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Pot Farms Eat Up 1% of Nation's Electricity

Smoking joint like leaving light on all day

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 11, 2011 2:51 PM CDT

(Newser) – Bad news for eco-conscious stoners: That joint you just smoked hurt the planet. Marijuana grown indoors accounts for 1% of America’s yearly electricity consumption, or $5 billion worth of energy, a study finds. That’s equivalent to the annual energy bills of 2 million homes. And in terms of CO2 emissions, puffing one joint is comparable to leaving a 100-watt lightbulb on for 17 hours, Fast Company reports.

That’s because of all the “lighting, dehumidification, air-conditioning, irrigation systems, space-heating, and ventilation systems” the plants require in order to grow indoors, the way dispensaries like them, writes Ariel Schwartz. Since growers have to keep a low profile, they don’t face pressure from consumers concerned about the planet. The solution? Legalize it. That way, “people will actually cast a critical eye on” the industry’s energy usage, Schwartz notes.

Medical marijuana clone plants are shown at Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary, in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 33 comments

yoeydude

Apr 12, 2011 8:20 PM CDT

That is why we got to do as GOD intended , and grow our weed outdoors so he can get a look ,... sun kissed buds are the only kind served in heaven you know ,... outdoor and organic ,..... never flamed only vaporized ,.... Pleasure Be To His Holiness On High ,...

ballen

Apr 12, 2011 8:06 PM CDT

And not to mention--how many indoor pot growers growing under the radar steal the electricity they are using. No way can they have a legit electricity bill--the cops would be knocking on the grow room doors.

Ripp

Apr 12, 2011 7:48 PM CDT

Is that all?

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Pot Farms Eat Up 1% of Nation's Electricity

Smoking joint like leaving light on all day

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

energy • environment • medical marijuana • marijuana • marijuana legalization • energy consumption • pot farms • marijuana farm

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More Newser Stories

Calif. Dem: Elect Me and I'll Smoke Dope on Capitol Hill

Andy Caffrey often lights up on the campaign trail

NJ OKed Medical Pot in '10 —but It's Still Not for Sale

'WSJ' looks at state's struggle to implement medical marijuana program

Pot Plantations Ravaging Our Forests

Minimal policing makes growing marijuana easy

Legalizing Medical Marijuana Doesn't Up Kids' Pot Use

Young people use drug at same rate before, after legalization

Record-High 50% Want Marijuana Legalized

55% of men approve, but only 46% of women

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