.1-times faster than
trees.
Hemp uses no pesticides, whereas cot-
ton uses half of all those used worldwide.
Its seeds are edible and most nutritious.
They contain essential fatty acids that are
antioxidants and prevent free-radical dam-
age.
Growing this weed is so simple a solu-
tion that it can be overlooked.
So why haven’t we already made the
smart leap to this agricultural miracle? It
could be because of political and economic
interests interfering with this environmen-
tal, financial and health gift-bestower.
David Ivan Piccioni
Eugene
What was once only white noise is now
a roaring, radical red. In a valiant and self-
serving effort to reduce the dissonance be-
tween my ears, I have recently employed
a new strategy. Rather than continuing to
sift through “alternative facts” and pore
over “fake news,” I have tried to believe as
truth the tweets and explanations emanat-
ing from the White House.
This attempt to acquire perspective
only worsened the cacophony, creating in
me a level of disbelief and cynicism I did
not wish to embrace.
An American oligarch is now president,
reminiscent of the 1960s.
We must believe that we still have this
power! We must fill the streets, squares
and plazas and stay there. The ultimate
power of the purse resides within ourselves
through general strikes, sit-ins and refusing
to pay taxes.
To paraphrase the late Peter Finch as
Howard Beale in the iconic movie Net-
work, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna
take it anymore!”
Let’s get going people. There is no time
to waste.
Kenneth Roe
Cottage Grove
representing a minority of voters. Along
with the new Prince of Darkness, the un-
elected Steve Bannon, the current admin-
istration has created their own new swamp
and they are gleefully wallowing in the
mud of our own ignorance.
Signing petitions and carrying signs are
nice actions but hardly effective in evoking
positive changes in how billionaires think
and act.
History will someday tell us the Second
American Revolution occurred in 2016
right under our noses. The Third American
Revolution must begin now with the re-
birth of a “Power to the People” movement
The jar below contains organic tea that is
.
A. sustainably sourced
B. handcrafted in a zero waste facility
C. available locally at the Mountain Rose Herbs Mercantile
D. absolutely delicious
E. all of the above
EAT PLANTS, NOT MEAT
As thousands across the U.S. get ready
to protest environmental budget cuts, each
of us can also help with our driving, our
recycling and our diet.
Yes, our diet. A 2010 United Nations re-
port blames animal agriculture for 70 per-
cent of global freshwater use, 38 percent of
land use and 19 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions.
Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning
forests to create animal pastures and by
fossil fuel combustion to operate farm ma-
chinery, trucks, factory farms and slaugh-
terhouses. The more damaging methane
and nitrous oxide are released from diges-
tive tracts of cattle and from animal waste
cesspools, respectively.
Moreover, meat and dairy production
dumps more animal waste, crop debris,
fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants
into our waterways than all other human
activities combined. It is the driving force
in wildlife habitat destruction.
In an environmentally sustainable
world, meat and dairy products in our diet
must be replaced by vegetables, fruits and
grains, just as fossil fuels are replaced by
wind, solar, and other pollution-free en-
ergy sources.
On this Earth Day, and every day, let’s
cherish our environment with eco-friendly
plant-based eating. Our next trip to the su-
permarket is a great starting point.
Elijah Hennison
Eugene
152 W. 5th Avenue | 541.868.8420
Monday thru Saturday 10am to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm
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