One such event is recorded in the Bible: "all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt." (Exodus 7:20-21)

Since prehistoric fossil fuels were rarely used then, the earth was able to recover. Today, that recovery is not occurring.

Why risk an environmental disaster of biblical proportions that could render fresh water undrinkable and end life on earth, as we know it? Do we really want to make earth into a Jurassic Park?

Why not use a known and safe resource for fuels that can stop the toxic pollution of our planet?  That safe resource is hemp. Hemp is a natural boon to Kentucky. WINCHESTER SUN

According to Federalist Paper No. 26 (Alexander Hamilton), state legislatures "will always be not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians of the rights of the citizens against encroachments from the federal government..." Hamilton was addressing the threat that standing armies posed to personal liberties.

The failure of state legislatures to protect the rights of citizens from federal encroachment to grow hemp commercially or for medical or personal use is a gross abdication of their responsibility as a legislative body.

State legislatures need to treat the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as the modern day equivalent of the detested standing army that attacks citizens for exercising their personal liberties by growing and using hemp. Hemp has played a major role in this nation's life since the Jamestown settlement in 1619. See "A Renewal of Common Sense: The Case for Hemp in 21st Century America." VOTE HEMP

It behooves state legislatures to assert their Constitutional right to protect personal liberties. Too, state legislatures must impress upon their federal legislative delegation the need to legalize all things hemp at the federal level as well.

Rep. Adkins called for the conversion of coal and agricultural products into fuels. Sequestering carbon dioxide from coal back into the earth fails to adequately address the unforeseen potential for environment disasters. What's to prevent that carbon dioxide from leaching into the fresh water supply?

Prehistoric coal produces no oxygen. Given the negative environmental impact that prehistoric coal contributes to the degradation of the environment, the focus must shift to agricultural products.

Given the positive economic and environment impact that hemp offers Kentucky, the Kentucky General Assembly must insist that all things hemp be legalized. There are no known negative impacts that come from legalizing hemp.

In contrast to prehistoric coal, hemp produces oxygen when growing. So using hemp biofuels actually cleans the air. Unlike fossil fuels, hemp does not contain sulfur, a major cause of acid rain. BACH