Growing weed takes more energy than mining bitcoin. Can it go green?

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The U.S. cannabis industry now uses more energy than cryptocurrency mining, accounting for roughly 1% of national electricity consumption and producing emissions equivalent to 10 million cars
• Most of this pollution stems from indoor cultivation relying on artificial lighting, air conditioning, and irrigation

🔭 The context: Indoor cannabis dominates the market due to its higher yield, quality control, and profitability, despite its environmental toll
• Researcher Evan Mills has spent years analysing cannabis energy use, concluding that outdoor cultivation could slash emissions by 75%
• However, factors like unpredictable weather, lower harvest rates, and regulatory hurdles make outdoor growing challenging for many businesses

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: With legal cannabis production tripling in the last decade, its soaring emissions risk undermining broader climate goals
• Indoor farming’s energy-hungry model poses a precedent for other crops entering controlled-environment agriculture
• Encouraging cleaner practices now could prevent a larger environmental burden in the future

⏭️ What's next: Efforts to reduce emissions focus on upgrading indoor facilities with energy-efficient LEDs, renewable energy, and smart design — as seen in Boulder County's pioneering regulations
• Widespread adoption remains slow, particularly in a sector still navigating legality and limited funding
• If cannabis can’t move outdoors, improving indoor sustainability is the industry's best shot at going green

💬 One quote: “Consumers don’t know any of this… There’s zero consumer information about cannabis.” – Evan Mills, energy researcher

📈 One stat: Cannabis cultivation uses more energy than all other U.S. crops combined, according to Mills’s latest research

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