Bucaramanga, entre la sobreexplotación minera o la preservación del agua en el páramo de Santurbán / Bucaramanga, between mining overexploitation or water preservation in the Santurbán moorland / Bucaramanga, entre a sobreexploração mineira ou a preservação da água na charneca de Santurbán

RESUMEN El propósito de este artículo es exponer la preocupación suscitada tanto por la ciudadanía de Bucaramanga, ciudad capital del departamento de Santander ubicada al nororiente de Colombia como un territorio que se debate entre la necesidad de preservar el agua que llega del páramo de Santurbán y la importancia de conservar la tradición minera en sus municipios cercanos. Para alcanzar este objetivo se recurrió a la realización de entrevistas semiestructuradas a algunos pobladores de la zona rural del páramo de Santurbán y se constató una revisión de las publicaciones periódicas que circularon en los años 2010 y 2011. Esta información se entrecruzó con algunos textos teóricos para comprender el impacto de la problemática ambiental. Una de las conclusiones de este artículo es la evidente necesidad de conservar el páramo de Santurbán como sustento hídrico de Bucaramanga y su área metropolitana; lo cual ha llevado a la movilización de gran parte de la ciudadanía, a pesar de las necesidades de otras poblaciones que derivan su sustento de la minería a pequeña escala.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to expose the concern raised by both the citizens of Bucaramanga, the capital city of the department of Santander located in northeastern Colombia and a territory that is torn between the need to preserve the water that arrives from the Santurbán wasteland and the importance of preserving the mining tradition in its nearby municipalities. To achieve this objective, semi-structured interviews were carried out with some residents of the rural area of the Santurbán páramo and a review of the periodical publications that circulated in 2010 and 2011 was found. This information was intertwined with some theoretical texts for understand the impact of environmental issues. One of the conclusions of this article is the obvious need to conserve the Santurbán páramo as a water support for Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area; which has led to the mobilization of much of the citizenship, despite the needs of other populations that derive their livelihood from small-scale mining.

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo é expor a preocupação levantada pelos cidadãos de Bucaramanga, capital do departamento de Santander localizada no nordeste da Colômbia, e um território dividido entre a necessidade de preservar a água que chega do deserto de Santurbán e a importância de preservar a tradição mineradora em seus municípios vizinhos. Para atingir esse objetivo, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com alguns moradores da área rural de Santurbán páramo e foi encontrada uma revisão das publicações periódicas que circularam em 2010 e 2011. Essas informações foram entrelaçadas com alguns textos teóricos para entenda o impacto das questões ambientais. Uma das conclusões deste artigo é a necessidade óbvia de conservar o Santurbán páramo como suporte hídrico para Bucaramanga e sua área metropolitana; o que levou à mobilização de grande parte da cidadania, apesar das necessidades de outras populações que derivam seu sustento da mineração em pequena escala.

Assessment of wasteland derived biomass for bioethanol production

Background: The bioethanol produced from biomass is a promising alternative fuel. The lignocellulose from marginal areas or wasteland could be a promising raw material for bioethanol production because it is present in large quantities, is cheap, renewable and has favorable environmental properties. Despite these advantages, lignocellulosic biomass is much more difficult to process than cereal grains, due to the need for intensive pretreatment and relatively large amounts of cellulases for efficient hydrolysis. Therefore, there is a need to develop an efficient and cost-effective method for the degradation and fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol. Results: The usefulness of lignocellulosic biomass from wasteland for the production of bioethanol using pretreatment with the aid of ionic liquids of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride was evaluated in this study. The pretreatment process, enzymatic hydrolysis and alcoholic fermentation lasted a total of 10 d. The largest amounts of bioethanol were obtained from biomass originating from agricultural wasteland, in which the dominant plant was fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) and from the field where the common broom (Cytisus scoparius) was the dominant. Conclusions: The plants such as fireweed, common broom, hay and goldenrod may be useful for the production of liquid biofuels and it would be necessary in the further stage of research to establish and optimize the conditions for the technology of ethyl alcohol producing from these plant species. Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass from agricultural wastelands results in a large increase in fermentable sugars, comparable to the enzymatic hydrolysis of rye, wheat, rice or maize straw.

Growth, biomass production and remediation of copper contamination by Jatropha curcas plant in industrial wasteland soil.

The survival, biomass production and copper (Cu) remediation efficiency of Jatropha curcas L. was evaluated in Cu rich industrial wasteland soil (IWLS), collected from a local town, Sandila (Hardoi), Uttar Pradesh, India. The IWLS had high bulk density, water holding capacity (WHC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon and NPK. The Cu and Mn contents in IWLS were about 3 and 2 fold higher than that in the normal field soil (control). Stem cuttings of the J. curcas clones (BTP-A, BTP-N and BTP-K) were planted in IWLS as well as the same amended with cowdung or sand. The percent survival, net elongations and biomass accumulation of J. curcas were decreased slightly in IWLS, as compared to the control soil. The translocation of Cu from soil to the plants was higher in IWLS grown plants, which was more pronounced in IWLS amended with cowdung. J. curcas clones BTP-N, showed better survival and Cu removal efficiency from IWLS.

Características da produção leiteira da região do agreste do estado de Pernambuco, Brasil / Characteristics of the milk production of the agreste region of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

O Agreste pernambucano é caracterizado por uma economia diversificada, com diferentes cultivos, além da pecuária de leite e de corte. Em 2004 o Estado produziu 398 milhões de litros de leite, o que representou 14,7% da produção da Região Nordeste e 1,7% da produção Nacional. Este trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar as propriedades leiteiras da região Agreste do Estado de Pernambuco, observando condições e fatores que pudessem interferir na qualidade do leite. Foram selecionadas 41 propriedades leiteiras da região. Observou-se o predomínio das propriedades de pequeno porte, com até 25 (43,9%) animais em lactação, sendo ordenha manual em 36 (87,8%) das propriedades. Em relação às práticas de higiene na ordenha, 16 (39,0%) dos produtores lavavam os tetos antes da ordenha, mas apenas 4 (9,8%) realizavam pré-dipping e 34 (82,9%) ordenhavam na presença do bezerro. Apenas 5 (12%) das propriedades realizavam algum tipo de tratamento da água utilizada para higienização de instalações e equipamentos, mesmo a água para consumo humano era tratada em apenas 43,9% das propriedades. A refrigeração do leite era realizada por 10 (24,4%) propriedades em tanques comunitários. Quanto a sanidade do rebanho 39(95,1%) proprietários realizavam vacinação para febre aftosa e 23 (56,1%) para brucelose, enquanto 10(24,4%) realizavam teste para tuberculose. As condições de produção se revelaram precárias quanto às estruturas nas propriedades, mostrando a necessidade da melhoria das instalações e manejo dos animais e, principalmente, a implantação de Boas Práticas na ordenha, adequadas à realidade local.

The Agreste region in the state of Pernambuco is characterized by a diversified economy, with differentcultivars, besides the daily and beef farms. In 2004 the State produced 398 million liters of milk; it represented 14.7% of the Northeast Region production and 1.7% of the National production. The aim ofthis work was to characterize the milk properties of the Agreste region of Pernambuco, observingconditions and factors that could interfere with milk quality. In the survey, 41 milk farms were selected inthe region. Small milk farms were the most common found, with less than 25 (43.9%) animals in lactation,and 36 (87.8%) farms held a manual milking process. In relation to hygiene practices during milking, 16(39.0%) of the producers washed the teats before beginning, but only 4 (9.8%) performed pre-dippingand 34 (82.9%) milked in the presence the calf. Only 5 (12%) farms applied some treatment to the waterused for cleaning installations and equipment, even the water for human consumption was treated inonly 43.9% of the farms. Milk refrigeration was performed in 10 (24.4%) farms in communitarian tanks. Asfar as animal health is concerned, 39 (95.1%) owners vaccinated for food and mouth disease and 23(56.1%) for brucellosis, while 10 (24.4%) tested for tuberculosis. Regarding the farms structure theproduction conditions were precarious, showing the need of improving the structure itself and animalhandling. As well as the implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices in the milking process, properto the local reality.