Eco-Briefs

	BRAZIL
	Pure and Cheap Biokerosene

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 28 (Tierramérica).- Biokerosene developed by the Brazilian University of Campinas as a means to reduce polluting emissions from the aviation industry is notable for its purity and low cost, says one of the scientists involved in producing it.

The new biofuel costs about one-third of its fossil fuel equivalent and can be produced from any vegetable oil, chemical engineering research coordinator Rubens Maciel Filho told Tierramérica.

The method of separating out the various substances that result from the process of transesterification - which converts oils and fats into biofuel - is the key advance achieved by the Campinas researchers.

Its level of purity means that this renewable fuel won't freeze until it reaches 22 degrees below zero Celsius and can be mixed up to 20 percent with petroleum-based kerosene, maintaining a freezing point of 47 degrees below zero - essential for flying at high altitudes, said Filho.

	URUGUAY
	Anti-Tobacco Fight Needs More Time

MONTEVIDEO, Sep 28 (Tierramérica).- The strict measures against smoking that Uruguay implemented in March 2006 "are very good, but don't take into account the health consequences of those who have been smoking for 30 or 40 years."

That is what Daniel Kliman, president of the Uruguayan non-governmental organization Stop Tobacco, which has smoking cessation programs, told Tierramérica.

"Measures like the ban on smoking in enclosed spaces have already made smoking something that is not seen in a positive light... there are fewer people who smoke, and smokers are smoking less," said Kliman.

But it will be a couple decades before the impact on health and mortality from tobacco use can be fully known, he said.

President Tabaré Vázquez, who is a practicing oncologist, last week at the United Nations made a heated international speech against tobacco use, underscoring his own government's commitment to fighting the problem.

	MEXICO
	Pacific Coast Threatened by Hurricanes

MEXICO CITY, Sep 28 (Tierramérica).- Deficient urban and coastal planning are contributing to heightened risk from hurricanes along Mexico's western seaboard on the Gulf of California, warns an environmentalist.

"Many of the disasters are related to the poor urban planning and poor quality control, because there is no rigorous assessment of public or private projects," Ernesto Bolado, director of the non-governmental SuMar-Voices for Nature, based in the western state of Sonora, told Tierramérica.

The region, on the Pacific gulf also known as the Sea of Cortés, since 2007 has been hit by Hurricane Henriette, tropical storm Julio and the cyclone Jimena.

"If we thought we were safe (because of Sonora's geographic location), we have to think again about the situation," said Bolado.

*Source: Inter Press Service.