by Deborah Bloom

Created on: January 24, 2009

Nature is the greatest carbon capture method it has been doing it since plant life has been present on our earth. The by products of the process is oxygen and sugars. Photosynthesis is the system used by nature. Simply put photo means light and synthesis means put together or putting together with light. So by putting sunlight, water and carbon dioxide together we get sugar and oxygen. In other words the air we breathe and the food we eat come from carbon dioxide and is processed by nature for the greatest cycle of life there is. This is what is referred to as the "Greening Effect" when talking about the good aspect of increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The more food for the plants the more plants for food.

Carbon sequestering therefore should be done responsibly with the thought in mind that taking to much carbon dioxide permanently out of the natural cycle could have dire consequences for plants and all living things on this planet. Research has shown that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere has increased proportionally to the increase of the population more so than to technological production.

Plants can be used for a variety of purposes and each one either sequesters carbon or provides a means for recycling carbon.

Some plants are used as food and medicines for humans and animals. When used in this manner the carbon is transferred from the plant to the living cells of whatever is consuming it for reuse as energy and is not really considered sequestered carbon.

When plants are used to make manufactured items such as clothing or building materials then the carbon dioxide is stored for a longer period of time and that would be considered sequestered carbon.

Hemp is the most efficient plant for capturing carbon that also provides the most options for long term sequestering. It is excellent for a variety of fiber applications as well as for paper. Colorado's Legislature has recognized its carbon sequestering potential in House Memorial 49, March 5, 2007. The memorial urges the United States congress to recognize the positive economic and ecological impact legalizing industrial hemp could have including "a positive contribution to the issues of global climate change and carbon sequestration." Congress has recognized hemp's potential for use in recreational clothing in SB 3439, 110th congress, short title recreational Performance Outerwear Apparel Act of 2008'.

By far the greatest application of hemp for long term sequestering is its use in building materials. When used as a component of concrete it is estimated that 110kg to 165kg per cubic meter of carbon is locked up for the life of the material.

The jury is still out on the real causes of global warming and carbon's role in it. Further more the reasons for the increase of carbon in the atmosphere are many some are because of mankind but by far the biggest contributor is nature itself. Plants both in the ocean and on land die and give off carbon dioxide, volcanoes erupt and release carbon dioxide, as well as forest fires all contribute to the overall amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Carbon dioxide is an element that all living things need to survive and all living things are made of carbon. So before any major changes in the controlling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is done all aspects of the issue need to be considered.

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