Editor's Note: This was sent as an open letter to all 308 federal MPs. It is reprinted here.

Isabell Fooks, Editor

Dear Federal MP:

Amidst all of this teethgnashing and hand-wringing about Climate Change, none of the "experts" even mentions the most obvious remedy, one that the governments of the world have known about since the 1930's: Industrial Hemp.

I have written many letters to many papers across the country about this issue, and very few of them bothered to publish the letter or even mention the topic in their reports. So I will try telling all of you directly.

Here is how Hemp (the legal, non-drug version of the Cannabis plant) can save our planet.

Almost every country in the world can grow Hemp, and if we did, humans could completely stop using crude oil and coal, in just 20 years! Yes, completely, and yes, in 20 years. We wouldn't even have to "tighten our belts", as there would actually be more food and energy for all 6.5 billion of us.

The U.S., for example, could produce enough of their own Hemp to completely stop using crude oil. Then they wouldn't have to rely on foreign oil, wage oil-securing wars around the world, or start drilling in as-yetuntouched parklands. The U.S., incidentally, is the one of very few countries where it is still a federal offence to grow Hemp.

Hemp produces more ethanol fuel or biodiesel per acre than any other crop. Using hempfuel to run the machines to grow, harvest, and transport crops of all kinds will not only reduce the costof those crops, it will produce less pollution. Using hemp-fuel for cars, planes, trains, and boats will dramatically reduce pollution to our air, water and soil. This will result in a healthier environment, which means healthier humans, further reducing health care costs.

Since most countries could grow enough hemp for their own needs, crude oil would not have to be shipped around the world at the ongoing risk of large scale environmental accidents in our oceans.

Using hemp-fuel for freighters and cargo planes would also reduce shipping costs and environmental degradation. Healthier oceans means healthier seafood which means healthier humans.

Hemp doesn't need the fertilizers or pesticides used to grow corn, soy, or wheat grass, or the fuel to spread those chemicals, so that would reduce pollution and water and fuel consumption even further. This would help Canada's farmers immensely, most of whom are operating under large debts.

Hemp doesn't need to grow in prime soil like those other crops, and can grow tall and strong on even marginal, contaminated, or depleted soil. This way, farmland that is currently out of use or substandard can be reclaimed, and added to the crop rotation. Canada alone could reclaim thousands of acres of farmland which would lower food costs, boost our economy and create many jobs.

Hemp eats more CO2 per acre than any other crop, reducing pollution further. Hemp also filters air, soil, and water, and since it doesn't need chemicals, that will further reduce water-table contamination from farm run-off.

Hemp is a weed, so it will not be overgrown by the other weeds that are sure to thrive in the warmer, higher CO2/methane atmosphere of the coming decades. These other weeds may threaten more traditional crops, but Hemp will help choke those weeds off. That further reduces the need to use herbicides and pesticides, which lowers costs and pollution even further.

Hemp produces more nutrition per acre than any other crop, and it is the most easily assimilated protein known to man. If we fed Hemp to our livestock, the resulting meat, egg, fish, poultry, or dairy products would be cheaper, more nutritious, better tasting, and free of chemicals. If we, as humans, ate more Hemp or hempfed animal products, we'd all be healthier as well. That would further reduce healthcare costs, saving us even more money!

The starving masses of Africa, India, and other poor countries could be fed cheaply with Hemp, in as little as a few years. This would reduce the spread of diseases and death, reduce the costs associated with those issues, settle civil unrest, and improve the standard of living for everyone on the planet.

Healthier humans need fewer prescription medications, which would mean pharmaceutical companies would produce less pollution in their manufacturing processes. The bodily waste from humans using chemical medications is also more toxic to the environment, so healthier humans will, obviously, produce less toxic sewage.

Hemp makes great detergents for hair skin and clothing. Using Hemp products would reduce the environmental damage caused by standard detergents. The Hemp plant's roots are very strong and long. Sowing Hemp where forests once stood helps prevent landslides, soil erosion, and further environmental degradation.