HEMP GETS BUSTED IN NORWAY

Just in from Eric Pollitt at Global Hemp: a Norwegian customer was denied his stash of hemp food sent from the US. Why? No, it was not THC, but rather edestin, a plant protein found in the seed. What they deemed objectionable about this one can only guess. Edestin, which takes its name from the Greek word edestos, which means edible, comprises 65% of the protein found in hemp seed. It is a highly stable, globulin type of protein, with a molecular weight of 310,000. pH is 5.8 - 7.8. It is soluble in dilute salt solution (2-10%), and readily changed by heat. And illegal in Norway.

GAIA VINCE ON ENERGY

In the December issue of the New Scientist, there is an article about making our own electricity, mainly from the sun. Eric Pollitt of Global Hemp has been sending me similar information, mainly about large magnifying glasses, 1 metre across, which focus sunlight into heat, even in cold climates. But as usual, there is an army of journalists out there who don't want to know, so we go on using petrol based electricity.
This year the price of petrol has dropped dramatically, quite in relation to the drop in people's incomes. However, the utility companies did not see fit to pass on the savings to the consumers, until there was pressure from the government to do so. If we sourced our energy locally, we would not be at their mercy - and the behind-the-scenes option trading in energy prices would not be a good-ol'-boys' racket anymore. And, of course, we would have a cleaner planet, but then it might not be any fun any more for those die hard anarchist rich kid protesters we see too much of these days. They'd have to get real jobs, and I bet they are not about to get their hands dirty growing hemp or setting up solar power panels on the sides of their mansions. BTW, check out all the SUVs outside the church where Tamsin Omond hangs out in Primrose Hill, and you can see who and what was driving up the prive of petrol these last few years. They like to preach to everyone else about air miles and carbon trading (which is a tax scheme for governments to use to take our money), but do they install solar powered panels on the church or drive G-wiz electric cars? No way. Incidentally, some of those arrested in the Tamsin Omond camp were complaining that their bail conditions would not allow them to fly - after grounding Stansted aeroport, they whinge about not being able to fly home to their rich families.
We could all help save the planet by sending these rich kid protesters - designer demonstraters they are called - to a prison where they are forced to read real science, wear hemp, and work on solar powered, tidal powered, and ethanol based energy projects. If they were real philanthropists, they would not mind having their family wealth confiscated and put into the public use. Now that is real progress, comrade.

2B OR NOT 2B

Much speculation exists as to why bees are dying off in Colony Collapse Disorder, and we have covered a good amount of that here. Mobile phone masts and verroa mites are two suspects, but now there is a hypothesis that ethonal, or rather the byproducts of ethanol, are killing the bees. Killer ethanol. However, there may be a bias to this theory, in that there certainly are interests which desire to keep us away from any alternative energy. On the other hand, we need to look at this and give an answer either way.

Eric Pollitt of Global Hemp has been keeping me informed about the ethanol and corn use debate, his part of the world is Illinois and they know a thing or two about corn there, which is a ubiquitous crop, along with soy. The two monopolistic agrobusinesses can be quite selfishly motivated, we need to grow other crops just to keep a balance. And if we are to produce ethanol, having of course answered the question about its effects on the hymonoptera - fancy word for bees and their congeners, we need to look at whether corn is the most appropriate crop to grow for it. At present hemp is still illegal in Illinois, even though it was once prevalent there. The latest on the legal status of hemp is that in Vermont, the state legistaure voted overwhelmingly in favour of cultivation, and the governor sensibly let this pass into law. However, there is the federal government to deal with next, and we can see what happens by looking at the recent case in North Dakota where the top Republican in the state legislature is suing the feds over their right to cultivate what the Fouding Fathers grew.

Hopefully the states will win, and the feds will buzz off.