Month: December 2025

AEMET has released its prediction for winter and confirms the trend that is no longer an anomaly: a winter “without cold”

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Although we can keep in mind that winter does not begin until next December 21, coinciding with the winter solsticefor meteorology now we have started with the station from today. A season in which we could all expect a great spell of polar cold to be at home with a blanket and watching a series on television. But the AEMET has lowered these forecasts taking into account to what we experienced in previous years. Via a post on X The AEMET has welcomed this new winter 2025-2026, but with bad news behind it: it will be much warmer than usual with a high probability. We are not talking about individual “summer” days, but rather a robust statistical signal that covers the entire quarter (December-January-February). What we used to call an anomaly, the data are beginning to call the norm: winter in Spain is fading. Heat map. AEMET’s seasonal prediction It doesn’t leave much room for doubt. According to probabilistic models, the average temperature will be in the warm zone throughout the country. Specifically, for the AEMET the eastern peninsula and the Balearic Islands have a probability of a much warmer winter that exceeds 70%. In the case of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, this is where the “zero zone” of this warming will be found, with a very pronounced thermal increase with respect to its normal values. In the rest of the peninsula, the probability is around 50%, which continues to be a sign that points to having a winter that is as normal as possible with respect to what we have seen in previous years. The rain. If in terms of temperatures it seems that we are not going to have very good news with a high probability, in terms of precipitation it seems that we must be optimistic. A priori, the models suggest that we will not have an extremely dry winter but nor will it be too wet. And the rainfall seems to be close to the average, although with great variability. Not all months of this winter will rain in the same way, emphasizing especially the second half of winter, that is, the end of January and February, where the models point to the arrival of dynamic phases with fronts and storms. This is something that may fit with studies on the loss of sea ice in the Arctic, which alters atmospheric circulation and may lead to much more “wet or variable” winters in the Iberian Peninsula, breaking the patterns that we saw in our environment. 28 days of “no winter”. To understand why the AEMET is so sure of this forecast, you have to look in the rearview mirror. The most recent reportslike Climate Central, already warned that last winter Spain experienced an average of 28 days with temperatures above the historical average. To do this, experts focus on reducing the days where we have temperatures below zero with a sharp drop in the days where there is frost. Furthermore, cities like Valencia are seeing how urban centers are turning into ovens even in the middle of winter. And it is a serious danger, as the CLIVAR-Spain report warns that this amplification of warming and the alteration of winter variability pose a critical challenge for our ecosystems, which need rest from the winter cold for their biological cycles. Goodbye to the historic cold. What AEMET is telling us with this forecast for 2025-2026 is that the atmosphere in Spain has more and more accumulated energy. Studies by Funcas and analysis by AEMET itself corroborate that the decrease in snow coverage and the increase in warm episodes are not temporary, but in the end they are the reality we face. We are facing a scenario where winters do not disappear, but they do “soften” until they become unrecognizable compared to those of three decades ago. If you have thermal clothing prepared for this year, it is possible that, except for occasional episodes of storms in February, it will stay in the closet. Images | Thomas Holmes Immo Wegmann In Xataka | “Three days of pure cold”: while the world looks at the polar vortex, bad news accumulates for AEMET

How to watch YouTube without ads and in the background without paying for YouTube Premium or installing fake apps

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Let’s tell you How can you watch YouTube without ads on your mobile or computerand even with the option to watch the videos in the background. These are features available to paying users on YouTube Premiumbut we are going to tell you how to do it without paying. We are going to do this using third-party apps, but without resorting to fake applications or those that are a modified YouTube and that expose you to privacy dangers. Nor are they the apps to listen to music on YouTube as if it were Spotify. Some browsers will help you with this There are three key functions that YouTube Premium offers you, which is to watch videos without ads, listen to their audio in the background, or even use the mode Qicture-in-Picture with which to watch videos in a floating window while you are using another application. This is something you can do with other paid apps. The trick is use some specific browsers instead of Chrome or Safari. They are perfectly normal, safe and legal browsers, so you don’t need to go around installing modified versions of YouTube that are going to become a problem for your privacy. There are three very popular browsers that you can use for this, which are Brave, Firefox and Vivaldithe latter with the extra of being a European alternative. You can find these browsers both in the official application store of your mobile phone, and you can also download them to your computer. Brave is the best option for mobileas it allows you to use PiP mode to have the video play in an overlay window while you do other things. Vivaldi, on the other hand, only removes the ads, which is no small feat either. Just remember, you have to use YouTube from the browsernot from the app, entering m.youtube.com. For background playback With Brave, you’ll need to turn it on in the app’s settings. For this you will have to enter the configuration, and in the section Multimedia. Here activate background playback. For the computer any of the three options are goodsince they will allow you to watch YouTube without ads. This is due to the internal blockers they have. In Xataka Basics | How to use Gemini to summarize YouTube videos or ask questions about their content on Android

Huawei has a patent with which to manufacture 2nm chips. The only problem is that it’s just a patent.

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Huawei has just applied for a patent in which a new and unique process of advanced chip production. The patent focuses on improving one of the limitations of the technology of deep ultraviolet photolithography (UVP) to try to compete in this way with the extreme ultraviolet machines (UVE) to which China still unable to access. There are, however, many uncertainties here. The patent. Huawei formally submitted the technical documentation in June 2022 to the Chinese patent office, allowing the invention to be “protected” since then. The detailed content of their study was made public in January 2025, but It is now that it has come to light. The patent is only applied for, not granted or granted. The patent office is examining the application to determine if it meets the requirements. Why is it important. This patent tries to address the limitations of the so-called edge placement error (EPE, Edge Placement Error) in the advanced interconnection process used when manufacturing advanced chips. The method discovered makes it theoretically possible to use “metal spacings” smaller than 21 nm, even when using deep ultraviolet (UVP) technology instead of extreme ultraviolet (UVE), which is the most advanced photolithographic technology today… and to which Chinese manufacturers like Huawei do not have access. If it achieves its objective, the firm could have access, for example, to chips that would theoretically compete even with chips made with 2nm photolithography. Metal spacing? That term (metal pitch in English) refers to the minimum distance that exists between the metal lines that form the interconnections within the integrated circuit or, in this case, the chip. These lines carry power and data signals between the transistors, and that metal spacing is extraordinarily small for advanced nodes. The objective of the patent is precisely to allow the manufacture of these lines with a spacing of less than 21 nm. This gives rise to a possible process that could compete with the 2nm UVE photolithography used, for example, by TSMC. The important word there is “could.” Edge Placement Error (EPE). EPE is the error that occurs when a pattern on a chip is not placed exactly where it was intended by the chip design. The closer that metal spacing is, the smaller the EPE margin must be to prevent the lines from touching and causing a short circuit. At this scale it is incredibly complex to solve this problem, and Huawei’s patent precisely proposes a way to achieve it. Supervitaminizing “old” lithography. What makes this method possible is that UVP photolithography, less powerful and advanced than UVE, can be used to compete with it. This method would allow “jumping” the limits that this process now faces, and which normally had many difficulties in going beyond 21 nm. A double hard mask process of two materials and a special patterning scheme are introduced that theoretically allow us to go below 21 nm. and even 5 nm which are already very complicated to achieve with EUV. In short: China could achieve advanced chips without the need for use the most advanced ASML machinesto which you do not have access. But. Although the technique is apparently striking, there are two big problems here. The first and most important is that this is just a patent and that does not mean that the process can be transferred to reality. The difficulties in doing so are enormous, and that leads us to the second problem: the effectiveness of production would probably be very low and the yield (process success rate) would be greatly affected. That is to say: of all the chips theoretically produced with this technique, only a small part would be valid, which would waste a huge part of the investment. In Xataka | In its race to make advanced chips, China has tried to copy ASML. It’s going wrong

We are facing the greatest threat to livestock farming in 30 years

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As I write this, the Military Emergency Unit is deploying to Collserola to try to contain the African swine fever epidemic that has already left 14 dead wild boars and threatens bring the entire Spanish pork sector to a historic crisis. Right now, while the Generalitat finishes the tests on the 39 livestock farms in the area, more than 80 UME operatives (together with the Rural Agents and the Civil Guard) are sweeping the natural park between Barcelona and Cerdanyola del Vallès. Thirty years later, this animal disease is back. What has happened? On November 26, in the vicinity of the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Bellaterra, two dead wild boars were found. The tests by the veterinary services of the Generalitat of Catalonia left no room for doubt: the African swine fever virus was back on the peninsula. It was the first positive in Spain since November 1994. After notification to the Ministry of Agriculture, confirmation of the positives by the Central Veterinary Laboratory of Algete (Madrid) and the implementation of the control device, the Department of the Generalitat found four other bodies more in the same area. Given the confirmation of the outbreak, the Government requested intervention of the UME hunting control unit. Aren’t we overreacting a little? That’s what it might seem like. After all, African swine fever does not affect humans and is relatively localized among wild pigs in a specific natural park. The question that many ask is whether it is really necessary to mobilize one of the elite units of the Spanish army for 14 dead wild boars. And the answer, I’m afraid, is yes. Although it is a strictly zoonotic disease (and, indeed, does not affect humans) it has mortality and morbidity levels close to 100% among domestic pigs. That is, it is a disease that “can kill all the pigs on a farm after a few days of fever, coughing and bleeding.” And the world takes it very seriously. To the point that “the appearance of a single case of plague causes preventive blocking of pork exports.” There are more than 20 countries that, to begin with, they do not accept regionalization and, therefore, the veto of Spanish pork exports is en bloc and immediate. Among them are Japan or Mexico. The Ministry of Agriculture is in negotiations with them, but shipments are stopped. We must not forget that it is leader in pork export within the European Union and ranks third worldwide in production. The arrival of African swine fever (however predictable it could be) is a catastrophe for the sector. And for Spanish foreign trade in general: China, which imports 20% of Spanish pork and which has just signed a historic agreement precisely on pork with the presence of the Kings, is very pending of what is happening in Catalonia (and the possible expansion of the virus). We must not forget that the arrival of the plague to Spain in the 60s (through Portugal and its African colonies) led an international isolation of the Iberian pig for more than three decades. And now what? The first thing is to “clean” Collserola. That is why the deployment has been so rapid and large. But afterward, it will be time to identify the origin of the outbreak (Councilor Òscar Ordeig has pointed to contaminated food as the main suspect, but it is still not clear) and, above all, we will have to reflect on hunting and veterinary controls. Because, as I said before, this is not a surprise. In 2014, reports were already saying that the virus was rampant across Europe’s eastern border; but it wasn’t until 2020 when he jumped to Germany also through a wild boar. The German country was, by the way, at that time the largest pork producer in the EU. Since then, the virus has already appeared in 15 EU countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Belgium and Sweden). Just these last two They have managed to eradicate it again after the application of draconian control measures. Now it’s our turn and we have a lot at stake. Image | Oscar in the middle | Jonathan Kemper In Xataka | In a country with almost as many pigs as people, the worst that can happen is that investment funds take over

The US has insisted that TSMC manufacture chips in Arizona. The reality: it is a disastrous idea

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TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, has long been pushing for unprecedented expansion outside Taiwan. The initiative includes large projects in the United States, Japan and Germany, but does not respond to market demand, but rather to geopolitical pressure and a chip war that wants to try to “repatriate” this type of process. It’s a terrible idea. Morris Chang knows it’s a mistake. Despite the political urgency, the economic viability of these factories abroad has been questioned by TSMC founder Dr. Morris Chang. He already had the previous experience with the WafertTech factory in the US in 1996, and has qualified Arizona initiative as “a very expensive exercise in futility” Everything one hour away. Chang’s skepticism is based on the belief that TSMC’s operations and profitability are intrinsically dependent on its ecosystem, which is entirely concentrated in Taiwan. The Hsinchu Science Park “cluster” allows hundreds of technology partners to operate within a “one-hour” radius, facilitating problem resolution and providing ultra-fast logistics and unparalleled coordination. TSMC is still 90% Taiwanese. Despite that global expansion, TSMC remains deeply Taiwanese, with more than 90% of its manufacturing capacity and nearly 90% of its employees on the island. That’s where your massive, highly trained and qualified engineering talent base is. That is again a key factor in its competitive advantage, and in fact the company has already warned its employees in the US that they should adhere to the work culture of the Taiwanese company. Arizona produces, but it is more expensive. That attempt to replicate Taiwanese efficiency in Arizona has revealed something important: although TSMC has achieved competitive performance in its first production runs with 4nm photolithography, the cost of the wafers is significantly higher. The local supply of raw materials and equipment remains insufficient, making the factory dependent on Asia and is a bottleneck for the efficiency of the production cycle. Skilled labor shortages and permitting and bureaucracy, which further slow things down, add considerable operational costs. Japan and Germany, next objectives. TSMC has two major expansion projects in Japan (JASM) and Germany (ESMC). These locations will focus on much less advanced photolithographic nodes (28/16 nm) and will focus on meeting the demand of some specialized customers such as Sony for image sensors in Japan or Bosch in Europe. The scale of these investments is less than that of Arizona, which aims to be the world’s largest advanced chip factory… if planned future phases are completed. A double edged sword. TSMC’s expansion has two sides. On the one hand, TSMC consolidates its technological leadership and its strategic role as a “silicon shield” against China. On the other hand, it generates internal anxiety about the possible “leakage” of advanced technology and talent that could weaken national sovereignty in the long term. US pressure even extended to veto the possibility of establishing a TSMC factory in the United Arab Emirates. TSMC does not expand by pleasure, but by pressure. Traditionally, TSMC only builds new factories in response to real demand from its customers. Here the reason has been very different, and geopolitical pressure has forced moves that the company would probably never have made otherwise. Here the different subsidy programs (CHIPS Act in the US, European Chip Law) try to repatriate part of the manufacturing and thus mitigate Asian dependence, but it’s not clear at all that they achieve it. Image | TSMC In Xataka | Japan is rapidly reconquering the chip industry. It has just successfully manufactured its first 2nm transistor

take down a Russian ghost fleet without the need for humans

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Europe has been dealing with the call for years “ghost fleet” Russian, a network of aging tankerspoorly insured and with opaque owners who have evaded sanctions, turned off transponders, manipulated routes and put European waters at risk with incidents, leaks and dangerous maneuvers. These ships have operated at border of legality to keep afloat energy income from the Kremlin, forcing Brussels to strengthen maritime controls and several coastal states to investigate suspicious incidents near critical infrastructure. The birth of an offensive. The night of November 28 marked a turning point silent but decisive in the war that has pitted Ukraine and Russia for almost three years. A few dozen km from the Turkish coast, far from the usual range of Ukrainian systems and in the heart of Moscow’s logistical rearguard, two Sea Baby naval drones (unmanned, guided by AI and armed with explosive charges weighing more than a ton) rushed at full speed against two oil tankers of the Russian “ghost fleet”the network of aging and opaquely owned ships that Moscow uses to circumvent Western sanctions. The hits against the Kairos and Virat not only showed a technological leap in the range and precision of Ukrainian naval drones, but also sent a strategic message to all actors in the global energy trade: any ship supporting Russian exports can become a military target, and kyiv is no longer limited by the geographic space of the northern Black Sea to impose that cost. The meticulous execution of the attacks (aiming propulsion and rudders to disable, not sink) reveals the extent to which Ukraine is trying to balance military effectiveness with the political risk before international partners, aware that it is hitting an economically sensitive terrain for Türkiye, Kazakhstan and several Western companies with energy interests. How the ghost fleet works. The so-called ghost fleet is one of the pillars that Russia has built since 2022 to maintain its income stream tankers, recruiting hundreds of tankers with decades of service, dubious insurers and convenience records, many of them under African flags like that of the Gambia. The Kairos and the Virat, pointed out by sanctions bodies from the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, Switzerland and Canada, are perfect examples of this network: very old ships, with questionable maintenance, designed to operate in the legal shadows that allow real owners and routes to be hidden. Its function is key because oil continues to be the Kremlin’s financial key: only in October, Russia entered 13.1 billion dollars for sales of crude oil and derivatives, although the figure already shows a significant decrease compared to the previous year. Damaging these ships (and above all, showing that no part of the Black Sea is safe) turns each transit into a calculated risk. The ultimate goal it is erosive: increase insurance costs, slow down logistics, increase the risk perceived by intermediary companies and force them to reconsider their collaboration with Moscow. He sinking of the M/T Mersin off Senegal, although it is not proven that it was the work of Ukraine, it illustrates the growing deterioration of a fleet that operates with minimum standards. The transformation of the Sea Baby. The Sea Baby have established themselves as the spearhead of an unprecedented Ukrainian naval revolution. Their early versions acted as medium-range explosive platforms; but the updated prototype, shown by the SBU in October, has multiplied its capabilities: 1,500 kilometers of autonomy, high speeds, autonomous navigation supported by AI and up to 2,000 kilograms of payload. Now they can operate anywhere in the Black Sea, from Odessa to the Bosphorus, from Crimea to global oil routes. This expansion underlines an evolution with two simultaneous layers: Ukraine is destroying the historical Russian hegemony in the Black Sea, and it is doing no traditional boatswithout sailors and without risking lives, relying on a naval concept that Moscow has not managed to replicate with the same efficiency. The combination of drones, Western satellite reconnaissance, electronic intelligence and autonomous platforms makes the Russian navy look increasingly corneredforced to disperse fleets, reinforce escorts and operate with a caution that reduces their freedom of action. Geopolitical leap and message to third parties. That the blows occurred a few km from the Turkish coast is not a technical whim: it means that Ukraine has crossed a symbolic and geopolitical threshold. For the first time, it has attacked Russian naval infrastructure in areas where global trade, NATO and maritime law converge. The images verified by BBC show drones hitting ships that were assisted by the Turkish coast guard, in an extremely sensitive environment for Ankara. Türkiye reacted with a very low profilelimiting itself to putting out fires and rescuing crews, aware that openly protesting would go against its difficult balance between Russia, NATO and its own regional agenda. But the message is there: Ukraine is no longer limited to destroying Russian ships within the space that Moscow considered comfortable control; Now it can harass energy trade even when plying international routes. This reconfigures the calculations of insurers, shipping companies and states involved: even Kazakhstan protested after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal was affected, underlining that the Ukrainian campaign is touching multinational interests. Hitting ships, but also infrastructure. One day after the attack on the oil tankers, the Sea Babies attacked the CPC marine terminal in Novorossiyskforcing it to stop operations. Is the third time In just a few months, Ukraine hits this crucial enclave. The emerging equation it’s clear: disabling ships is just one part; degrade the infrastructure that allows oil exports, another even more destructive for Moscow. Ukraine is applying a dual strategy that suffocates the Russian oil system at both ends: the ships that transport the crude oil and the points where they are loaded. The result is a predicted fall of 35% in Russian oil revenues in November and a fiscal impact that already force unpopular measures how to increase VAT or suspend payments to veterans, a sign that the Kremlin’s “war economy” is beginning to feel the accumulated pressure. A … Read more

Cyber ​​Monday brings the end of the NordVPN sales: their discounts are about to end

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Black Friday has already come to an end, but with almost no time to relax, Cyber ​​Monday is here. Many offers have already gone away, but there are companies that take advantage of this first December event to launch new promotions or even extend the ones they already had a little longer. That’s just what NordVPN has donewhich continues to maintain its VPN for alone 2.99 euros per month. Of course: there are only a few days left to take advantage of what is one of their best offers of the year. Don’t miss NordVPN’s Cyber ​​Monday if you’re looking for a VPN As we have already told you on more than one occasion, a VPN is one of those tools that can be great for protecting ourselves on the Internet. There are users who prefer to use the free options that are available, although it’s not the best idea in the world. It’s not just that they offer worse service and are usually full of advertising: It’s just that they are not as safe as they say they are.. Among all the payment options available, NordVPN stands out for offering one of the best services. With a VPN like this, we will be able to be safer browsing the Internet, whether through a PC, a mobile phone or even an Apple device. In fact, we will not have any problem taking it everywhere with us, since it supports 10 devices simultaneously. What can we use it for? The truth is that it is almost a Swiss army knife if we take into account everything we can do with it. Thanks to a VPN, we can, for example, keep our IP address safewhich if it falls into the wrong hands can cause someone to locate us or even impersonate us. In addition, it can also protect our Internet traffic if we use a public or hotel WiFi network because we do not have enough coverage. Any VPN really offers that, so it’s worth stopping to see what NordVPN offers. This has military grade encryptionwhich makes it very difficult to suffer any type of attack. In addition, it has more than 8,400 servers spread across 165 different locations, so we will never have connection or speed problems. Simply put: with it, we will navigate safely and always with a very good connection speed. This Cyber ​​Monday, as we have said above, we continue to have all your plans with up to 75% discount. This discount is applied directly, so you don’t have to apply any coupon or do anything strange to enjoy it. It is enough to choose the plan that interests us the most and little else. As we have explained above, their cheapest plan is available right now for only 2.99 euros per month if we choose its two-year modality. In this way, what we will be paying is a total of 80.73 euros. Now, here we must add an additional detail, since all plans come with three extra months. In short, it will be 27 months that we will have the NordVPN service. {“videoId”:”x85k87i”,”autoplay”:true,”title”:”BLACK FRIDAY: HOW TO KNOW IF AN ONLINE STORE IS RELIABLE ️ BUY SAFELY ONLINE”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”562″} Of course, we also have the option of getting one of the other NordVPN plans. They all include the VPN, although they have added functions. For example, the Plus Plan comes with an ad blocker and a leaked data scanner. The Complete plan ups the ante with all of the above and cloud storage. As a last option we have the Complete plan, which adds a tool to the package to delete our information from databases. This is the summary of what all plans cost, both monthly and in total: Basic Plan: 27 months for 80.73 euros in total (2.99 euros per month). Plus Plan: 27 months for 105.03 euros in total (3.89 euros per month). Complete Plan: 27 months for 132.03 euros in total (4.89 euros per month). Ultra Plan: 27 months for 175.23 euros in total (6.49 euros per month). Cyber ​​Monday extends these discounts only until December 10so we don’t have much time left to take advantage of them. We cannot forget that NordVPN also has a 30-day trial period in which we can try the service and, if it does not convince us, request a refund. In Xataka Alcampo has a lowered V16 beacon that complies with DGT regulations starting next January 1 NordPass also has its active promo for Cyber ​​Monday NordVPN’s Cyber ​​Monday promo also extends to NordPass, its password manager. It is a tool that also has military grade security and it is ideal to have our passwords with us everywhere and well protected. In addition, it also has auto-complete and auto-save functions. The offer, which will also be available until next December 10, leaves it at a real bargain price: it costs only 0.99 euros per month in its two-year modality. As, furthermore, It also comes with three extra monthswe will have the service with us for 27 months for a total of 34.83 euros. We also have its Family mode available, which allows you to have 6 user accounts, for a little more: 2.79 euros per month. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | NordVPN In Xataka |This is how you can protect yourself from those who want to steal your WiFi In Xataka |The best solutions to protect your data and your company’s IT equipment (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news Cyber ​​Monday brings the end of the NordVPN sales: their discounts are about to end was originally published in Xataka by Juan Lorente .

Lava rises hundreds of meters in Hawaii. Under it, a much bigger plan: reactivate geothermal energy

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The heat from the depths of the Earth is in the news again. And not only because of the almost unreal images of Kilauea launching jets of lava hundreds of meters high on the Big Island of Hawaii. Also because, while the volcano chains increasingly spectacular eruptive episodes, the United States is rediscovering the energy that those same volcanoes hide beneath the surface. Geothermal energy had been in the background for years. Suddenly, it matters again. Quite a spectacle. First of all, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has warned that Kilauea is preparing for another high-energy eruptive episode. However, these are not isolated episodes. According to ABC Newsthe volcano has already had 36 and 37 eruptive episodes since December of last year. In some phases, the fountains have reached 300 meters and in others they reached 457 meters, a height comparable to a 100-story skyscraper. Even so, the entire phenomenon remains contained. All activity remains within the crater, away from homes or structures. That does not detract from the power of the figures: according to the USGSepisode 37 expelled 6.3 million cubic meters of lava in just nine hours, at a rate of around 190 m³ per second. But behind the show, another debate is beginning to make its way. Hawaii’s untold potential. In fact, as the Hawaii Tribune-Herald recallsSince 1993, the state has had a commercial geothermal plant, Puna Geothermal Venture, located precisely in the East Rift Zone of Kilauea. The University of Hawaii estimates that this facility produces five times more electricity than one of the state’s leading solar parks using 80% less land. The problem is that Hawaii has never tapped into that potential. The reasons combine real volcanic risksexploration costs and cultural resistance of communities for which drilling is a form of desecration of Pele, the volcano goddess. However, the context has changed. Kilauea’s continued activity brings back to the table a question that seemed shelved: should Hawaii use the heat that fuels its volcanoes to power its electrical grid? A door that begins to open. The University of Hawaii has been insisting on it for years. According to their analysis, all major islands could have usable geothermal resources, although knowledge outside Kilauea remains limited. Your Play Fairway project, funded by the Department of Energyhas already drawn the first deep heat maps beyond Puna. The pressure is now political. According to the Hawaiian mediathere are three state agencies competing for funding to re-explore the island in search of new deposits. 80 million public dollars are requested to map resources, drill test wells and reopen the way to a geothermal expansion that has been stalled for decades. The plan includes drilling outside of Puna, on the Big Island, but also in Maui and Oahu, where the resources would be deeper. As the volcano flares up and spills lava in nine-hour episodes, Hawaii looks under its feet: not at the magma, but at the heat that drives it. America’s geothermal renaissance. This local turn coincides with a national renaissance. According to a report by WoodMackenziegeothermal investment in North America soared 85% by 2025 in the first quarter alone, with $1.7 billion in public funds. The reason is not in the volcanoes, but in technology. The analysis points out three innovations that are transforming the sector: According to that analysisthe United States could have 500 gigawatts of geothermal capacity, a figure capable of reconfiguring the country’s energy matrix. However, there is still more. The hidden engine: data centers and AI. As TechCrunch detailedthis underground energy could cover two-thirds of the electrical consumption of the new data centers that will be built in the United States between now and 2030. And the technology giants are already taking positions. In fact, the cases are beginning to multiply as is Meta has signed an agreement with Californian startup XGS Energy to generate 150 MW of geothermal electricity by 2030 using a closed-loop system that prevents water leaks. Also Google has done the same partnering with Fervo Energy. Geothermal energy is no longer a marginal experiment: it is an energy outlet for the infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence. The question left by the volcano. As Kilauea continues its choreography—inflating, roaring, and shooting lava to heights not seen since the 1980s—Hawaii and the rest of the country look downward toward the primeval heat pulsing beneath the crust. Where nature shows its wildest power, technology sees promise: a forgotten energy resurfacing as the United States the more you need electricity continuous, abundant and clean. Image | Pexels and Rjglewis Xataka | Tenerife seeks to turn on its lights with the heat from the subsoil: this is its great commitment to geothermal energy

13 premiere movies and series to watch in December 2025 on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and streaming

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Good! Christmas right there and unless you work as Santa’s elf, everything indicates that you will be able to dig out the blanket from the attic where you have it and organize some good sessions with the stove, slippers and streaming. As these parties usually come loaded on the platforms, here are some ideas so that you don’t miss out on any news. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Among the many franchises that Disney found with the purchase of Fox was Percy Jackson, which had already given rise to two films at the beginning of the last decade that sought, like so many of the time, to find a new Harry Potter. Although they did reasonably well at the box office, their departure from Rick Riordan’s original novels earned them quite a bit of antipathy, which seemed to be moderated with a more faithful Disney+ series. Now comes the second season, where a teenager with a destiny bigger than he imagines travels across the United States fighting monsters and gods to return his lightning bolt to Zeus. On Disney+ from December 10 Mad Men – Complete Series There are series that never go out of style, and ‘Mad Men’ is, indisputably, one of them. After a time away from our screens (unless you subscribed to Lionsgate+), now you have the opportunity to binge the almost one hundred episodes of this satirical epic that perfectly portrays New York in the sixties. Donald Draper, executive of a major advertising firm, is the protagonist of this series that helps us understand each and every one of the vices of the society we live in now, sixty-odd years later. On Disney+ from December 14 The last outburst Is one of the best films in the history of Spanish cinema. Many say that it is the best: a mix of experimental cinema, vampire film and desperate and addictive love letter to cinema. Converted into a cult film, ‘Arrebato’ is the core of this unclassifiable (like its object of study) mix of documentary and fiction that investigates the strange black hole that the film represents for all those who see it and worked on it. ‘The Last Rapture’ follows the clues that would explain the disappearance of Iván Zulueta and his film, accompanied by Jaime Chávarri and the original actors of the classic, Eusebio Poncela, Cecilia Roth and Marta Fernández-Muro. On Movistar Plus+ from December 3 relay Among Movistar’s more or less unreleased releases, this thriller that seems to seek inspiration from the conspiracy thrillers of the seventies especially draws our attention. But updated, of course: now the target is anonymity in the internet age. Directed by the always reliable David Mackenzie, whom we remember from ‘Comanchería’, it stars Lily James, Riz Ahmed and Sam Worthington, and we will follow a scientist who has been fired after warning about the side effects of the project she was working on. But she has evidence that the company is hiding information and believes she is being persecuted. On Movistar Plus+ from December 26 good boy A simple and direct horror gem, practically silent, that in just 72 minutes tells a story told from the perspective of Indy, a dog who, together with his owner, faces supernatural phenomena in an isolated house. Continuously at the height of the dog, giving us a unique immersion in the story, the film avoids the typical anthropomorphic vision of the animal in a minimal budget experiment that plays with atmosphere and sound to create a feeling of constant threat. It took years to film, since the dog is the director’s real pet and is not trained to act. On Filmin since December 19 Zodiac Killer Project Only a killer like Zodiac could spark a documentary true crime like this one, where the important thing is, obviously, not the investigation and the identity of the criminal, but rather a deep reflection on the codes and topics of the genre. We will walk through the typical true crime scenarios, but stripped of all spectacularity, accompanied by a deep reflection on a completely saturated style and taking as a starting point, precisely, an abandoned documentary about the Zodiac Killer. On Filmin since December 26 F1: The Movie The movie that has turned around finances from Apple’s audiovisual division after a series of failures is this fast-paced sports film focused on Formula 1. We will learn the story of the most promising driver of the 90s until an accident is about to put an end to him. Thirty years later, he has become a kind of driver for hire who receives a proposal from a former teammate, owner of a Formula 1 team on the brink of closure. An authentic visual spectacle thanks to the realistic immersion in the races through first-person shots and effects without CGI tricks. On Apple TV from December 12 Fallout T2 One of the most popular science fiction series returns funny and praised in recent timesand also a production that has lifted the curse of video game adaptations, demonstrating that no project is sufficiently ambitious when it is done with knowledge of the facts. We also leave the first season at a very interesting point: Lucy searching for her father after being betrayed and the Ghoul searching for his family, who may have survived the Holocaust. And their steps take them to a mythical location. None other than New Vegas, legendary setting for the franchise. On Prime Video from December 17 Palm Springs Although it has been roaming around on all types of platforms for some time now, this cult comedy is always a delight that can be reviewed again and again thanks to how it reinvents the concept of a time loop with a contemporary tone and melancholic atmosphere. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti have perfect chemistry and together they go a step further than what we have already seen in classics like ‘Trapped in Time’. Here, Samberg is locked in a loop that repeats the same day over and … Read more

the price difference with gasoline is now almost zero

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Bad news for drivers of diesel vehicles, who continue to be the majority in our country although they sell less and less. This fuel, which has traditionally been cheaper than gasoline, now faces a worrying future, and in fact the savings it previously offered are fading. It doesn’t stop going up. In the last five months the price of diesel has not stopped rising and in total its cost for the user has increased by 7% in this period. This upward trend is a setback for millions of users who see how the traditional economic advantage of their vehicles fades away little by little compared to gasoline options. Price gap closes. The most recent data from the EU Oil Bulletin, for the last week of November, indicate that the average price of diesel has stood at 1,456 euros per liter. That of 95 octane gasoline has not changed that much, and its appreciation in that time has been 2.1%, standing at 1,489 euros. The price difference between both fuels has been reducing in this second half of the year, and is now only 0.033 euros per liter, the narrowest margin since December 2023. Nuances. In reality, Spain’s situation is not exceptional, and in the EU there are already 11 countries – such as Austria, Belgium or Sweden – in which diesel is more expensive than gasoline. However, Spain remains one of the regions with the most affordable diesel, and is the fourth “cheapest” country in the EU, only behind Malta, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Russia and winter. Inés Cardenal, Director of Legal Affairs of the Fuel Industry of Spain (AICE), explained in El País the possible causes. According to her, Russia “is a large producer of refined diesel, the fuel most consumed in winter in Europe, and that has continued to put pressure on the market for three years due to the mismatch between supply and demand.” The US sanctions on large Russian crude oil producers They don’t help, of course. Diesel had an advantage. The truth is that diesel plays with a fundamental advantage in Spain: It has a tax burden that is 10 cents per liter less than that affecting gasoline, something that has led to its lower price. However Spain promised Europe a tax reform in exchange for continuing to receive European funds, and the idea is precisely increase the tax burden on diesel to equate it to that of gasoline. The surprise has already happened. In the last 20 years there have only been two times when the price of diesel exceeded that of gasoline. The first in 2008 due to the massive “dieselization” of vehicles in Spain. The second, due to the war in Ukraine, which caused diesel to be slightly above gasoline in March 2022 (€1.83/l vs €1.81/l) and remained above half a year. Uncertainty. Although the price of crude oil has remained relatively stable in the last year, European fiscal policies and the geopolitical situation point to a potential paradigm shift. It may not be a bad idea to prepare for a scenario in which fill the tank in a diesel vehicle no longer represents the savings of yesteryear. Image | Ali Mkumbwa In Xataka | Given the slow progress of the electric car, Spain has a forgotten alternative: 100% renewable fuel

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