The Introduction of a Brand New Innovative Material
Ah Plastic. The savior of the world. At least that's what we gen-xer's were brought up to believe. It's everywhere around us. Everywhere we look. Everything we touch, eat, sleep or breathe has been touched by the plastic industry in some way. From plastic bags and to go containers, plastic bins, plastic toys and games, even plastic auto parts. The world would be completely different without plastics.
In the 70s the outlook on plastic was very different. At that time, schools taught the evils of glass and how it was ruining the environment. And they weren't wrong. Glass, much like almost every synthetic material we have ever invented, has had an impact on our environment. But the world was in for a surprise when, forty years later, we are faced with the looming plastic crisis that exists today.
The Rise, and Fall of the Plastics Industry
Long gone are the days the local store cashier would ask "paper or plastic"? Plastic bags are becoming increasingly scarce as many major cities and major metropolitan areas are beginning to ban them. Some cities have even outlawed plastic bags, along with various other plastic items such as utensils. Imagine carrying your groceries out to your car only to be met by the local sheriff and thrown in the clink! Imagine trying to explain that to the boys in the holding tank!!
An Environmental Crisis: Crimes in the Plastics Sector
Although I highly doubt a person would be arrested simply for carrying their items in a plastic bag. But there are crimes involving the plastics industry. Take the recent train derailment during the month of February this year in East Liverpool, Ohio. There, thirty-eight railcars derailed along a narrow passage in the small western Ohio town. Five of those rail cars were carrying a toxic chemical known to cause cancer as well as a slew of other, serious health problems, and all five were damaged severely enough to start leaking a lethal dose of chemicals into the ground.
According to CNN, just the amount of water used to put out the fire, is around two million gallons alone! Pair that with the almost five thousand cubic yards of contaminated solid waste that has been pulled from the site and trucked to various parts of Ohio, Michigan and Texas. This has presented a environmental nightmare in East Liverpool that could have lasting effects for decades. Still, according to the EPA, “no indication of risk to East Palestine public water system customers” and “treated drinking water shows no detection of contaminants associated with the derailment”.
This is only one of many environmental accidents that happen everyday in the world, a majority involving plastic, or a derivative. Yet we have only recently begun developing alternatives to plastic. A process that will no doubt take many years and cause many growing pains in the plastics and textile industries, as long as everyday life inmost parts of the world today.
Embracing Natural Alternatives to Plastic
Mankind has only recently been forced to begin researching and innovating new natural organic biodegradable alternatives. Still, in that short span of time, advances in natural alternatives to plastics have steadily advanced. Alternatives such as banana leaves, stone wool, mycotecture, even something called "Urine Bricks". But the king of all natural plastic replacements would have to be the humble hemp plant AKA Cannabis Sativa.
Hemp, The Natural Plastic Pioneer
Cannabis Sativa is an amazing plant. It's easy to grow, hence the nickname "weed". Hemp is organic and sustainable. Its also a quickly regenerated agricultural crop, taking just around eighteen weeks from seed to finish! According to a 1916 USDA study, one acre of hemp, grown from seed to finish in about eighteen weeks, is the equivalent of four acres of timber! But then, why aren't we using this amazing natural material?
The reason may surprise you. Would you have guessed I would have said Mellon Bank. During the 1930s, Andrew Mellon was the commercial banker for Dupont.. Dupont, among many other corporate entities, was facing imminent threat of losing up to eighty percent of their business to the hemp industry. Andrew Mellon was also facing significant losses, and it seemed their industry was headed towards the brink of disaster!
How the Chemical and Textiles Industries Shaped Hemp's Fate
Enter the newly minted department of the United States government, the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. There Mellon was able to use his vast political reach to ensure that none other than Harry J. Anslinger was appointed as the director of the bureau. Years before the bureau was formed, Anslinger testified before congress that "Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the world" and "Slaves to this narcotic(sic), would become insane and turn to violent crime and murder". Anslinger made Maijuana his number one target until it's prohibition in 1937.
But just how they could villainize this plant was a problem that was easily and eagerly solved. Enter William Hearst. Hearst was a newspaper magnate. His vast empire was just the vehicle needed to accomplish Anslinger"s and Duponts mission. Being the owner of huge swaths of woodland and millions invested in the timber processing industry, Hearst was more than happy to start a prolonged smear campaign against the crop. The invention of fake news, or what is know as "yellow Journalism".
Headlines across the nation touted the evils of marijuana calling it "hideous" and comparing it to "Frankenstein's monster". Even with Hearst's smear campaign in full swing most folks just werent swayed about the villainous plant. Anslinger needed a new plan. He turned to William Hearst for answers. Hearst was more than happy to comply. He had just lost eight hundred thousand acres of woodland to the famous Mexican general, Pancho Villa.
Even though Hearst was powerless over Villa, he took his vengeance in a different direction. He began to label all Mexican's as lazy, degenerates capable of committing heinous crimes. He blamed these Mexicans for bringing marijuana over the border where its consumption would lead to vicious assaults, robberies and murder. Hearst's racism didn't end there though. He also villianized other minorities as well, often using black jazz musicians as an example.
Prohibition: Hemp's Historical Descent
In 1937 Anslinger's diligence finally paid off. The US government introduced the "Marijuana Tax Act". The hemp industry was immediately crippled. Investors were no longer eager to put their capital into something with so much regulation. Shareholders and lobbyists rejoiced as the timber industry was saved, along with the chemical and textiles sectors. Soon enough, hemp quietly faded away.
The Easing Regulations on the Cannabis Industry
The red tape on hemp, and its cousin marijuana, has started to ease in the recent decade. States are beginning to see the merits of the much loved plant. Laws are being set into place and regulations are beginning to subside, although there is a long road ahead to legality. Could hemp be the new savior of the planet? Only time will tell, but recent advancements have been very positive.
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~Kakes
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