In the last decade or so, we have heard a lot about climate control and the need to stem our greenhouse emissions for the sake of the environment and our future. And by enlarge, most of the arguments have come from those of the far left.
In fact, according to one poll, nearly 87 percent of Democrats support New York Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s Green New Deal, whose goal is to eradicate the carbon footprint of the US entirely by 2030.
One way that many have proposed to do this is to legalize marijuana. No, the substance cannot be effectively used as a substitute for oil, gas, or coal. However, as advocates for the move claim, it can be used to create new jobs for those in the fossil fuel or energy industries whose jobs will be eliminated.
They also argue that the legalization of the drug will help with the nation’s racial injustice problem, as marijuana charges have led to a disproportionate number of minorities being imprisoned.
And as marijuana is a plant, it can be argued that it is a green and clean industry and one that will help states make a massive amount of revenue should it be legalized.
But what if I were to tell you that growing pot is actually more harmful to the environment than burning coal?
Don’t believe me?
Well, let’s take a look at a recent study conducted by Colorado State University.
As you likely know, cannabis has already been legalized at the state level for recreational purposes in more than a dozen states and medicinal purposes in quite a few others. However, as it is to be sold to the public as a now regulated product, there are standards of cleanliness and quality that must be upheld, all of which require that the plants be grown indoors.
But when these plants are grown indoors and out of the mercy of weather, thieves, and insects, there is a whole slew of artificial conditions that must be created, including fans to circulate air, dehumidifiers, grow lights, and other climate control systems.
And what do you think all of these conditions run on? No, it’s not green energy…
According to the Daily Mail’s reporting on the CSU study, electricity in Denver from the growing of cannabis “went from 1 percent of the city’s total electrical consumption to 4 percent” from 2013-2018.
Of course, all that electricity comes from fossil fuel consumption, such as natural gas and coal, which means greenhouse gases… The study notes that those figures only rise when considering the amount of carbon dioxide that most growers introduce to their plants for increased growth.
Now Colorado is the 10th largest coal-producing state in the nation, according to the Daily Mail. And yet, this study concludes that greenhouse gases emitted from marijuana cultivation are 30 percent higher than all those from coal mining.
Hailey Summers, who led the study, noted that just one ounce of indoor-grown marijuana creates about the same amount of carbon emissions as burning up to 16 gallons of gasoline. That means that producing one kilogram of the dried flowers results in up to 5,184 kilograms of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases being emitted, according to Science Daily.
Not so green, huh?
And this is just from the production or growing of cannabis. The dangers to our environment only increase when considering what it takes to store and process the substance.
But apparently, that doesn’t matter to most Democrats, who, according to a Pew survey, 8 in 10 support its legalizations. It’s either that, or they have no idea what it really takes and just how “dirty” and not green it is.
House Democrats have already passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act in December. The bill to federally legalize the drug and increase its production nationwide now goes to the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, with Senators Ron Wyden and Cory Booker, has pledged to prioritize its passing in the coming months.
Maybe before they do any more voting on the subject, they should do a little research. Then again, given how badly they want to transform the nation, it’s likely that any number of negative attributes will do little to persuade them to vote against the bill.