Five Australian senior citizens who are committed to the environment, both in terms of reversing damage already done to our planet’s eco-system, and ensuring it doesn’t continue, are the subjects of today’s podcast. Their stories are featured in an article published by the Sydney Morning Herald.

More proof that individual effort, based on one’s skills and background, are empowering the groundswell of grassroots environmentalism around the world.

You can hear the podcast at The Lindberg Report.

I love David and Goliath stories, and the recent news from North Dakota is just that: two farmers and a publicly funded land grant university sticking it to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). As you know from an earlier article on Green Options , and my subsequent podcast Greening the Golden Years Podcast: Hemp, The North Dakota Story, two North Dakota farmers, State Rep. Dave Monson and Wayne Hauge filed a lawsuit to end the DEA’s ban on state-regulated commercial hemp farming in the U.S.

Now comes North Dakota State University, with a current student body of around 12,000, filing an amicus brief in support of the two farmers. And NDSU has its own bone to pick with the DEA: an almost unbelievable snub of the small school.

In 1999, according to a news release from Vote Hemp, the university applied for permission to grow non-drug industrial hemp to create varieties best suited for the North Dakota climate and soil conditions. The DEA, according to the release, has chosen to ignore completely the 8 year old request. How’s that for big brother arrogance?

The DEA still holds that industrial hemp, almost completely bereft of the hallucinogenic compound that produces a "high," can be used as a drug. I read somewhere that smoking industrial hemp would produce nothing more than a bad headache.

According to the news release,

Gold can hypothetically and has in some instances been extracted from seawater, but the minimal concentration makes it technically and economically inefficient and commercially non-viable to do so. There are trace opiates in poppy seeds consumed on bagels, that could also be hypothetically be concentrated; but just as with industrial hemp is not a practical source of drugs for the illicit market

So what’s the big deal, DEA?

The farmers’ case will be heard in federal court on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, in Bismark, North Dakota. A press conference will follow, and I’ll have an article and hopefully an interview that same day.

In any case, let’s hear it loud and clear for the "Davids" of this world who aren’t afraid to stand up and cry "foul." It’s time someone put the DEA’s feet to the fire. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California could have set up the same scenario by signing a bill that passed through the state legislature, asking for approval to grow industrial hemp in four California counties. Arnold obviously didn’t have the stomach for a possible showdown with the DEA, and vetoed the publicly supported legislation. Strange, too, because Schwarzenegger has been a big proponent of environmentalism, but, on the other hand had the temerity to tell a columnist that "marijuana is not a drug, it’s a leaf."

She’s back, ready for another challenge and promising to stay active as an environmental protester. Betty Krawczyk is in the news again, this time planning to run for Mayor of Vancouver, BC, Canada in November of 2008. I talked with her after her release from the Alouette Correctional Center a few weeks after our first interview, and she spoke of many things: the new political party she’s joined as a candidate, the ills of Vancouver, and what she plans for it’s future should she be elected Mayor.

There’s more on Betty in the companion article I wrote that features several links to her personal website and blog, and to other articles about her. This is one tough lady, who’s as gentle and caring as you might imagine a great-grandmother to be. But she won’t back down from a fight; she picks them. Listen to the interview, then check out the companion article.

Today’s podcast is a follow-up of my earlier article, Opinion: California Governor Nixes Industrial Hemp While North Dakota Moves On. I felt it necessary to further investigate the North Dakota story and help bring you up to date on other activity around the country.

Twenty-eight states have introduced hemp legislation and fifteen have passed legislation; seven, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia and North Dakota have removed barriers to its production or research. Of those five, only North Dakota has set into motion a state regulatory system administered by the state’s agriculture department. It placed into law strict guidelines concerning the cultivation and harvesting of hemp seed and oil, and a licensing process that makes it completely legal under not only North Dakota Law, but federal law as well, to grow industrial hemp and harvest the sterilized seeds and oil for sale in the marketplace.

But no matter what they’ve done, it’s still a catch-22 situation. The farmer’s intent doesn’t matter in the eyes of the DEA, plant one stalk of industrial hemp and the DEA can charge you with growing and possessing a controlled substance, fine you, and possibly take away your property.

Two North Dakota farmers, State Representative David Monson and Wayne Hauge have done something no one else has apparently done in the country, sue the DEA, asking it to make a distincting between industrial hemp and marihuana.

I spoke with the attorney who filed the suit in Federal Court in Bismark, North Dakota, Tim Purdon, a member of the Vogel Law Firm in that city. He explains the lawsuit.

Other sites of interest:

H.B. 1009 in PDF

Vote Hemp

Washingtonwatch

Well, California’s "Fearless Fosdick" Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has again stifled any hope of bringing the industrial hemp industry to California and the United States. Unlike his more forward-thinking and courageous counterpart in North Dakota, Schwarzenegger bowed to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and useless fears that industrial hemp will get you high, and vetoed Assembly Bill 684 which would have allowed a four-county, five-year pilot program of industrial hemp production in California.

In his veto message to the Assembly, he again stated, as he did before, that "Under federal law, all cannabis plants, regardless of variety or THC content, are simply considered to be ‘marijuana,’ which is a federally regulated controlled substance." He said signing of the bill "would give legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that production of ‘industrial hemp’ is somehow a legal activity under federal law." To me, that’s an insult to the intelligence and integrity of the agricultural community in California. He also suggested that enacting such a law could strain law enforcement resources and cause "significant problems" with drug enforcement in the state.

In all fairness, he’s right: that’s the law as written, back in 1938. I’ll refer you to my story on hemp and marijuana of May 10th, "Green Myth Busting; Hemp is Marijuana."

So let’s move forward. Mr Schwarzenegger doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to the feds and force the issue, as has the state of North Dakota. That state’s government set a strict set of rules concerning the growth of industrial hemp, and licensed farmer Wayne Hauge to plant and harvest hemp seed. The DEA stonewalled the application long enough so that Mr. Hauge was unable to plant a crop this year. As a result, Mr Hauge and State Representative David Monson filed suit against the DEA, asking for a declaratory judgement separating industrial hemp from marijuana as long as the industrial variety contains less than .3% THC, the psychoactive agent in marijuana. The DEA has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying DEA policies can only be reviewed by a federal appeals court, and reiterated that federal law does not distinguish between industrial hemp and its cousin, marijuana. That action is still languishing in the courts.

Governor Schwarzenegger has loudly proclaimed his support of environmental issues over the years, but iced this one with a whimper. I’ve said it before: there’s a lot more to this hemp issue than just the fear of increasing marijuana production in the US. There must be some incredibly powerful lobbies intimidating Congress enough to not even touch the issue, when production of industrial hemp can bring so much to the American lifestyle. I refuse to believe it’s that simple, besides, there seems to be enough pot to go around right now, it’s coming across our borders by the ton and I suspect there’s still plenty of "home grown" cannabis to fill in for the few busts law enforcement makes during a year.  But, let’s give the devil his due: the Governor has just signed into law several bills aimed at cleaning up the state’s environment.

That law needs to be changed, the North Dakota lawsuit against the DEA should go forward, and the federal government should listen to its citizens, something I fear has been lacking for several years now. Be sure to read the story at the Environmental News Network website, and roam the links to learn more about hemp.

As for Arnold, I’ve never liked his movies.

85 year old Liz Moore is nobody’s fool. The minute she laid eyes on Syncrude’s Canadian Oil Sands operation in Alberta, Canada, she knew some terrible things were happening to the ecology of that area. While touring the company’s site, she took pictures of land not reclaimed, a few snapshots in the visitors center, and came home to Colorado bound to tell a story. She set up a website, The Oil (Tar) Sands of Alberta The Canada/U.S. Connection, and published her pictures along with some interesting facts about the operation.

Almost immediately, Syncrude’s legal staff wrote her and demanded she remove the pictures she had taken. Shortly thereafter, the company’s publishing firm did the same, as did the Alberta provincial government concerning pictures of the Oil Sands Discovery Center which they helped fund.

Liz also maintains another website: Energy Smart

Here is her story….

Back on August 2, 2007, I did a podcast featuring three women — two Chileans and a Canadian — who had run afoul of the law in their respective countries. The Canadian is Betty Krawczyk, and I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing her by phone from her prison cell.

She’s intelligent, charming, and an outspoken proponent for environmental and civil rights issues. Our interview touches on Betty’s evaluation of the Canadian court system, her first eyewitness account of discrimination and cruelty, and the events that led to leaving her native Louisiana with a husband and six children to settle in Canada.

Links:

Betty’s Early Edition

Books of Betty K.

Electric PorscheLast week’s post was devoted to the efforts of Ken Watkins, a Florida senior citizen who electro-refitted a Chevy pickup truck. He turned out a good-looking ride and plans to do more vehicles in his retirement years.

That article resulted in an email from another Floridian: Paul Liddle, the owner of EVPorsche, who is electrifying Porsches, Lamborghinis, and even a Rolls Royce! And I thought, "WOW, an electric Porsche 911, cool!"

And then I thought, what about the vroom-vroom? You know, racing the engine at a stop sign, popping the clutch with the pedal to the metal, speed shifting up from first to the top gear, and getting thrown back in the seat as the engine roars ahead until you’ve reached a hundred or so. And then there’s the downshifting, again the engine revving up as you save the brakes and come to a slower speed or a stop.

I’ve driven a few sports cars, and that was part of the thrill: coordinating the clutch with the gears (as fast as possible), pedal to the metal, complete control, and the vrooooom. Well, according to Paul’s website, you’ll get fast, smooth, quiet acceleration with some optional gear shifting. Your Porsche will still act like it’s on steroids, but without the “feel” and sound of a piston engine car. If I could afford one, I’d ask Paul to add a recording of engine noises that correspond with the increase or decrease in speed, with speakers in and outside the car for make believe. Add in a little mechanism to vibrate the car just a bit, and I’d be in hog heaven.

Maybe electric car manufacturers would make those options available to those of us who still like the sound and feel of an internal combustion power plant. I come from a time when a V8 with glass paks made you king of the hill, or at least feel like it. Four and six cylinder cars were wimps; my, how times have changed. I still chuckle when I see some guy in his little four-cylinder car with loud mufflers “roar” away from a stop sign.

Ok, so I’m having some fun, but Paul is dead serious and you should see his site: it’s very impressive. And then I thought, "Are other smaller entrepreneurs doing the same thing?" While searching for an answer, I found the Electric Auto Association. It’s a veritable treasure trove of information about electric vehicles, from the new, to gas-car conversions for sale, hybrids, conversion kits, electric scooters, bikes, motorcycles, working electrics at Gorilla Vehicles … the list goes on. The EAA site also has a link to electric vehicles for sale on Ebay. You’ll find electric vehicle events around the country, forums, and links to EAA chapters 19 states, as well as Canada.

More Googles turned up Free Energy News where you’ll find links to several resources. If you’re really interested in electric vehicles of any kind, just Google “electric vehicles” and knock yourself out.

I still think the VROOOOOM would be a nice touch.

Today we’re going to talk about small businesses and their role in laying the foundations for clean and ecologically sensitive industries in this country. Our guest is a long-time advocate of the environment and small business, his name is Byron Kennard, and he is Executive Director of The Center for Small Business and the Environment.

Mr. Kennard has a long list of credits, starting as a community organizer for the Conservation Foundation in the late 1960’s, helping to “lay groundwork for the environmental movement and the subsequent explosion of grassroots action on Earth Day.”. He was awarded the Leadership Medal of the United Nations Environment Program for “distinguished contribution to the cause of the environment.”

He served as National Vice Chair of Sun Day in 1978, National Chair of Earth Day in 1980 and as Special Consultant to the EPA Administrator for Earth Day 1990.

He also authored the book of essays on social and political change, “Nothing Can Be Done, Everything Is Possible.” The Christian Science Monitor called the book “a primer for the modern-day activist.”

Image credit: Tena Engelman/National Park ServiceToday we talk about Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI) programs around the country. It all started in Pennsylvania ten years ago; now, EASI senior volunteers are involved in a wide range of projects, including trying to save a lake in Mexico.

Today's podcast is available here.