The price of lumber was around $300 per thousand board feet this time last year. In a year the price of lumber has risen 400% to $1,686 per thousand board feet. This surge in prices has added $39,000 to the price of a single-family new home and $13,000 for a multi-family home.

The surge is caused by an increase in demand, a shortage in labor supply, and in small part, tariffs on imports from Canada.

Many are turning to hemp construction materials as lumber prices don’t seem to be dropping anytime soon. Hemp can be used in more than 25,000 products like fibers, textiles, paper, construction, insulation materials, food, and fuel.

Industrial hemp was banned nationwide in 1937 but in December of 2018, industrial hemp was legalized with the passage of the Agricultural Improvement act.

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Other countries in Europe have already been using hemp products for years while the U.S is far behind in manufacturing and using these products. The hempcrete block similar to concrete blocks used in construction are lighter, easier to produce, do not degrade over time, absorb carbon, and assemble like legos.

For around $30,000, someone building a new home can have enough hemp blocks shipped to them in around 6 to 8 weeks. While most of the companies manufacturing these blocks are currently in Europe, they are finally coming to the United States. Texas, Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico are in talks to have hemp block factories constructed in the near future. In Pennsylvania, the blocks are already being manufactured.

As Wood Prices Surge 400%, Hemp Homes Are Cheaper, More Efficient, and CO2 Negative

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With the ever-present threat of climate change, many people are constantly talking about the most important thing we can do to cut carbon emissions. New research shows that cycling could be 10 times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero emissions cities.

In 2020, one in 50 new cars was fully electric, globally. Even if all new cars were electric, it would still take an estimated 15-20 years to replace the world’s cars running on fossil fuels.

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The emissions savings from switching to zero-carbon alternatives isn’t enough to make the difference we need in the time we have left to spare. Not to mention, electric cars aren’t completely emissions-free. The materials for the batteries, manufacturing, and the electricity used to run them all produce emissions.

Active traveling on the other-hand (walking and biking) is cheaper and better for both you and the environment. Research has shown that those who walk or cycle have lower carbon footprints than those who don’t even if they just walking and biking on top of motorized travel.

Researchers observed 4,000 people in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome, and Zurich over a two-year period. Over the two years, participants logged a total of 10,00 travel diary entries documenting all the trips they make each day.

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We also estimate that urban residents who switched from driving to cycling for just one trip per day reduced their carbon footprint by about half a tonne of CO₂ over the course of a year, and save the equivalent emissions of a one-way flight from London to New York. If just one in five urban residents permanently changed their travel behavior in this way over the next few years, we estimate it would cut emissions from all car travel in Europe by about 8%.

Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

People who cycled on a daily basis had 84% lower carbon emissions from their daily travel than those who didn’t. Additionally, if the average person switched from a car to a bike just one day a week, they cut their emissions by a carbon footprint o 3.2kg of CO2. Research showed that emissions from cycling can be 30 times lower than a fossil fuel car, and 10 times lower than an electric car.

Kiss The Ground is a new Netflix documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson. The documentary is all about the importance of soil, and more specifically, how we can take care of the soil so the soil will take care of us. The documentary talks about the U.S.’s long history of destroying the soil and what we can do to fix it.

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After Wood Harrelson starts the narration, the film opens on Ray Archuleta, a certified soil scientist. Ray travels around the country and teaches farmers the importance of no-till farming practices. He talks about the importance of the soil, and more specifically, the importance of carbon-rich soil. Ray sets the scene for the film to talk about the importance of regenerative agriculture and the importance of giving back to the soil, as well as how to spread the message.

The documentary also touches on the importance of eating food to feed your gut and the importance of getting the good microbes from the soil into your gut. And of course, you really can’t talk about the damage done to the soil without mentioning pesticides and GMOs. It’s a vicious cycle, says Harrelson. “The more tilling that’s done the weaker the soil gets, and the more compelled farmers feel to use chemical sprays”.

Field corn, our most common crop in the U.S., is genetically modified and sprayed with glyphosate. Glyphosate is known to cause cancer and is so overused it’s found its way into our drinking water. Three pounds of toxic chemicals are sprayed per person onto or food, each year.

“A big reason these chemicals make us sick is because just as toxic chemicals kill the microbes in the soil, they kill the microbes in our bodies.”

Kiss The Ground

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As is pointed out in the documentary, our topsoil in its current condition has about 60 harvests left, and if that doesn’t terrify you, then you’re not paying enough attention. After going through the history of the damage we’ve done, the documentary establishes an important message: It’s not too late. They dive into regenerative practices that feed the earth, sustainable farming, the importance of cover crops, the importance of composting, and so much more.

From the damage done by the Dust Bowl to the German Scientist who originally invented pesticides, to the importance of the bacteria in our soil, I’d say the documentary does a pretty good job of covering the history of soil degradation and informing viewers as to why it’s so important that we fix this problem.

Even you’re pretty well versed with our current environmental crisis, this documentary is still worth a watch. The documentary covers a lot of ground (no pun intended). The way the film covers the importance of taking care of the Earth with how it relates to taking care of our own bodies is something that is not often seen in more mainstream content. I couldn’t even begin to cover all the important points made in the documentary in one review. The film reminded us of how important it is that we keep working to achieve a better, cleaner Earth.

Kiss The Ground is available on Netflix. If the film or even this article has inspired you to learn more about what you can to do help, from a health perspective, we recommend eating as clean as possible. By focusing on gut health, and eating an organic, diverse diet, you can do more than just improve your own health, you can improve the health of the Earth.

Many people have celebrated the fact that in the midst of the global lockdown air quality has improved and emissions have dropped by 5.5%, a decrease greater than the time of the Great Recession, or the drop after WW2. However, an article by grist brings up an important point – 5.5% is not a lot and not enough. Where is the other 95% coming from?

Massive amounts of transportation overall has been cut out and we’re still only expected to see a 5.5% drop, so how are we on an individual level supposed to fix the climate crisis when radically reducing our carbon footprint didn’t make that big a difference? Transportation makes up around 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions (closer to 30% in America) so even if we went completely green without transportation, there’s still a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

“I think the main issue is that people focus way, way too much on people’s personal footprints, and whether they fly or not, without really dealing with the structural things that really cause carbon dioxide levels to go up,”

-Climatologist at NASA, Gavin Schmidt

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Electricity and heating make up for 40% of global emissions, while 60% of electricity is still generated from coal, oil, or natural gas. The last 20% of CO2 emissions come from manufacturing industries. Neither manufacturing industries or electricity have seen a significant decrease in emissions during the pandemic.

To combat global warming, emissions need to be cut by 7.6% every year, and we’re not even there with an economic shutdown. Despite clear skies in LA and clear water in Venice, CO2 emissions are invisible and still very much present. This lockdown is proof that humans on an individual level are not responsible for combating climate change alone. In order for significant changes to be made, corporations have to be held accountable for their actions.

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Source:

• The world is on lockdown. So where are all the carbon emissions coming from? -Grist

While much of the human population is inside quarantining, skies are clearing up, water is less polluted, and the Earth is making small recoveries from the damages caused as a result of day to day life. The COVID-19 pandemic could result in one of the greatest drops in carbon emissions in history. The last significant drop in global emissions was in 2009 after the recession and the last drop in emissions of this magnitude was seen at the end of World War 2.

Four billion people worldwide are being told to shelter in their homes, the world economy has stalled, and scientists are anxiously awaiting what could be one of the largest drops in carbon emissions in history.

Coronavirus could cause the first big emissions drop in a decade

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Some scientists say it’s still too early to expect a significant change while others say we could see an emissions drop of more than 5%. Emissions from transportation make up around 14% of global emissions and in some states, city traffic has decreased by more than 30%. Additionally, air pollution in some of the countries’ most polluted cities, Los Angeles and Seattle have seen a significant drop.

The short-term implications are much easier to see. Many of the behaviors people have given up — like driving to work everyday or taking international flights — are extremely carbon intensive

The coronavirus is giving the environment a break — but experts think it’s unlikely to stay that way

While the pandemic has some unforeseen environmental benefits, there are also many drawbacks. Due to the large quantities being used, masks and gloves that are not properly disposed of are washing up on ocean shores. Additionally, the EPA and the Trump Administration have made cutbacks to environmental regulations for the time being. Also, planes are still flying even when they’re nearly empty.

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Sources:

• Coronavirus could cause the first big emissions drop in a decade -Grist
• The coronavirus is giving the environment a break — but experts think it’s unlikely to stay that way -Business Insider