"Bringing It Home" Documentary

Hello everyone! It is already late and I still have several tasks to do, but I feel so inspired by an INCREDIBLE documentary that I just watched! It is called "Bringing It Home", and explains all of the incredible uses of industrial hemp, and how it can truly save the world! While it is not yet released to the general public, the company Dr. Bronners sent us the link and wanted Ashley and I to watch and offer feedback about how it would do on college campuses! I have included two of the different trailers, if you would like to take a look! The first one is a little bit shorter!

Several of the facts that really stand out to me are:

• hempcrete (instead of concrete...used in construction) not only insulates homes to greatly reduce the need of heating or air conditioning, but also removes carbon from the atmosphere (it's carbon negative!)
• hemp oil has 25 times the amount of Omega-3s (essentials oils that are in fish and flax that keep your heart, skin, and hair healthy) and half the saturated fat of olive oil!
• hemp can grow practically anywhere, and it's very hearty, grows fast, stops weeds, and leaves the soil better than before it was grown
• when used in clothing, the same acreage can grow 250% more fiber than cotton, and can be used to make hemp silk, hemp muslin, hemp denim, and a lot more!
• Hemp is used as an alternative to petroleum in soaps, so then you can put organic matter on your skin, rather than such a toxic substance!
• Hemp was used in many important events over the course of history, included the sails of Columbus's Mayflower voyage, the paper of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the first clothing ever made in China, in the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza, and more! (until it was outlawed in the United States in the 1970s.
• There are over 30 countries who have thriving hemp markets, including the UK, Ireland, Canada, France, New Zealand, Japan, China, South Africa and many others! The US is also the largest importer of hemp products.
• Although hemp comes from the cannabis plant and is related to marijuana, it is not possible to get "high" off of hemp, and the plants look completely different in terms of height, seeds, pollen, and fibers.

Anyway, I just thought I would share! I am very excited and feel mobilized! Now I am back to work on a letter to the filmmaker, doing some Project Green Challenge outreach in high schools and colleges across the country, editing some film footage I shot today at an organic nursery and garden store, and working on a lesson for my environmental curriculum! Woohoo! Wishing you all a happy week!