The Climate-Killers Inside
There are environmental consequences of what we’re doing. Generating electricity kills fish, emits carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. The extra electricity used by grows in Humboldt County totals an astounding 90 million kWhs a year — about 70 times the total output of all the solar panels in the county, or enough to power 13,000 typical homes. Generating that electricity, even with PG&E’s relatively low-carbon grid, puts 20,000 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. And that’s without considering the energy and environmental costs of using chemical fertilizers, which are significant.
Grows on the grid are only part of the story. Many of the largest indoor grows are off-grid in the more remote areas of the county. These operations use diesel generators to provide the electricity and have even worse environmental consequences, since there are fuel spills as well as CO2 emissions. Setting aside the issue of spills, we used estimates from Jack Nelson of the Humboldt County Drug Task Force of the number and size of off-grid grows to estimate the amount of CO2 they emit — another 20,000 metric tons a year.
On-grid and off-grid, indoor pot growing in the county adds about 40,000 metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere each year. To put that into perspective, consider that the City of Arcata just sold carbon credits to PG&E in a landmark deal. The contract calls for the city to sequester 10,000 metric tons of CO2 a year by not cutting trees in city forests. Unfortunately, this effort is being swamped 4 to 1 by grow lights.
There’s no question that indoor grows are a huge benefit to our local economy. There’s also no question why people grow indoors. They get more crops, make more money and their valuable crop is more secure. But the energy and environmental costs are high.
There’s an obvious solution to this situation — grow marijuana in the sunshine, where it is meant to be grown. Grow organic pot with no pesticides, fungicides or artificial fertilizers. Grow in greenhouses if security is an issue. Plants are the original solar collectors, and they’re really good at it. Solar-powered pot can provide all the medicine we need, just as it has for centuries. And we can be kind to the earth in the bargain.
Peter Lehman is the director and Peter Johnstone is a research engineer at the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University. Views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not those of the Schatz Center or HSU.
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NINE Comments
Comment / By LibLab Scare Tactics / March 11, 8:51 a.m.
CO2 is not a deadly poison gas. Plants breathe it. We used to have 18 times as much CO2 in our atmosphere and our oceans didn’t boil away. What a bunch of fear mongering!
Comment / By Conservo Yapping Points: / March 11, 11:57 a.m.
Apply a little scientific scrutiny to your ignorant blather. Better yet - put a plastic bag over your head so you can breathe pure CO2.
Comment / By HowScienceWorks / March 11, 12:05 p.m.
I feel sorry for LibLab. The same scientific approach that resulted in the computer you used to type your comment, clearly shows the impact of CO2 and the influence of human-produced CO2. This is NOT the opinion of one research group or a few scientists in England, this is the view of 95% of the world’s climate researchers, in universities such as Univ. Wash, Columbia, Univ Chicago (and on and on), as well as our national labs and agencies (NOAA, etc). It is sad that one does not take the time to read and understand the science. Citizens seem willing to accept other scientific investigations and ideas that result in technological advancement and quality of life improvements. But, if an idea conflicts with one’s politics, then it must be wrong. Rampant scientific illiteracy is my fear.
Comment / By Can’t Take The BS / March 11, 3:22 p.m.
“We” never had 18 times as much CO2 in the atmosphere. People didn’t inhabit the earth during the extreme climates of the geologic past. During periods of extremely high CO2 (100 million years ago), the oceans weren’t boiling, but much of the United States was under water. Who ever said ocean’s will boil? - talk about red herrings. Get a clue, and stop buying grow house pot!
Comment / By More concerns / March 12, 11:19 a.m.
More concerns not mentioned in this article that are also directly caused by our marijuana laws.
If growing and selling were legal, grows wouldn’t be indoor anymore. And, all the hazards with grows would diminish greatly. Although, the boom of grows in Humboldt would fade quickly because prices would drop, and grows would expand to other areas. However a few things would be a lot better:
Plants would no longer be secret, so they could be outside.
Pot theft would be a reportable crime thus deterring a lot of violent crime.
Pot would be reportable income, so it would be taxed, and the CARE program would be distributed appropriately.
House fires would be less common because people could hire electricians without fear of theft or being reported.
The smell. When your neighbor has a grow, it STINKS. If it weren’t illegal, it wouldn’t be difficult to approach your neighbors about this and other problems associated with grows.
Comment / By Take some responsibility / March 12, 2:57 p.m.
Those are indeed some real concerns. However, just as concerning in my opinion is the lack of responsibility demonstrated by indoor grow operations. While I agree a lot of these problems would probably go away with (full) legalization, pot is still illegal, and hence contributing inordinate amounts of CO2 to climate change, causing unnecessary house fires, fuel spills, crime, etc. Instead of scapegoating our current laws, why not take some responsibility for your actions, and grow for your own consumption?
Comment / By Cost of Prohibition / March 16, 7:43 p.m.
Of course the basic premise of “The Climate-Killers Inside” is correct. It’s silly to grow plants indoors under light bulbs instead of in the sunshine where they belong. However the authors leave out the most important cause of all the environmental degradation: marijuana prohibition. Unfortunately the authors assumption that outdoor pot can provide all the medicine we need depends on it being legal otherwise the market itself would have already ended indoor growing, as it is very expensive.
Although many growers qualify for the care program because their income is not taxable, most do not use it for fear of unwanted attention. In fact, PG&E charges more money the more electricity you use. Growers pay $.47393 per kWh for most of their power while the average resident pays $.11877 per kWh. So the assumption that we all pay more so others can grow pot is also incorrect.
Now consider the environmental cost of marijuana law enforcement. How much fuel is spent each year flying helicopters and airplanes around to bust people growing plants in the sun nationwide? How many resources and tax dollars are used to search out, prosecute and jail pot offenders across this country?
I think the author’s efforts would be better spent trying to legalize marijuana than villainize our neighbors. I for one would gladly give up a piece of our economy to see the end of the costly and futile war on pot.
Comment / By Emerald Triangle News / March 22, 12:01 p.m.
End prohibiton, and bam, you’ll end the indoor Marijuana Culture= $850 per pound won’t pay for a light. SIMPLE
Comment / By grow marijuana outdoors / May 9, 12:02 p.m.
That is why everyone suggests to grow marijuana outdoors. It will provide with all the supplements marijuana needs that you are trying to install indoors.