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BY KRISTEN BRODY
ANCHOR JESSICA HORD
You're watching multisource environment video news analysis from Newsy.
Pot Smokers of America listen up! Your green pastime ain’t so green... or at least that’s what Evan Mills of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says. Mills recently released his findings on the subject.
NPR reports Mills found indoor pot growth’s...
“... electricity use is equivalent to that of two million average U.S. homes. [AND] It accounts for one percent of national electricity consumption.”
Not to mention...“...one joint represents two pounds of CO2 emissions, an amount equal to running a 100-watt light bulb for 17 hours with average U.S. electricity.”
Colin Sullivan of Greenwire writes in The New York Times it’s not just electricity use we have to worry about.
“Water consumption is also an issue when it comes to environmental impact, with each marijuana plant said to need between 3 and 5 gallons of water per day to grow to fruition.”
Heavy stuff right? Not according to Nick Rosen at Off Grid … he says all of this debate is quote “nonsense”.
“If he had done his homework he would have known that pot-growers rely heavily on solar and wind power for their energy....using this study to blame marijuana growers for being responsible of high CO2 emissions and, in the process, blaming pot, seems ridiculous.”
Mr. Mills himself says the study wasn’t to judge pot users, or even offer the end all-cure all. He just wanted to inform users and get the conversation started.
“The study is policy-relevant, but is not policy prescriptive... The opportunity to influence a constructive, climate-friendly response rests with all involved parties.”
California is responsible for twenty percent of marijuana emissions in the United States. But Mills says his study isn’t just for the golden state to pay attention to... it’s for everyone.
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