Colorado's legal cannabis farms emit more carbon than its coal mines

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Legal cannabis production in Colorado emits more greenhouse gases than the state’s coal mining industry, researchers analysing the sector’s energy use have found.

The production and use of cannabis for medical or recreational reasons is now legal in several US states, which has led to a booming industry.

 

Hailey Summers and her colleagues at Colorado State University have quantified and analysed the greenhouse gas emissions produced by cannabis growers.

They found that emissions varied widely by state, from 2.3 to 5.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per kilogram of dried flower produced.

In Colorado, the emissions add up to around 2.6 megatonnes of CO2e, which is more than that from the state’s coal mining at 1.8 megatonnes of CO2e.

more at https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270366-colorados-legal-cannabis-farms-emit-more-carbon-than-its-coal-mines/

[Dashinka 24,493]

Yeah, read about this last week.  It is not really surprising considering needing to recreate sunlight indoors.  Putting this into perspective, indoor growing has an efficiency of about 0.11 oz/gal of gasoline, worse than the mpg of any vehicle on the road.  Another thing that cannabis growing does is strain the water supply especially in some of those SW states.  

[Neonred 3,562]

42 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

Legal cannabis production in Colorado emits more greenhouse gases than the state’s coal mining industry, researchers analysing the sector’s energy use have found.

The production and use of cannabis for medical or recreational reasons is now legal in several US states, which has led to a booming industry.

 

Hailey Summers and her colleagues at Colorado State University have quantified and analysed the greenhouse gas emissions produced by cannabis growers.

They found that emissions varied widely by state, from 2.3 to 5.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per kilogram of dried flower produced.

In Colorado, the emissions add up to around 2.6 megatonnes of CO2e, which is more than that from the state’s coal mining at 1.8 megatonnes of CO2e.

more at https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270366-colorados-legal-cannabis-farms-emit-more-carbon-than-its-coal-mines/

Are you trying to confuse us with facts?

[Boiler 45,488]

Sounds very logical, wonder if that includes the informal growing operation, a guy I know set fire to his house by overloading his electrical supply.

 

It is sort of similar to Bitcoins, they use more electricity than Argentina.

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,370]

Well I think.. wait I forgot. Oh well I will go have a Twinkie dude 

[laylalex 7,284]

So, what is the solution? Cannabis is a (literally) growing industry in many states. What are the proposals to limit carbon emissions? 

[Boiler 45,488]

Grow it where is does not need lots of carbon and where there is plentiful water.

[Dashinka 24,493]

18 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

Well I think.. wait I forgot. Oh well I will go have a Twinkie dude 

So that is the reason.  

[Dashinka 24,493]

17 minutes ago, laylalex said:

So, what is the solution? Cannabis is a (literally) growing industry in many states. What are the proposals to limit carbon emissions? 

Since it is still a lucrative crop to those on the seedier side of the law, or those that would rather not pay for it even if it is legal, it will mostly be kept indoors.  Therefore these grow operations will require a huge amount of constant energy, and a whole lot of water.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

30 minutes ago, laylalex said:

So, what is the solution? Cannabis is a (literally) growing industry in many states. What are the proposals to limit carbon emissions? 

like with any global warming thing........

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,370]

45 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Since it is still a lucrative crop to those on the seedier side of the law, or those that would rather not pay for it even if it is legal, it will mostly be kept indoors.  Therefore these grow operations will require a huge amount of constant energy, and a whole lot of water.

legalize it and move it outdoors. Problem solved

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

3 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

legalize it and move it outdoors. Problem solved

then the crops will be moving just like the tall bushes were in jurassic park..........

[laylalex 7,284]

46 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Since it is still a lucrative crop to those on the seedier side of the law, or those that would rather not pay for it even if it is legal, it will mostly be kept indoors.  Therefore these grow operations will require a huge amount of constant energy, and a whole lot of water.

Doesn't that seem to indicate that legalizing commercial production of marijuana on a federal level is a good way to get it out of massive growrooms? The way I think about it is this: the country is currently a patchwork of where it's legal, and for whom, and for what purposes. As far as I know, it is not legal to sell cannabis across state lines, even where it is legal in both states. So each state that has legalized the sale of medical and/or recreational marijuana is incentivized to grow its own, because it cannot purchase supply from outside its borders, even though the state itself may not be a good fit for cultivation because of lack of access to sufficient water, unsuitable land, weather, etc. We don't expect Maryland to grow potatoes like Maine and Washington can; similarly, Iowa is never going to beat California for avocado production. If we remove barriers for trade, the incidence of cultivation in unsuitable places should eventually fall. Of course this doesn't take into account illegal grow outfits, but this article is concerned with legal cultivation.

 

I don't use cannabis regularly, and when I do it is in very small amounts for pain relief only. (I do not tolerate it well enough to make recreational use enjoyable -- in fact it usually triggers a massive anxiety attack in me.) I also don't keep any in the home because there is someone who lives here who is adjusting status, and I don't want him to think a jar of medicated gummies is just regular old gummy worms. (It happens. Ask my mom.) But there is a thriving market, and legalization makes sense just from a purely economic standpoint. The states that do it well will specialize, as with other crops.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

6 minutes ago, laylalex said:

 I don't want him to think a jar of medicated gummies is just regular old gummy worms. (It happens. Ask my mom.)

oh i bet that was fun

[laylalex 7,284]

2 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

oh i bet that was fun

I wish I could have been there!  They belonged to an unnamed member of my family who is not me.