Built in New Zealand and valued at $3 million, Earthrace is the world’s fastest eco-boat. In fact, it broke the world record for circumnavigating the globe by almost 14 days when it completed the journey in 60 days, 23 hours, and 49 minutes. Cooler still: it’s hull is made of hemp. As BVI Platinum reports:

Earthrace, which runs on 100% biodiesel, is the first boat in the world to use hemp composite. This is visible on the floor of the helm. Hemp is renewable, unlike carbon and Kevlar, and is strong and versatile enough for medium impact protection.

The hull shape is extremely efficient, reducing fuel consumption compared with conventional craft.

During construction, Earthrace used a number of recycled products (such as ice cream containers) collected from local Schools. In exchange, the team provided the schools with discarded MDF and pine to use in their woodworking departments.

Now if only Earthrace was powered by hemp and used hemp biofuel instead of regular biodiesel, we’d really have a reason to get excited. But you can find out more about the Earthrace at www.earthrace.net.

With the environment in decline and gas prices on the rise, biofuels are receiving quite a bit of consideration as an alternative energy source. The most popular sources of biofuels, however, are food crops, and given rising food prices, that poses a whole other set of problems. But cultivating hemp as a source of biofuel may very well solve many of the problems commonly associated with using food crops. As GreenExperience.net explains:

[...] The best kind of biofuel is one that is not food, grows in abundance, and supplies large amounts of biomass. Surprisingly, the plant that fits all of these requirements is none other than hemp.

[...] The specific process through which hemp fuel is made is pyrolysis, where high temperatures are applied to the plant in the absence of oxygen. This creates charcoal, which is a clean burning fuel that does not release sulfur (the primary cause of acid rain). Using adjusted methods, hemp can also be turned in to methanol and other oils.

Hemp is a fantastic biofuel because it grows quickly and in large quantities. An acre of hemp can produce five hundred gallons of gasoline, and in the process of its growth, hemp removes tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some of this carbon dioxide is deposited in the ground, where it increases soil fertility and is prevented from contributing to global warming.

Making the transition to hemp-based biofuels, however, both offers advantages and poses challenges. As the article elaborates:

Grown on a large enough scale, hemp could completely fulfill all of America’s energy needs, while reversing global warming and keeping soil healthy. Currently, because of a deficiency in innovation, harvesting hemp for fuel in practice would be somewhat inefficient, which is why more advancements are needed before hemp can be utilized to a significant extent.

For more details on how current biofuel production is like jumping from the frying pan to the fire, as well as how hemp might offer a solution to biofuel production, check out the full article. It’s definitely worth the read.