Mission Statement
We at Green Oil Co. believe in the power of plant-based economy: first, with our local, waste veggie oil to biofuel to transportation project, started in 2006 by our sister-company, Carolina Biodiesel, LLC; and since 2019, our new project, the Cann-Do CBD Hemp Collaborative.
Our sun's energy is harnessed by plants, known as primary producers, through photosynthesis, which drive basic geo and bio-chemical processes and ecological functions, that nourish the living systems of our planet. We, as humans, living down the food chain, depend on these primary producers. They, and the living systems they support, shape the world around us, the air we breath, the food we eat, the land we live on and the water we drink. These systems are fairly complex, but thankfully, relatively resilient due to eons of time. Fundamentally, they are connected integrally through a web of life and key to our lives and survival.
Sadly, massive human consumption of fossil fuels, actually "stored" plant carbon, mined from deep within the Earth, and the subsequent high-energy growth of population and economic output have altered these natural systems. Thus, the resulting pollution from burning ancient, sequestered plant material is affecting our atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect, increasing temperatures dramatically, altering air patterns, and causing rapid temperature changes, drought and intense storms, resulting in even heavier rainfall (if and when it comes). It is critical that we learn respectfully from nature and what science has discovered about it, and implement renewable energy strategies and economic systems that recognizes this important role nature plays in our survival.
We must learn to work within nature's very tight limits and boundaries, doing so quickly, and doing so with nearly military discipline, so these systems can recover from the centuries of damaging excess. Farmers know this, and these sustainable practices result in slightly lower yields, yet with lower input costs. And, markets are responding to these changes with the rapid growth in certified organic and local products.
Everyone knows making a living from the farm is very hard work! It has been several generations since this was a primary way we made a living. The globalization of markets, subsidies, market failures and externalities, and the low willingness-to-pay have made eking a living from the land a challenge. And, with climate change causing more erratic weather, the farmer and farm communities are being stressed. It is critical that we come together and support new business strategies that place our socio-economic relations squarely in tune with Mother Nature's. We know this will be a challenge given the rapid changes that are occurring, but we must do so , like our very lives depended upon it ! Luckily, we have lots of examples of success from around our country and the world of people living more harmoniously with the Earth from the success of local farmers markets and food movements, to the rapid growth of distributed solar and renewable energy technology.
What is extremely critical is understanding the limited budget nature offers us and learning to live within it, and allowing these systems to thrive through replication and appropriate scale. The key will be the intention toward regenerative agriculture and permaculture, beyond sustainable and organic, that incorporates principles of replenishing and conserving Earth systems, like the soil's microbes and nutrients through biochar and no till farming; water, through rain catchment and drip irrigation; and the use of natural and integrated pest management, crop rotation and inter-cropping.
Many of these practices have been used in the past and around the world, and are being rediscovered along with the importance of species diversity that are key to feeding ourselves, even planting plants that will help pollinators and pest predators. Farms can become ecosystems. In this way, the land can be improved, allowing a harvest each year and into the future for future generations. What is critical will be the building of these new systems so they are resilient enough to handle the impacts from erratic weather that we have caused. This will not be easy, as margins are thin, and capital is needed to grow and replicate these more sustainable models of development.
We, as a Nation, faced adversity in the past and were able to ramp up our economic capacity to rise to the challenges. We are proud of our Cann-Do Logo, the flexed muscle, that revisits a time only a generation ago when the "can-do" mentality existed in America. We created what we needed to solve an existential crisis. We used Victory Gardens and War Bonds and increased diversity in the workforce to meet the rapid growth in labor to rapidly shift our economy. The great thing about our Cann-Do Model is that it focuses on local, decentralized systems, with the goal of allowing farmers to gain more of their money through private labeling, value adding, and direct-to-consumer sales. It promotes collaborative solutions to solving problems, much like the way we handled adversity in the past.