Since linseed oil and turpentine disappeared as basic ingredients for paints and coatings shortly after World War II, all national wood finish brands in commercial use have been created from crude oil.
That stranglehold ended when the Telemark Resort and Convention Center in Cable, Wisconsin chose Hemp Shield Wood Finish and Deck Sealer™ as the primary wood finish for a complete renovation of the main lodge.
Historic Telemark Resort and Convention Center, the largest meeting and recreation destination in northwestern Wisconsin, had seen better days. The lodge is impressively clad in old growth tounge-and-groove cedar paneling, with massive exposed supporting beams and delicate framing around 2-story floor-to-ceiling windows. Even casual areas like the Guest's Laundry are cedar paneled in the 'board-and-bat' style of the American Frontier. However, over a half century of continuous use had left its mark. Years of accumulated dust and smoke, and the residue of repeated cleaning had left the once lustrous finish dull and lifeless, the wood's rich tones and complex grains hidden from Telemark's guests.
Then, in 2011 the resort's management committed to a total restoration and upgrade of the lodge, as well as new world class Nordic ski trails and other facilities to compliment Telemark's status as the official American Berkibeiner nordic course. As part of the makeover, the resort staff chose Hemp Shield Wood Finish and Deck Sealer™ as their primary wood finish.
Telemark Resort's Managing General Partner, Ric Ahern, spoke about their experience:
"Telemark Resort in Northern Wisconsin recently started a renovation of our main lodge building. We researched wood finishes and sealers that would provide a lasting and economical solution for our cedar interior and exterior surfaces. We also wanted a product that was chemical-free and easy to apply.
"We ordered 200 gallons of Hemp Shield™. We found the application to be easy and the coverage to be greater than expected.
"All of our expectations were exceeded. We will continue to use Hemp Shield™ as we refinish the exterior of the lodge and look forward to working with Hemp Shield™."
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David Seber, Hemp Shield founder, presented Hemp Shield Deck Finish™ and spoke on commercial uses of hemp as a part of the Industrial Hemp Panel at the University of Oregon's 29th Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. Held on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, Seber took part in the panel presentation/discussion, "Tangible Solutions: Industrial Hemp Now!".
The entire panel presentation was captured on video, and is available in a variety of file formats (QuickTiime, Windows Media Player, m4v, mpeg4) offered for download here on the Fibre Alternatives website.
Hemp Industries of America (HIA) has announced that its 17th Annual National Convention will be held on November 7-8, at the Civic Center Holiday Inn, located at 50 8th St., in San Francisco, California. The HIA is a non-profit trade group representing hemp companies, researchers and supporters. They are at the forefront of the drive for fair and equal treatment of industrial hemp. Since 1992, the HIA has been dedicated to education, industry development, and to accelerating expansion of the world market's supply of, and demand for, industrial hemp.
Fiber-Werx International Inc. began making a mould this week for the composite hemp door panels of the Kestrel, a four-seat electric car prototype. Built by Project Eve, a 15-company Canadian consortium, the Kestrel will range 40 to 160 km at up to 90 km/h before needing a recharge, depending on battery. It’s the first of five models that will be introduced over the next three years.
“We’ll be doing all the body parts, especially inner and outer skins,” said Fiber-Werx owner Scott Getschel, whose company also makes customized front grilles for SUVs converted to electric power by Vancouver’s Rapid Electric Vehicles.
At their recent annual convention, the National Farmer's Union issued a press release announcing the passage of a strong resolution urging the production of industrial hemp on America's farmlands.
Here is the resolution, as passed:
"We urge the President, Attorney General, and Congress to direct the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to differentiate between industrial hemp and marijuana and adopt policy to allow American farmers to grow industrial hemp under state law without requiring DEA licenses."
The resolution was sparked by situations like North Dakota's industrial hemp regulations. For the last four growing seasons the production of industrial hemp has been sanctioned by North Dakota, but any farmer daring to produce hemp under state law risks forfeiture of their farms, assets, and freedom to DEA persecution.
Also, in a recent statement, the National Grange added pro-hemp language to its national policy. This leaves only the Farm Bureau, among national farmers groups, without a stated industrial hemp policy.
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Dave Seber, CEO of Hemp Shield™, will speak at the University of Oregon's 29th Public Interest Evironmental Law Conference at the Knight Law School on March 5th 2011, in Eugene, Oregon.
The title and theme of the conference is "Turning the Tides: Planning for a Clean & Green Future". Dave will be presenting in a discussion titled "Tangible Solutions: Industrial Hemp Now!" on Saturday March 5th. The presentation is scheduled for 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM in Room 241 of the Knight Law School on the U of O campus.
As Hemp Shield™ is the only construction product made with hemp oil that is commercially available in the United States, Dave will have unique insights to share with prospecctive industrial hemp entrepreneurs.
In England, a house built from panels of hemp and straw recently passed an industry standard fire safety test which exposed it to temperatures above 1,000C.
The experimental house is part of a new research project looking into sustainable building materials that can be used for home construction.
The house is made from prefabricated cells filled with straw or hemp, covered with a lime-based coating.
During a fire resistance test for non-loadbearing elements, the panel had to withstand heat for more than 30 minutes. After more than two hours it had still not failed. Another panel, which had been put through structural tests for loadbearing elements, also passed.
The building will be monitored for the next year. Insulating properties, humidity levels, air tightness and sound insulation qualities will be recorded to assess the performance of straw and hemp as building materials.