Oh, the horror (and the irony): Colorado’s legal cannabis farms emit more carbon than its coal mines.

March 10, 2021, 04:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by TXJIM:

. That doesn’t excuse the fact that the author here is intentionally ignoring the burning aspect to conflate the carbon emissions of coal and cannabis.

It would be cool if you surrepticiously edit to change 'conflate' to 'conflagrate', because not many would notice and it would be kind of like an Easter Egg.

March 10, 2021, 06:11 AM

stickman428

Why are they growing hemp outside and the devils lettuce inside? Fear of theft? I get that but it just seems stupid to grow it all indoors. Why? Because of the climate? Thieves? It seems wasteful. Is tobacco mostly grown indoors?

March 10, 2021, 06:45 AM

sigfreund

quote:
Most US cannabis is grown indoors, as some states don’t allow outdoor growing and the crops are also at risk of theft.

March 10, 2021, 06:52 AM

stickman428

Is theft the only reason? That seems lazy and stupid. If some states won’t allow out door growing because of thieves why even have this debate? The extra pollution from indoor grows can be blamed on state government forced stupidity. How can one complain about pollution from indoor grows and not look at obvious and simple solutions like outdoor growing rather than low energy LED lights and other tomfoolery. Those indoor growing materials don’t just appear out of nowhere, they cause pollution when they are manufactured, transported and while they consume energy.

It’s almost as if government creates a problem, people eventually discover the problem and now we are to expect that government will somehow fix the problem it more or less created?

March 10, 2021, 08:24 AM

gearhounds

quote:
Originally posted by stickman428:
Why are they growing hemp outside and the devils lettuce inside? Fear of theft? I get that but it just seems stupid to grow it all indoors. Why? Because of the climate? Thieves? It seems wasteful. Is tobacco mostly grown indoors?

Because inside, every single aspect of the growing process can be controlled and kept at peak conditions. Soil acidity and quality, humidity, CO2 levels, water, type and duration of light exposure, temperature, elimination of pollination, bug damage loss, etc, etc, etc. All these factors will yield a much more consistent product and a higher potency is attainable in a controlled environment.

March 10, 2021, 08:43 AM

stickman428

Yeah sure but you can still easily grow the stuff outside. There is an enormous amount of weed they could be growing with much less environmental impact.

March 10, 2021, 09:42 AM

46and2

Yeah, no.

Inside is always better due to environmental control (Temperature, Humidity, Bugs, etc.)

And there is a world of difference between just growing some and growing it optimally.

In Colorado the Outdoor season runs into frost issues near the end in early October.

It would take an army to harvest huge outdoor fields in time, and they don't work that way, generally, whereas indoor grows operate year round for steady production and with smaller crews.

Plus the bigger the operation the more likely machine trimming is used, which sucks.

Etc.

March 10, 2021, 10:17 AM

nhtagmember

after one or two samples of the product I don't think anyone will care...

that purple haze people see when they fly into Denver isn't smog

March 10, 2021, 10:56 AM

Elk Hunter

quote:
Originally posted by ChuckWall:
quote:
US teens may be finding it harder to buy cannabis after legalisation

Not with Biden's porous border, they won't.

I suspect that cannabis is not the only thing coming across that now porous border. And I am not referring to the illegal invaders.

Elk

There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour)

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. "
-Thomas Jefferson

"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Alexis de Tocqueville

FBHO!!!

The Idaho Elk Hunter

March 10, 2021, 10:57 AM

Prefontaine

Maybe a scientist can invent a machine that burns cannabis and turns it into electricity.

March 10, 2021, 11:28 AM

bdylan

People want the indoor grown stuff.

March 10, 2021, 11:54 AM

1967Goat

quote:
Originally posted by nhtagmember:
after one or two samples of the product I don't think anyone will care...

that purple haze people see when they fly into Denver isn't smog

Probably the same haze over Arizona. It's legal there too!

March 10, 2021, 12:14 PM

46and2

Generally speaking, the only thing Growers like about Outdoor is the "free electricity" (sunshine) versus the power bills associated with the endeavor normally.

Every year, following the (typically) October harvest (depending on strain, location, etc) there is a brief glut of cheap(er) Outdoor weed going around.

By way of comparison, it isn't necessarily bad, compared to top quality indoor, but just not as nice/good nor as consistent, maybe 10-20% less "good".

The only thing Sellers really like about Outdoor is that it's cheap(er) for them, and some of their customers just don't care or know enough so their margin is better for those.

And the only Consumers I know of who prefer Outdoor don't know or care, or are merely price driven.

It's the 21st Century, mannnn, folks can be picky now.

(Now, big greenhouses are the compromise, but have their own issues. They need Artificial Darkness setups to run year round and big heaters in Colorado, etc)

But in Production situations where quality and consistency matter, Environmental Control rules the day, and that means Indoor growing. It's better, all around, being grown in small to medium sized setups.

Like Beer, Wine, Coffee, or any other similar thing. The best beer(s) are always smaller companies...

Really good Cannabis is more like growing Championship Roses than, say, Tomatoes... finicky, hard... driven by good genetics, consistency in environment, the right food(s), all that stuff.

Any jackass can "grow some weed". But that's a different thing altogether. Good weed is not easy, much less doing so consistently. I've seen it confound lots of folks. In my estimation, maybe 20% can do it well.

March 10, 2021, 01:27 PM

mutedblade

March 10, 2021, 01:59 PM

jhe888

if we don't believe climate change is man-made, then why does it matter?

March 10, 2021, 02:05 PM

TXJIM

quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by TXJIM:
I hate all media for bullshit stories like this. First of all, coal is not hated by the left for the carbon produced mining it, its hated for the carbon produced while burning it....a number that was conveniently left out of the total to drive a narrative to fire up the pro coal anti weed conservatives. Propaganda goes both ways and is intended to do one one thing, drive clicks and revenue.
Also conveniently left out of the story are the increased costs to social programs in Colorado associated with legalization of pot. Personally, I don't give a damn about the topic, but there's data left out on both sides of the discussion.

The author wrote the article to fire up conservatives over two issue favored by the left that have no connection. There is no point in tallying any perceived social issues for the purpose of this articles. The intended target is already against weed.

March 10, 2021, 02:13 PM

TXJIM

quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
if we don't believe climate change is man-made, then why does it matter?

Because don’t you see, we caught those leftist bastards. Their weed is worse than our coal and when we rub their noses in it they will stop growing the stuff and repent for their shame

March 10, 2021, 02:52 PM

darthfuster

quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
if we don't believe climate change is man-made, then why does it matter?

For me it is frustrating to suffer the expense of policy driven by distorted anthropogenic climate affect while watching those same knuckleheads rationalize the value of likely their sacred calf against the reported affect on the same climate. I don’t believe man’s impact on the climate is anything significant enough to warrant the policy, pot or not.

March 10, 2021, 04:12 PM

Sig2340

quote:
... 2.3 to 5.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per kilogram of dried flower produced....

2.3-5.2 METRIC TONS of CO2 per 2.2 POUNDS of dried flower?

No way.

A gallon of gasoline only produces 8.89 × 10-3 metric tons of CO2.

Someone is smoking the books.

March 11, 2021, 12:52 PM

just1tym

quote:
Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Wait'll they find out about the additional carbon footprint of all the marijuana that's being burned in Colorado.

(Not to mention the increased emissions from the rise in pizza deliveries and Dorito shipments.)

A friend in Colorado took this photo of a roadway sign a while back. So I'm guessing that smoking it outdoors "anywhere" is illegal?