Marijuana production uses 1 percent of all U.S. electricity
Unlike the smokable plant, marijuana production ain’t green.
The driver of this van has no idea he's killing baby polar bears.
Marijuana has a Godzilla-sized carbon footprint, with indoor production consuming one percent of all electricity produced in the United States, according to a study.
The resulting carbon dioxide emissions from all those power plants is equivalent to operating 3 million badly painted Volkswagen Microbuses (see photo).
Here’s some more interesting facts:
* Energy costs account for 25 percent of marijuana wholesale costs.
* The energy required to produce one joint is equal to running a 100-watt light bulb for 17 hours.
* A four-by-four-foot lighted “production module” uses the same energy as 30 refrigerators.
Of course, after reading all that, you’re probably wondering how much in energy costs the U.S. could save if we just let people grow marijuana outdoors.
The answer? $5 billion, or 2.5 million pounds of weed.
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115 comments Add your comment
G P
April 15th, 2011
8:43 pm
George Mathis . . . . get another job . . . you obviously don’t know what you are talking about.
fredzz
April 15th, 2011
8:59 pm
Talk about some garbage propaganda! If you believe this DEA/Law enforcement/Goverment fairy poop, good luck with your life.
How stupid are these people who want to control everyones life. (Especially when they see how boring my life is). At least say pot causes something, warts or Hiv or something. Make it a little believable please.
Do you know how much 1% of all power in the US would be?
fredzz
April 15th, 2011
9:01 pm
Yeah Daniel I’m sure you’ve just seen a bunch of them. Dumb stoner.
TechRon
April 15th, 2011
9:04 pm
Well, I am conservative and a Christian. I think legalizing pot is the right thing to do on every level. Look back at OhYeah’s list of points and every one is completely valid. Pot is far less harmful than alcohol. Sure, it would be just as illegal to smoke pot and drive a car, same as for alcohol. It just does not carry the health risks. No one is going to smoke pot and get aggressive as they do with alcohol. It just makes all the sense in the world. Let it go. Sell it in liquor stores, check IDs, collect taxes and put the drug runners out of business. It is clear as a bell: If alcohol and tobacco are legal, then why not relatively harmless marijuana?
fredzz
April 15th, 2011
9:06 pm
Yes you are truly sad. What the F@@K does the bible have to do with this story? I’m a devout Christian, but I’ve got no problem with drugs. Legalize all of them. God gave us freedom of choice, the least the stupid boneheads in goverment could do is respect that.
Anyone with a brain can figure out that this story is total BS, written by a proud fool. And that pot is just a plant that doesn’t do much harm if any.
hillbillynation
April 15th, 2011
9:18 pm
That seems like a high percentage
Ripoff
April 15th, 2011
10:10 pm
$2000/pound?
I got five on that.
brian s.
April 16th, 2011
1:13 am
“Most marijuana is grown outdoors, and growing in a 4×4 space only requires 600 watts or less.”
and a typical modern refrigerator on “normal” setting uses much less than 600 watts per hour… usually runs less than 1/4th of th etime. so probably more like 30-60 watts. which was the point of the article…
porcelain-implants
April 16th, 2011
6:54 am
no one knows better than the herbiculturist; grass is always greener in the closet but tastes like sour sneakers.
pot_roasted_1
April 16th, 2011
7:35 am
Cough Cough Bullspit Cough………