Eco-Briefs

	CENTRAL AMERICA
	German Loan for Renewable Energy

TEGUCIGALPA, Feb 20 (Tierramérica).- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), based in Honduras, has received a loan of 65 million dollars from the German bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau to promote renewable energy and combat climate change in the region.

CABEI executive president Nick Risehbieth told Tierramérica that part of the funds would be targeted to the wind farm project being implemented by Mesoamérica Energy in Honduras, considered the largest wind farm in Central America.

The loan will also be used to help finance the Central American Electrical Interconnection System, a project with a climate change mitigation and risk reduction component.

	BRAZIL
	Nitrogen in Soil Increases Carbon Absorption

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 20 (Tierramérica).- The presence of nitrogen in soil speeds up plant growth, reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the leaves of plants and allowing them to live longer and absorb more carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, concludes a recent study by the Biosciences Institute at the University of São Paulo.

"The lifespan of plants is divided between expansion, maturity and senescence (aging). The greatest production of carbohydrates takes place during the stage of maturity, and these lead to the senescence of the leaves," biologist Mauro Marabesi, who headed up the study, told Tierramérica.

The concentration of carbohydrates in the leaves results from their production in photosynthesis, minus the amount consumed through respiration and growth.

When there is nitrogen in the soil, plant growth and carbohydrate consumption is speeded up, so that fewer carbohydrates accumulate in the leaves, thus extending the stage of maturity and delaying the onset of senescence. "With more productive leaves, there is more photosynthesis and more carbon absorption," explained Marabesi.

	VENEZUELA
	Transforming Garbage Into Art

CARACAS, Feb 20 (Tierramérica).- Fundación La Tortuga, an environmental organization based in the northern Venezuelan city of Barcelona, is hosting an exhibition by visionary artist Leopoldo Cardozo, who integrates plastic bags, used phone cards, bottles and other waste into his works.

Cardozo told Tierramérica that the show, entitled "De entropía y transfiguración: pensamientos en materiales reusables y reciclables" ("On Entropy and Transfiguration: Thoughts in Reusable and Recyclable Materials"), is aimed at "transforming waste materials into something beautiful and expressive, making them transmit emotions and sensations in a different context, another view of nature from the human perspective."

The exhibition opened on Feb. 16 and will continue until Mar. 16.

*Source: Inter Press Service.