Title: Jerry Brown vetoes industrial hemp

source:sacramento bee

Excerpt: Gov. Jerry Brown today vetoed legislation that would have permitted the cultivation of industrial hemp in California, though the Democratic governor didn't seem happy about it.

Senate Bill 676, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would have created an eight-year, pilot program for the cultivation of industrial hemp in Imperial, Kern, Kings and San Joaquin counties.

In a veto message, Brown said federal law considers industrial hemp to be a regulated, controlled substance, and that failure to obtain a federal permit would subject California farmers to federal prosecution.

Title: High hopes for hemp

source:iafrica.com

Excerpt: South Africa's building industry has taken another step forward. High up on a hill overlooking the sea in Noordhoek, Western Cape, stands the House that Hemp Built.

The first of its kind in South Africa, the building was constructed almost entirely of materials that could be grown on a few hectares of land within months.

Excerpt: Apart from its wooden frame, the House that Hemp Built is constructed mostly from the renewable plant. As far as possible, the panels’ inside posts are made of reclaimed wood. Inside the panels are two layers of hemp insulation and, in addition to this, the walls are strengthened with hempcrete. This is a mixture of lime, water and hemp stalks; a by-product of the textile industry.

Excerpt: If the hemp project proves successful and large-scale cultivation goes ahead, it could change the lives of millions of South Africans. Thousands of jobs will be created in all sectors of the industry, from cultivation to beneficiation, and nutritious hemp seeds could provide poor people with essential omega oils mostly found in fish.

Title: Introducing Kestrel, The First Road-Ready Car Built Out Of Hemp

Excerpt: Marijuana’s fibrous cousin hemp has a long history with auto makers. in 1941 Henry Ford unveiled a car body made primarily out of organic fibers, hemp included. seventy years later, the world’s first production-ready biocomposite electric car—with hemp as the “bio”—will finally hit the streets. The Kestrel, a three-door hatchback, is made of a “hemp composite as strong as the fiberglass in boats, yet incredibly lightweight,” says Nathan Armstrong, the president of Motive industries, Kestrel’s manufacturer.

Excerpt: Hemp grows fast and it’s cheap, which should keep the Kestrel’s production price around $25,000. A prototype is nearly complete, Armstrong says, and Motive plans to have thousands of its hemp-mobiles on the road by 2012.