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With transportation the fuel source needs to be more up for consideration.  Fossil fuels are presenting concerns with potential climate change; in the near term, more of an immediate impact would be exposure to harmful vapors released throughout the process of development and use. The first immediate action is to prevent exposure by keeping inhabitants away from affected areas, including fuel production and distribution, along with highways.  Studies are raising red flags for homes and businesses within a range of 100 meters’ proximity to highways / fuel stations and one mile from fuel production, such as hydraulic fracturing.  Within this distance preferably should be a remediation program, similar to those discussed in the Agriculture Webinar (nonprofitwebinar.org/agriculture).  In the event buildings are already constructed too close, workers and tenants should be provided with retrofit protections.  This process may involve a ventilation and vacuum apparatus to generate a barrier which blocks and removes all air approaching from that source.  Workers are to be provided with personal respiration and hazard gear, along with ongoing healthcare coverage.

In terms of climate change, carbon has not been disproved as a contributor.  With that in mind industries are requested to take all steps possible to minimize their acceleration of the process.  With fossil fuel combustion, carbon previously contained within ground gets released into the atmosphere, which scientists have cautioned over time may lead to extreme, traumatic weather.  Biological, plant-based fuel production reduces concern about these factors.  During the growth process, plants absorb carbon from the environment, therefore when leaves or byproducts are combusted the net yield is more balanced out.

Hemp is widely regarded as a worthy plant for this purpose, offering rapid production with minimal treatment.  The seeds can be converted into oil extracts, whereas leaf matter is inherently ignitable for use in biomass briquettes, which serve the same purpose as coal, such as for trains and steam engines.  Calculations in more detail are requested to approximate how much cumulative carbon is absorbed by the hemp plant over the course of various phases in its lifecycle, along with the respective amount released when refined in different ways and burned. For instance there may be an equilibrium point, where portions of the plant could be set aside for other purposes to contain some amount of carbon, if necessary.  Given the hemp plant is a relatively short in height, growing operations can utilize structured platforms to stack multiple levels, maximizing production for a given plot of land   Notice, it is assumed the factors outlined in our Agriculture Webinar (nonprofitwebinar.org) are already accounted for, though areas around hemp refinery and combustion should still be sectioned off, if possible.

References (Last Updated March 13, 2018):

– United States Department of Transportation
– National Transportation Safety Board
– National Transportation Library – Bureau of Transportation Statistics
– National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
– Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
– Transportation Research Board
– Transportation For America
– Transportation Alternatives
– American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
– EPA – Climate Change
– NASA – Global Climate Change
– Near Busy Roads – San Diego Reader
– American Lung Association State of the Air – Health Risks Near Highways
– Living Near a Highway Can Be Bad for Your Health – Tufts Now
– Environmental Health – Near-Highway Pollutants in Motor Vehicle Exhaust – BMC
– Is It Safe to Live Near a Gas Station? – Scientific American
– Living Within 100m of a Garage is Bad for Your Health – Daily Mail
– Gas Stations Pollute their Immediate Surroundings – Science Daily
– Air Pollution Spikes in Homes Near Fracking Wells – Forbes
– More Than 15 Million Americans Now Live Within One Mile Of A Fracking Well
– Study of Health Impacts in Air Near Fracking Sites – University of Colorado Denver
– Birth Defects and Mothers’ Proximity to Natural Gas Development – NIH
– Exxon Mobil CEO: No Fracking Near my Backyard – USA Today
– Outdoor Air – Oil and Natural Gas Production – EPA
– Report Lists Toxic Chemicals Used in Local Oil and Gas Operations – SCPR
– Gulf Oil Spill Researcher: Bacteria Ate Some Toxins, But Worst Remain – AAAS
– Earth Works Action – Hydraulic Fracturing 101
– Oklahoma Earthquakes Fracking – LA Times
– How Oil and Gas Disposal Wells Can Cause Earthquakes – NPR
– Man-Made Earthquakes Are Changing the Seismic Landscape – The Atlantic
– Here’s Another Complication for Fracking – Radioactive Waste – PRI
– Coal Ash Is More Radioactive Than Nuclear Waste – Scientific American
– Coal Ash Waste – Sierra Club
– China’s Coal Industry Pollutes the Yellow River Basin – Greenpeace
– How Does the BP Oil Spill Impact Wildlife and Habitat? – NWF
– Thousands Without Water After Spill in West Virginia – NY Times
– Keystone Pipeline Leak Worse Than Thought – US News
– Oil in the Mangroves
– A Century of Controversy – National Geographic
– Peak Oil – Exploring Hydrocarbon Depletion
– Post Carbon Institute
– The Wolf at the Door – The Beginners Guide to Peak Oil
– America, Oil, and War in the Middle East – Oxford Journals
– The Coming Oil Wars – Spectator
– Health of Oceans ‘Declining Fast’ – BBC
– Lead in Aviation Fuel – Scientific American
– How Hemp Could Replace Petroleum as a Fuel – Alternet
– Hemp Biodiesel: When the Smoke Clears – Biodiesel Magazine
– University of Connecticut Biofuel Consortium
– Global Hemp – Biomass Resources for Energy and Industry
– Biomass Energy Centre
– Electricity Policy – Hemp, the Biomass Power Plant
– Low Tech Magazine – Firewood in the Fuel Tank
– Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN – Corporate Document Repository
– The Cannabis Biomass Energy Equation – CC Guide
– Heat of Combustion of Hemp and Briquettes Made of Hemp Shives – Ebsco Host
– USA Energy Department – Wood and Pellet Heating
– Gravity Fed Pellet Burner – Instructables
– Biomass Pyrolysis Research – USDA
– Edmunds Report – Cars Made of Plants
– Hempcar – Henry Ford
– USA Hemp Museum – Hemp Plastics Room
– History of Transport and Travel
– Smithsonian – America on the Move
– International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic, and Mobility
– Car and Driver – Can Your Car Be Hacked?
– Computer World – Untraceable $20 Device Can Allow a Hacker to Control a Car
– The Petroleum Problem – Mushroom Info
– Mushrooms May Slow Global Warming – CS Monitor