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Chile has the lithium necessary to save the world from fossil fuels. The problem is that you are extracting it blindly

April 6, 2026 by usatoday24

The world desperately needs to move away from fossil fuels. To achieve this, electric vehicles and large renewable energy plants require a vital component for their batteries: lithium. This global emergency has set its eyes on one of the most inhospitable and fragile places on the planet, the Atacama Desert in Chile, which is home to about 25% of the world’s reserves of this mineral. But this “salvation” has a dark side. As deep research reveals published by MongabayChile is accelerating the blind exploitation of its salt flats. Under the institutional promise that this mineral will be the “new salary of Chile”—as It was defined by former president Gabriel Boric by promising wealth with strict environmental respect—the reality in the territory is diametrically opposite. The productive desire is crushing the socio-environmental knowledge that is required to avoid destroying the same nature that, ironically, the world is trying to save. The pact that seals the future. To capitalize on this demand, the Chilean State launched the National Lithium Strategy (ENL)seeking to consolidate the country as the undisputed leader of this market. In this context, an unprecedented mining agreement was forged. According to The Confusionthe state mining company Codelco and the private giant SQM sealed a historic pact to extract lithium in the Salar de Atacama until 2060 under a new joint venture: NovaAndino Lithium. With the aim of avoiding the local resistance that usually paralyzes these megaprojects, the agreement included an unprecedented governance model. This scheme promises the Atacama indigenous communities (the Lickanantay people) million dollars annually in profitsseats at dialogue tables and power of environmental oversight. A model that the industry celebrates as the standard for future “green mining”, but which in the territory has lit a fuse with unsuspected consequences. The disproportion of 33 to 1. Promises of environmental balance crumble when looking at the fiscal wallet. The figures are devastating: for every peso that the Chilean State invests to protect the fragile ecosystems of the salt flats, it allocates 33 to promoting productivity and mining technology. Through the Production Promotion Corporation (CORFO), the State has injected more than 166 million dollars in technological development for the industry. In dramatic contrast, the scientific investment to understand the impact of lithium on water, microorganisms and threatened species – such as Andean flamingos – is barely close to 5 million dollars. Yovisibility territorial. Added to this institutional blindness is territorial invisibility. As the media explains South Slope when documenting the scientific project LiOness Ringthe public eye has become obsessed with evaporation pools, ignoring the off-sites: the areas outside the salt flats. Transportation routes, port terminals and transit communities silently absorb equal or worse impacts under “the excuse of green development,” researchers warn. For the National History Prize winner, Lautaro Núñez, cited by the same media, the key is being lost in the debate: “The salt flats are Chile’s heritage.” Thirst in the desert. As millions flow into technology, the ecosystem depletes. Extracting lithium requires pumping and evaporating enormous amounts of ancient water. As detailed The Confusioncurrent operations consume up to 12,500 liters of industrial water for every ton of lithium, causing the salt flat to sink up to two centimeters per year. Faced with this threat, the injection of money has caused the greatest historical fracture of the Lickanantay people. The communities went from blocking routes in January 2024 to fighting each other for the millionaire loot, which could reach up to 150 million dollars annually for the region, according to data from the Chilean government. Social fracture. Rudecindo Espíndola, local farmer cited by The Confusionassures that participating in this agreement is a form of “participation justice” because, after 12,000 years of inhabiting the territory, they will finally have physical access to the plants to supervise the mining companies. However, others see the destruction of their social fabric. Sergio Cubillos, president of the Peine community, recognize the same publication that “the fact that today communities receive money is what has led to this division.” Sonia Ramos, a respected 83-year-old healer, is even more blunt. in his interview with Climate Home News: “We are land and water (…) but today there is fragmentation. Everything has become unbalanced.” For her, the mining megapact does not bring progress, but “death, the total destruction of the Salar.” So what’s going to happen? Seeking to justify its expansion until 2060, NovaAndino has promised to stop using fresh water and reinject at least 30% of the brine into the subsoil through new extraction technologies. However, this promise is being viewed with great skepticism. As microbiologist Cristina Dorador warnsthese reinjection technologies are not proven on a large scale and could alter the chemical composition of the desert. Continuing pumping until 2060, he says, could be the “coup de grace” for this vital ecosystem. The State as a facilitator, not as a protector. Politically, the course seems unchanged. The recently inaugurated far-right president, José Antonio Kast, has already promised to respect the contracts signed by the previous administration. The machinery will continue to operate. In statements to MongabayHernán Cáceres, director of the National Institute of Lithium and Salt Flats (INLiSa), justified the low state budget in environmental areas by arguing that this money is actually an “enabling expense.” That is, the State finances ecological studies and dialogue tables not necessarily to stop the impact, but to “pave the way” for mining companies, reducing the risks of social conflict and guaranteeing that companies can operate without resistance from indigenous peoples. Blindfold. While technological investments advance at record speed, legal protection, such as the recent creation of the Network of Protected Salt Flats, moves at a slow pace, trapped in bureaucracy and lack of funds. The history of lithium in Chile encapsulates the great contradiction of our time. In the quest to clean the air in the metropolises of the northern hemisphere, one of the oldest and most biodiverse corners of the global south is being squeezed and fractured. As the research concludes, the country today faces a monumental challenge: … Read more

A German Fire team was blindly trusted in its diesel trucks. They discovered that the electric were better

September 25, 2025 by usatoday24

“We cannot trust experiments in an emergency.” It was, without any doubt, the most repeated phrase in the fire department of the Garching Campus of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) when they considered replacing their diesel trucks with electric. At least, that’s what they assure from the University itself. The phrase was repeated to satiety by their own firefighters during internal surveys. The rejection was widespread for the delicate of the matter: to change the reliability of their diesel trucks for a technology with which many of them had not had contact. The most repeated doubts, collect the companions of Motorpasionwere their load times, the reliability of trucks and even safety during operations. All these concerns seem to have disappeared. And, for those who have not disappeared, there is an expected security network. No, autonomy is not a problem either A year later, everyone seems to be delighted with change. The Fire Park now uses a 66 kWh capacity battery, engines that generate 490 hp and, the small trick, an autonomy extensor that is put into a marking with a six online cylinders that generates another 301 hp diesel. Regarding your capacity techniqueIt has a 2,000 -liter water tank and another 125 liters of Igniphuga foam and, despite being electric, a half -meter Vadeo capacity. That is, at the technical level, there is no substantial difference between an electric truck and a traditional diesel. We said the little trick is in that diesel generator. And it is that the truck is, in reality, an electric of extended autonomy that allows it to have a safety network. This type of vehicles are designed to be used as almost always electric and the combustion engine is nothing more than an emergency solution. In fact, they are usually engines that are used as an electric generator, producing electricity to a battery that feeds the engines. The solution is very widespread in China And, in fact, brands like Hyundai either Mazda They have cars that apply this technology. In the case of an electric firefighter truck, the solution does not go so through the autonomy available to travel (in a city they should be short distances) but to “skip” the load of the truck in case of requiring several interventions in a short time. Because, at the level of interventions, according to your data only 3% They need to turn on the diesel engine to be able to supply energy to the water pump. This, obviously, needs to pull the vehicle’s energy but is not until after half an hour when the battery is exhausted and need to turn on the diesel propeller. “In more than 97% of operations it is not necessary”, They emphasize. Saved that first and important stumbling block, from the fire team seem to be delighted with the new vehicle. They point out that without engine noise they can communicate better between them, both to speak directly and to understand what is being said on the radio. In its article, the German University emphasizes that it is a clear improvement within the vehicle but also for those who work outside it. “This allows us to communicate much better among us, which is great. You can also understand the radio and your colleagues without any problem, so you do not have to continue asking questions, a great gain in safety and comfort.” From the Fire Department they say that “our experience shows that electric mobility works for the Fire Department. I hope that many more fire departments follow their example. In any case, there is a lot of interest: we regularly receive consultations about our experiences.” The next step, they say, will be to install solar panels to load the trucks. Photo | Technical University of Munich (Tum) and Jai Heike In Xataka | Turn off electric cars, according to firefighters: self -colombing, twice water and triggered temperatures

The Z generation is discovering how fun it is to buy blindly

September 17, 2025 by usatoday24

Generation Z and late millennials are the first generation in human history raised by algorithms that predict and control every aspect of their digital experience. Spotify knows your mood. Netflix knows what movie they will want to watch this weekend. Instagram predicts what will hook and Amazon, what they are going to buy. Therefore, this same generation is willing to pay to experience something that previous generations were for granted when opening a box with a product: the surprise. It is not a passenger fad: hyperpreddicting has led us to value the unpredictable as a treasure. How one works BLIND BOX. Perhaps the clearest and popular example of armor boxes today are the Labubus. A lot of these are talking about these Mart dolls mart both for His extraordinary success as for the impact on the world of collecting and social networks. None of this would have happened if buyers could choose their dolls: but since the boxes are blind, there is a shortage of certain models, which multiplies their value. An addictive strategy for buyers and very profitable for manufacturers. Some figures. The figures also carry surprises: the global market of Blind Boxes generated more than 10,000 million dollars in 2023 And it is projected an annual growth rate of 5.4%advanceing more seated sectors such as textile or electronic. We are talking about buyers oriented between 18 and 35 years, the aforementioned generations, and that exhibit a rate of Repetition for buying nothing less than 73%superior to traditional products in the same price category. Not only Labubus. Pop Mart is the greatest case of success and the most media, but they have not been the only brands that have achieved it. One of the most recent peculiar cases is that of Kodak, which came to control 90% of the photographic film market, but He saw bankruptcy in 2012 with a crisis of mass layoffs and the arrival of the digital. However, Kodak has revalued physical photography with Blind Boxes Where you can find retro instantaneous cameras, Polaroid movie, photographic accessories and random products of different Kodak. Another success case: Minisothat arrived in Spain with a certain reputation of being a Chinese copy of Japanese products with greater prestige, thanks to collaborations with brands such as Disney, Pixar, Sanrio They have joined To all this Subculture of Blind Boxes. Result: Miniso sold more than 20 million Blind Boxes globally in 2023 and in countries like Spain they have opened stores exclusively to the phenomenon. Some reasons that explain this success. The rise of armor boxes occurs in a very specific cultural moment. It coincides with several cultural phenomena that converge. On the one hand there is nostalgia for the lost surprise, and that the first millennials took for granted: open packages of collectible chromes, buy discs without knowing at all if they would like, find treasures in second -hand stores … the armor boxes recreate that lost feeling. On the other hand is the search for authenticity in the artificial: in a world where everything can be simulated or predicted, a genuine surprise feels like a rare moment of authenticity. Passenger fashion or something else? At the moment, it is soon to determine if the Labubus have arrived to stay or the fashion will be as fleeting as The Sonny Angel. But beyond, what will happen to the surprise boxes? Brands like LEGO lead to the selling collection dolls pocketed in packages whose interior is not seen, but they had not finished curdling in the collecting market as Pop has achieved mart. In social networks, accounts are multiplied as @ASMRBLINDBAGS21 (more than three million followers), who systematically open all kinds of Blind Boxes. A fever around the apparently contradictory business of counting anything. Image | Alpha In Xataka | The fashion industry became obsessed with a rubber shoe that despised: Crocs understood before anyone who was a meme

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