Turn the Eiffel Tower Green?

Written by Philip Proefrock
Source: ecogeek.org

A concept to turn the Eiffel Tower into a giant green wall has been proposed as a symbolic statement of "the reconciliation of nature and mankind."The plan calls for 600,000 plants to be attached to the structure using hemp sacks filled with soil as the growth media. An irrigation system comprising 12 tons of tubing would be used to provide water for the plants.

The installation would not be permanent, and would be removed after a few years. But, once in place, the installation would help remove an estimated 87.8 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

"Should it not be the duty of engineers to imagine a new future where nature is brought back into the heart of the city," said a statement from Ginger, the company behind the proposal. With an estimated cost of nearly 100 million dollars for the project, that's more than a million dollars per ton of CO2. Hardly the most cost effective carbon sequestration, but certainly a visible one.

Celsius: 2012/13 Snowboard Boots Preview

By Kepley DePalma
Source: business.transworld.net

What overall trends are you seeing in the boot market?
More continued focus on separating Men’s and Women’s. Each segment wants something directly built and made for them. A girl does not want to ride a boot that is just essentially a smaller men’s boot. We build our women’s boots on a true female 1-1 last and an outsole designed specific to the women’s feet.

How has your approach to lacing systems evolved in the past few years?
More and more focus on the development of Speed Lacing and less use of BOA. We developed our own Lacing system a few seasons ago and continue to put a lot of work into developing and making our O.Zone Speed Lacing system even better. There is also still a very large group that prefers traditional lacing and always will and we make sure we have that covered for our customers as well.

What new construction techniques, technologies, or fabrics do you anticipate breaking out next year?
We see more and more people incorporating eco-friendly and/or recycled materials into products. We brought that years ago with the use of Hemp in our Climate line and continue adding and developing new materials and features to make a better product and do it in a way that is better for the environment.

What trends do you anticipate in the realm of graphics and colors?
Just like in outerwear it seems that most people gravitate to the more solid colors, usually black or white when it comes to boots. There is also the crowd who likes something a little bit louder and likes to make a statement, kind of like the sneaker freaks. We always have something for both and enjoy creating a couple special colorways that def stand out. Our snowboard footwear line was developed with the look and feel of your favorite skate shoe in mind.

Questions answered by Brand Manager, Jason Kimball

Cannabis Hemp Leaf Icon Bucking the Trend

Press Release
Source: pr.cannazine.co.uk

Not so long ago any mention of the word 'cannabis' when selling a product or service was enough to send the prohibitionists running for the Daily Mail newsdesk phone number.  But these days things are a little different, with the much maligned cannabis plant gaining recognition daily for its health and wellness benefits.
	Companies who were forward-thinking enough to recognise the growing market in cannabis hemp products were keen to get involved in this new green gold rush. The problem was of course, the icon used to represent the cannabis plant.
Instantly recognisable: The fantastic Hemp Body Shop gift tin, available from bodyshop.co.uk

The cannabis leaf has long been an emblem used by the far right conservative prohibitionists, to demonise a plant it sees as a real threat to the current 'status quo' maintained by large industries like oil, pharmaceuticals and alcohol.
	Why is that? In just one plant there is enough usable resources to put a real dent in the multi-trillion GB pound industries mentioned above.
Cannabis hemp can create bio-degradeable plastics, it can replace oil based paints and resins, it can be used in the manufacture of sheer silk-like stockings and it can make military grade equipment webbing as used by the army the airforce and the navy. Thats without thinking of the damage it will do to the alcohol industry, being a far safer way of becoming recreationally intoxicated than drinking alcohol. For the pharmaceutical industry there exists the spectre of a long-term-safe pain reliever, anti-inflammatory as well as a substance which has been proven to reduce tumors by attacking cancerous cells whilst at the same time protecting healthy cells. And whilst its fair to suggest the industry which manages to haul cannabis in as a protected commodity is in the box seat to making an absolute fortune, there stands in the way one immovable fact. The problem with cannabis is anyone can grow it, and in just about any well ventilated space. So companies are loathe to invest in cannabis because they have no way of protecting those investments from hobby gardeners. Such is the reason GW Pharmaceuticals 'only' made £150 million last year peddling its cannabis plant extract 'Sativex'. So these days, in true imperialistic fashion we have tactical divisions of police officers in Ford Transit minibuses, driving round our council estates ready to kick the doors down of anyone who is even suspected of using cannabis. And with this type of attention hanging round its neck its fair to say getting involved with the cannabis leaf icon is just asking for trouble. But a number of high street brands are bucking this 'demonise cannabis' trend, by selling products manufactured from industrial hemp and using the cannabis leaf icon as the 'hook' which pulls the punters in. Notable users of the cannabis leaf icon include Body Shop , who sell a range of hemp products including a very collectable gift box made of aluminium with a large cannabis leaf embossed in the metal of the lid. PureSativa.Com , themselves no strangers to selling products with cannabis leaves on them sell a range of hard wearing hemp shopping bags, some of which wear the cannabis leaf icon with pride. There are of course the exceptions to the rule. You can buy a number of highly nutricious and beneficial hemp products on the Good Website (goodwebsite.co.uk ). Although the products are undeniably fantastic the manufacturers have decided to stay away from the cannabis leaf icon, so you wouldn't actually know their products contained hemp unless you read the label. Which is a shame. But with every high street retailer now selling hemp products, the demonisation of the cannabis leaf icon is at last being fought back against. So next time you're in your local Tescos, Asda or Sainsburys, see how many hemp products you can find. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Flavor Flav Launches New Vodka Brand

by Alex Stone
Source: thisbeatgoes.com

Flavor Flav has launched a new business venture in time for 2012 after he unveiled his newest brand, LeFlav Spirits. The rapper initiated the brand’s first promotional campaign on Friday, December 23rd, when he announced the company’s vodka line, LeFLAV Straight Up.

The rapper and reality TV show star continued his promotional efforts on Christmas Eve at various liquor stores in Las Vegas including Lee’s Discount Liquor, Total Wines & More and all four locations of The Liquor Outlet. The vodka, which comes in a 4 carat bottle covered in Swarovski crystals, retails for $23.99 in Nevada, New Jersey, New York and California.

Flav is hoping to expand the line’s flavors to include hemp juice, bubblegum, black cherry, vanilla and grape, while the beverage could be distributed in Texas, Florida, Illinois and Georgia early in 2012. Assuming the vodka sells well, the rapper could expand the brand to include other beverages such as wine and champagne as well as broaden the liquor’s distribution with a move to the international market.

Flav drew crowds at several of the promotional events and encouraged his audiences to drink responsibly while toasting them. “This is huge for me, and the hugest part is seeing you people here,” Flav told fans at Lee’s Discount Liquor before adding, “This is a toast to the most ‘cuz you eat pot roast.”

The rapper is also hoping to launch his own fried chicken restaurant in February 2012 with construction of the restaurant starting in January, although the rapper has already amended plans for the eatery’s original location. “I was looking at the Riviera, but now I’m liking somewhere else. I love the Riviera, but I feel like this will be a better, longer lasting location,” Flav said.

The Swannanoa Journal: Hemp Crete Technology

By William Connelly
Source: mountainx.com

North Carolina is home to Hemp Technologies, a company responsible for building the first modern made hemp home in the United States. David Madera and Greg Flavall co-founded this company with the intention of building ecologically sustainable houses with non-toxic, healthy materials.

Hempcrete is their building material, a concrete-like mix of hemp and lime. Hempcrete offers a range of advantages over other materials, as Madera notes, “it’s a breathable material; its non-toxic; it can never have mold; it can never have mildew. It petrifies over time so the walls actually get harder and harder so instead of something falling down in 30 years it lasts for 600.” Madera goes further saying, “50 percent of our landfills are filled with construction materials. Whenever you use cement you have 10 to 15 percent extra that has to go to the landfill. Drywall is not nearly as anti-microbial and often gets mold behind it, which causes people to get sick. With industrial hemp, there is no waste. If there is a little bit left on the last day of the job you can throw it into your yard as fertilizer.”

It is illegal to grow hemp in the United States. The classification of hemp with its cousin, marijuana, has caused the plant to gain a poor reputation, however, the tide is turning with popular attitudes toward this plant. The Consumer Union, a public watchdog, released a report recommending an immediate repeal of all Federal laws against the growing, processing, transportation, sale, possession, and use of Cannabis. Other distinguished groups, such as the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association and the Committee for Economic Development have all urged a softening of cannabis laws. Recently Representative Ron Paul introduced a bill in Congress which if passed would eliminate a federal ban on the substance and would leave it up to state control to determine how it would be regulated. Commenting on the— legal aspect of working with hemp, Madera said, “It’s pretty amazing that we can’t grow it here and put our people to work. It’s basically outsourcing a product that could be putting plenty of people to work. You’ve got farmers, processors, people that make products like Hemp Technologies. Why should we have to import something that we can grow here, and that we have grown here since the beginning of or colonization?"

North Carolina Representative Patsy Keever commented on the emerging hemp industry saying, “ I think it’s fabulous, I wish that it would be legal.” Keever mentioned that she is on the state agricultural committee, and had the Vice President of the North American Hemp Society give a presentation to the caucus to help inform the individuals making the decisions.


When federal restrictions are lifted on the production of hemp a tremendous industry will emerge that will offer employment and opportunity to a wide array of people. Madera noted that hemp grows 14 feet in 14 weeks, and that, “ you can watch it grow on your porch”, so there will be little lag in receiving the many benefits of this plant once farmers are permitted to grow this incredible crop. The time for industrial hemp production has come, and North Carolina has shown a hospitable habitat for this industry to take root and flourish.

End the hemp/cannabis/marijuana prohibition in Nebraska.

By Len Schropfer
Source: journalstar.com

It's time for a little clarification on the initiative petition to end the hemp/cannabis/marijuana prohibition in Nebraska. Nebraska's Proposition 19 is a proposal to add Article XIX to the Nebraska Constitution that would remove all penalties for the private noncommercial use of cannabis and that calls on the Nebraska Legislature to enact a fair and equitable method of taxation and regulation for commercial growing and consumption -- like alcohol, tobacco or corn.

To get on the November 2012 Nebraska ballot, we need signatures of 10 percent of the registered Nebraska voters at the time we turn in our petition to the secretary of state on July 6, 2012. That must include 5 percent of the registered voters in 38 different Nebraska counties. Quite a requirement. But we don't need a vote of the Legislature or the governor's signature to end this misguided prohibition -- only a vote of the people. There has been no amendment to the U.S. Constitution as there had to be with alcohol.

By now, in spite of many years of propaganda, more and more people, including law enforcement and politicians, know the truth about hemp: It clearly does not belong on the controlled substances list.

Nebraska can truly lead again by ending the hemp prohibition. It's a wonderful drought-resistant crop, and a new Nebraska industry can thrive: hemp ethanol, twine, canvas, etc.

I urge people not to be afraid to sign the Prop 19 petition. If they are not already registered voters, they can sign and have until July 6, 2012, to get registered. We are volunteer circulators -- truly grass-roots.

Group from Jackson to attend kick-off rally in Detroit to legalize marijuana

By By Aaron Aupperlee
Source: mlive.com

A group of supporters from Jackson will be in Detroit this afternoon for a rally kicking off a campaign to legalize marijuana.

"Lot of energy going around right now,"supporter and medical marijuana patient Steve Sharpe wrote in an email. "Most people want to legalize marijuana and tax and regulate it like alcohol."

Sharpe, who with a group of others is going to Detroit for the rally, has been collecting signatures in support of a state constitutional amendment to end Michigan's prohibition of marijuana. About 70 percent of the people Sharpe talks to want to sign the petition, he wrote.

Industries surrounding marijuana and hemp could bring needed jobs to Jackson, Sharpe wrote.

The rally and press conference is at 2 p.m. at the Roberts Riverwalk Hotel and Residence in Detroit. It is only for those 21 and older.

The campaign is headed by the Committee for a Safer Michigan. Supporters are hoping to putthe amendment on the November ballot. The amendment would make every state anti-marijuana law unconstitutional, according to a press release from the committee.