Will Microsoft's New Climate Innovation Fund Include Hemp?

By The MAZAKALI Team.

In the world of sustainability, a potential game changer is the Jan. 16 announcement by Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corporation MSFT -- one of the world’s most valuable companies -- to remove more carbon from the earth than it emits by 2030 and to invest $1 billion over the next four years in a “Climate Innovation Fund.”

While no specifics were shared, hemp can play an important role in helping the fund attain its goals.

Why?

First used in Chernobyl, Ukraine after the 1986 nuclear disaster, hemp is one of the most effective phyto-remediative plants for vacuuming toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides and radioactive elements out of soil and groundwater. Hemp, from the moment of seeding, can absorb more carbon emissions from the atmosphere than any other forest or commercial crop. As a regenerative agricultural crop, hemp sequesters carbon back into the soil to help the plant grow and release oxygen into the air.

“Hemp is nothing less than a savoir of humanity, a miracle plant that will revivify depleted soils, mitigate the threat of climate change, and re-establish harmonic balance between humans and the environment.”
                                   Rolling Stone Magazine

While hemp used to extract toxins cannot be used for products like CBD that touch or are ingested by humans, it can be used for nearly 50,000 industrial purposes. Today, most of the half million licensed acres in U.S. grow hemp for CBD, and initiatives like Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund are wise to increase investment in hemp as a driver of sustainability.

Interesting fact: It was recently discovered that Ellora, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture, was built with clay, lime and cannabis. Indian archaeologists have revealed that the cannabis present in the earthen mix played a key role in preventing decay over the 1,500 years of its existence.

Lead image by Ilona Szentivanyi. Copyright: Benzinga