decade

China has reached the asteroid that has been driving astronomers crazy for a decade. And your first photo is already changing the answer

by

After 400 days of travel, the Chinese Tianwen-2 probe has reached your goal: object 469219 Kamo’oalewa (2016HO3). The entire world astronomical community has its sights set on this trip, for the answers it can provide to a mystery that has been going on for more than a decade. However, as usually happens with missions carried out by China, we had little information about the journey until the ship was already at its destination. This occurred on July 4, although the Chinese National Space Administration, CNSA, announced it this July 6. Be that as it may, the important thing is that China has reached Kamo’oalewa, that terrestrial “minimoon” that has given scientists so many headaches since it was discovered in 2016. Now comes the good. Tianwen-2 was released on May 29, 2025. 400 days later, it has reached its first stop, just 20 kilometers from Kamo’oalewa. There, he has taken the first photos, which will help him map this object, in order to determine the best places for sampling. Then, it will be time to get down to work, to collect a series of samples that will be sent to Earth in 2027. Then, we will have a definitive answer to the million-dollar question: Is Kamo’oalewa an asteroid or a fragment that was ejected from the Moon? The instruments. This probe has 11 payloads, including instruments that will allow it to study both Kamo’oalewa and its next target: comet 311P/PANSTARRS. These instruments include cameras, laser measuring devices, spectrometers, sonar radars and particle analyzers. It also includes the DIANA dust analyzer, developed in Italy. First mission: map the surface. Currently, the Chinese probe is taking photographs from different angles to create a 3D model that will allow establishing the best places to take samples. Broadly speaking, these places must meet two requirements: be scientifically interesting and not pose risks for sampling. The latter includes, for example, no unstable ground or loose rocks. Second mission: take samples. Since the mission left without knowing exactly what the surface of Kamo’oalewa will be like, Tianwen-2 travels prepared to take samples through three different methods: suspension, touch and match and anchor and coupling. The first consists of keeping the probe in hover, without landing on the object, and taking out a robotic arm that will skim the surface to obtain the samples. The second method, on the other hand, uses a disc-shaped, gas-powered head that briefly but more strongly touches the surface. Afterwards, rotating brushes are released that, together with bursts of air, sweep away the material released with that blow of the disc. Finally, the anchoring and docking method consists of releasing four robotic arms that are fixed to the surface to extract material for a longer period of time. It would be the first time this method has been used in deep space. Tianwen-2 has been traveling for 400 days Third mission: send them to Earth. The samples will be sent to Earth in 2027 for analysis. However, during Tianwen-2’s flyby of Kamo’oalewa, some inquiries are already being made about it. Asteroid or lunar fragment? Until now, all that was known about Kamo’oalewa were hypotheses or estimates. It was believed to measure between 40 and 100 meters in diameter and that It had to be a fragment released from the Moon after a collision or an asteroid. The first hypothesis arose from a study using spectrometry, in which it was concluded that its surface is rich in silicates, like that of the Moon. The second has several origins, although gained weight after another study in which several collisions were modeled on a simulated Moon. In very few cases the released fragments became quasi-satellites of the Earth, so the asteroid would fit better. In its first days in the vicinity of Kamo’oalewa, Tianwen-2 has made a measurement of the surface reflectance of the object, which suggests that it has a high geometric albedo. That of the Moon is quite low, so the asteroid hypothesis would still fit. On the other hand, the first data indicate that Kamo’oalewa measures 20 meters in diameter. It is less than what was originally estimated, but practically the same as what was calculated with observations made by James Webb. According to a study published on July 1in these it was calculated that it would measure 18 meters and, again, it was suggested that it be an asteroid. Specifically, one of type E. What is this about quasi-satellites? Kamo’oalewa is considered a quasi-satellite of the Earth because, when viewed from our planet, it appears to revolve around us. But it’s not true. In reality, this object revolves around the Sun, like the Earth. What happens is that it has a period similar to that on Earth. It also takes about a year to completely circle the sun. This, together with the geometry of its orbit, creates that optical effect that it is actually a kind of terrestrial mini-moon. Now we know that, possibly, in addition to not being a mini moon Due to its orbit, it is not made of fragments of our satellite either. At least, it seems most likely, although, of course, we will have to wait for the samples to reach Earth. Then we can definitively put the mystery to rest. Image | CNSA In Xataka | The Earth has moons that we don’t know about: exploring them is key to revealing the secrets of our solar system

It took China a decade to stop coal through renewable megaprojects. It took him a year to reactivate it

by

For years, China has been the absolute reference in renewable energies: they have managed drive down the prices of solar panelsride offshore wind farms or colossal photovoltaic parks flourish in such incredible places like the tibetan plateauwhere also is building mega hydroelectric plants. And its strong commitment to renewables is being noticed: after a decade, coal-fired electricity generation fell for the first time. However, in 2026 China has taken a step back from coal. what’s happening. Between January and May of this year, electricity generation from coal and gas has risen 3.4% compared to the previous year, according to official data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, from which Reuters echoesstanding at 2.53 billion kWh. The North American media collects estimates from S&P Global Energy and by Wood Mackenziewhich estimate the growth of coal-fired thermoelectric generation in China between 1.5% and 2%. The consulting firm Kpler estimates a 3% increase in coal consumption in the electricity sector, reaching 2.7 billion tons. Why it is important. The first reading of this reality is that the Chinese machinery does not stop, no matter what happens. And several things are happening that explain why the Asian giant resorts to an old acquaintance: El Niño is reducing rainfall in the hydroelectric dams of southwest China, so coal and gas have come to the rescue to compensate in those regions. On the other hand, the war in Iran and the consequent blockade of Hormuz have made access to liquefied gas more expensive and difficult, so China pulls coal and old pacts with Russia to optimize its use. On the other hand, renewable have grown at a slower rate than in 2025so something has to fill that gap in demand. And that something is coal. And this shift is important because China is the country that consumes the most electricity and more carbon dioxide emitted of the planet. In fact, India and China are responsible for more than 90% of the increase in emissions between 2015 and 2024, according to Carbon Brief. If China turns to coal, the global goal of reducing emissions becomes black. And also his promise to reach the emissions ceiling before 2030. Context. In 2020, China stepped on the accelerator in its energy transition towards renewables: fulfilled six years ahead of schedule its goal of 1,200 GW of wind and solar by 2030 and renewables by mid-2023 they surpassed to coal in installed capacity. In 2025 the share of coal in the generation mix fell to 51.4%, according to the think tank Agora Energyalthough this was also helped by the fact that the growth in electricity demand went from 7% in 2024 to 5% in 2025. In detail. This slowdown in the growth of renewables in 2026 also has several reasons: there has been less wind ( according to CREA has been the weakest in a decade), solar panels in the western provinces are being used less and fewer new panels have been installed than the previous year, partly due to the high installation base of the 2025 “boom” and partly due to the growing network congestion and forced discharge that affects wind, solar and even nuclear. On the other hand, in an interview for Inside Climate NewsCREA analyst Qi Qin gives an additional explanation: recently created coal plants: in her opinion, the rebound in coal is more due to the fact that China has commissioned too many new plants since 2024 than to geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Qin also points out that many of these plants operate under medium and long-term supply contracts that guarantee a minimum level of utilization, which places them in direct competition with renewables for limited electricity demand; In his own words, it is “a competition, and coal plants have an institutional advantage.” Yes, but. Although the rebound in coal in 2026 is currently a documented reality, it is important to highlight that it is more of a temporary alternative and that situations such as El Niño, drought, weak wind or the Hormuz blockade will pass, so this return is more of a plan B than a setback in its energy strategy. In fact, his own CREA May 2026 report underlines that, were it not for the exceptionally weak wind in those months, the growing supply of clean energy would probably have reduced, not increased, coal and gas generation. Of course, given the recent permits and construction of coal plants, the reality is that unless political measures are taken, coal will continue to have a say and will continue to be the lifesaver in emergencies. In Xataka | In its efforts to break all energy records, China is taking wind farms 100 kilometers offshore In Xataka | China manufactured more solar panels in one year than the planet can absorb. Now the market is devouring itself Cover | ダモリ and Chris LeBoutillier

Finally, Toledo has its transportation app. It only took a decade of digital stumbles and analog queues

by

Yurni is the new official application of urban transportation in Toledo. It has just been presented by the city council and goes hand in hand with the Ruiz Group with a concrete promise. If you search for them in the Google Play Store or the Apple store and you read “Yurni Linares” it is because, in fact, the application began offering service in the town of Jaén. Now it arrives at the mecca of Corpus Christi with the intention of resolving past problems, putting an end to COPI’s ordeal, allowing the card to be recharged from the mobile phone and offering reliable schedules in real time. Third time’s the charm. Yurni arrives with functions that should be obvious in 2026: consult real time and theoretical arrival time, plan routes according to transfers and duration, recharge entitlements, buy QR tickets and manage a virtual wallet without having to type the card number each time. In fact, the idea of ​​the service is to integrate recharging along with metrics such as calories burned or CO₂ saved on each trip. Before the launch, about 150 people tested it—including ONCE users—and the average rating rose from 4.5 out of ten for the previous app to 7.9, a sign that at least the interface and stability are no longer the recurring joke at the stop. Because there were days where not a single marquee met the estimate. It is estimated between 80,000 and 90,000 downloads. From ‘Toledo Bus’ to COPI. Yurni started in 2017, when GMV developed the Bus Toledo app for Unauto and the City Council, integrated into the Operation Assistance System. It was, de facto, the one used by any Toledoan who did not opt ​​for Google Maps or Apple Maps. Taking advantage of the onboard GPS and information panels at stops, the application worked at times. The City Council insists that this time the tool has been “validated by users.” So “I don’t know when the bus passes” should now be resolved with a glance which, in the process, corrects the trend of ghost schedules and poorly communicated incidents that led to constant complaints, whether you were waiting in Zocodover, in the Santa María de Benquerencia industrial estate, coming from Azucaica or waiting on the Paseo de la Rosa in Santa Bárbara. New urban offer. In 2024, the city launched COPI Toledo, developed by Vanwardia in collaboration with Unauto and Grupo Ruizpresented as a comprehensive urban mobility solution with real-time information and plans to integrate other modes of transportation on a single platform. And how does it work? Like almost all of them: as soon as you open the app it is linked to a phone number – although you can use it without login -, you receive an SMS and an associated account is created. You can ask it to launch alerts for route and schedule changes and the application will ask for geolocation permissions to recommend closer stops. The rest is as simple as entering the destination and receiving an estimated arrival time. Toledo grows; its roads, no. Toledo has been suffering from worrying traffic congestion for years. In addition to the constant works in the town, there have been blockages in the roundabouts attached to the new University Hospital, delaying the arrival of students to their homes by up to an hour every midday. But the numbers are clear: during 2025, Toledo set historic figures of more than 1.6 million overnight stays and almost 1 million travelers in the first eleven months, beating 2024 which was already a record year in itself. Toledo is, in addition to the fifth Spanish province where tourism is growing the most, a city on the rise: 86,070 inhabitants as of January 1, 2023 at almost 100,000 currentwith a certain concentration in usually more unpopulated areas—Valparaíso, La Legua and Los Cigarrales de Vistahermosa—. However, the diagnosis of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan indicated that only 7% of internal journeys in Toledo city are made by urban bus, which promotes congestion. The mismatch between supply and demand is estimated as the main cause. The most serious shortcomings occur in the industrial estate, Vía Tarpeya and peripheral urbanizations such as San Bernardo, where you have to walk several kilometers to reach an urban stop. Very irregular management. During the last two years, local media They have documented general dissatisfaction with the poor functioning of the app. The Unauto manager acknowledged that they had rushed the launch, forcing them to update the app just three months later to make the schedules more visible. In December 202025, a server outage left both the application and the card recharge website out of service, forcing us to return to the physical ticket or payment on board with a bank card. In that cycle of technological promises, the nominative cards experienced their own battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: at the beginning of 2026, the local government of PP and Vox decided to maintain the bonus of the 40% on the ticket only for registered votersforcing the creation of a special card for them, while the rest were left with the state’s 20%. The bus pass for those not registered rose from 0.38 to 0.51 euros per trip and the general monthly payment went from 20.40 to 27.20 euros, with the explicit message that aid should be concentrated on “the neighbors.” Unexpected consequences. For example, it is no longer possible to tick for someone else. Because in addition to requesting copies of the DNI and, in the case of minors, family books or other documents, photos have been requested that have never been inserted into the new cards. FACUA described the process as “illegal and abusive” due to the transfer of data to a private company. And, after the complaint, the City Council and the dealership rectified allowing the form and sending by email, but thousands of people still had to go through the small Unauto office, collapsing it right in the middle of the operation after Easter. In the … Read more

a lake in a neighborhood of Pamplona. A decade ago they found 300

by

A few days ago, two environmental guards from Pamplona They went hunting at Lake Mendillorri and captured two specimens of Florida pond turtlea species that, as its name indicates, is not native to the area. According to Dani González, one of the guards in charge of the mission, right now in that lake in Pamplona “there could be about 100.” The figure is impressive, but it is far from what they saw a decade ago, when they emptied the lake and there was surprise: they found about 300 turtles, several carp and even a voracious catfish. What is happening. When Lake Mendillorri was completely emptied in October 2016 for the first time in two decades, technicians used electrofishing (stunning the lake’s inhabitants to capture them while minimizing the damage) and found that calico. With the proliferation of the species and its inclusion in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species at the state level (Royal Decree 630/2013), since 2021 in Navarra the Galapagos’ annual environmental control campaign, which begins in June: they take advantage of this turtle’s love of the sun to set traps for them every week. As explains Gonzálezit is “a square trap where they have two ramps on which they climb to sun themselves, and once they have warmed up and go down, they fall into the trap that contains a net in which they remain floating and swimming.” Afterwards, they go by canoe and collect them to take them to Wildlife Recovery Centers. In 2016 they did it all at once and now they do it little by little, but the trickle of freshwater turtles is incessant. Why is it important. Introducing an invasive species into an ecosystem is usually not a good idea, but here hunger meets the desire to eat. The European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) is already a threatened species and the American is a direct competitor for available resources like the sun, necessary to regulate your body temperature. Furthermore, its reproductive capacity is noticeably higher. Thus, it lays larger eggs and while American males reach maturity at five years old, it takes Europeans until they are 16 years old. This study evidence that when both species coexist, the European pond turtle loses weight and suffers greater mortality, so much so that the authors recommend stopping any introduction of Florida turtles into European wetlands. Context. The Florida pond turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) arrived in Spain as a pet and ended up, like so many other times, released into rivers and lakes when it grew too large. It is no longer that it is present in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species, it is that according to the IUCN list It is one of the hundred most harmful invasive species in the world. Mendillorri is not an isolated case: its normalization as a pet and its subsequent release has caused it to be present in most wetlands on the continent today. Only in Navarra, this control campaign has been expanded this year to other municipalities such as Tudela, Corella, Funes and Cintruénigo. Pets are not a toy. From the Ilundáin Wildlife Recovery Center they go to places like the Basabere School Farm or Sendaviva Park, which is increasingly populated with turtles for obvious reasons. Although its sale and trade are prohibited by law, if you have a turtle and you no longer want it, there is a free service to manage it properly, free of charge and without penalties, before releasing it in the park that is closest to home. As explains Ana Brittany de la Torregeneral director of the Environment of the Government of Navarra, “natural species are not a toy, the environment cannot allow these intrusions.” The director explains that “once a species is established in a territory, eradicating it is especially complex, especially in natural channels” because this scenario applies to the Florida pond turtle, but also applies to the American mink: it is a direct threat to the European mink and Navarra is, behind Croatia, the place that houses the largest colony in Europe. In Xataka | The boxwood moth has hatched in Pamplona en masse. The real problem is in its tracks. In Xataka | Pamplona is going to launch four radars with AI: they detect if you are wearing a seat belt, if you are on your cell phone or if you make illegal turns Cover | Pamplona City Council and Diego Delso

At the age of 15, he built an ocean generator with a PVC pipe and 10 euros. A decade later, it continues to spark interest in the sector

by

It was 2015 when a high school student from Boca Raton, Florida, presented to a jury of scientists a prototype built with parts that anyone could find in a hardware store. Your project He was trying to solve how to generate electricity where power lines do not reach, taking advantage of the movement of the sea. There was no laboratory or company behind it, just 12 dollars in budget (about 10 euros at the current exchange rate). Interestingly, his idea is the principle on which an entire emerging marine energy industry is built. Who is he and what did he do?. Hannah Herbst was 15 years old when she devised BEACON (Bringing Electricity Access to Countries through Ocean Energy), a probe capable of transforming the movement of ocean currents into electricity. The device earned him the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” and $25,000 in the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, after competing against eight other finalists at the 3M innovation center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. How it all started. As Herbst shared at the time, she maintained contact by postal mail with a nine-year-old girl in Ethiopia, who lived with almost no access to electricity. “I can’t even imagine a day without light,” came to declare Herbst herself told Business Insider when recalling their conversations. She wanted to build something that could bring energy to communities like her friend’s, without depending on expensive infrastructure or conventional electrical grids. This is how your invention works. The mechanism is easy to explain precisely because its beauty lies in its simplicity. A 3D-printed propeller is placed on one end of the device; When the water current makes it rotate, a system of pulleys transmits that movement to a Pelton wheel, a type of hydraulic turbine widely used in engineering, connected to a generator. All housed inside a PVC tube. This means that clean and continuous electricity can be obtained, without depending on the sun or the wind. Herbst tested the prototype on the Intracoastal Waterway of Boca Raton, where he managed to light LED bulbs. It is not that Herbst suddenly provided a new physical principle, but it is very interesting how his proposal took that physical principle to a much smaller and cheaper scale. It didn’t stop at a school fair model. With the help of Jeffrey Emslander, a 3M scientist who served as a mentor during the summer before the contest, Herbst wanted to take his idea to a larger scale version. According to picked up Business Insider’s calculations suggested that the expanded design could generate enough electricity to charge three car batteries in less than an hour, enough energy to power water desalination pumps, blood centrifuges in rural clinics, or coastal navigation beacons. Why does it matter? More than ten years later, this approach (small, autonomous and cheap devices for areas where installing a conventional electrical network does not pay off) is exactly the direction that the marine energy industry is taking. The United States Department of Energy estimates that the technical resource available in US waters equals approximately 57% of all the country’s current electricity generation, according to data from its Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office, although it warns that the technology is still in an early stage of development. Between the lines. Turbine technology for marine currents already existed and was being researched on an industrial scale long before Herbst put it into practice. Although what is striking is that the direction in which the sector is now moving, with smaller, modular devices designed for areas without an electrical grid, instead of gigantic and centralized turbines, coincides with the idea that that teenager intuitively applied in her garage. In this sense, several companies already operate under this same approach, although on a very different scale. ORPC (Ocean Renewable Power Company) has deployed a hydrokinetic device in Igiugig, Alaska, since 2019 to supply that remote community, and is preparing new projects in rivers in Louisiana, Canada and France. Ocean Motion Technologies develops small wave generators controlled by artificial intelligence to power ocean sensors. and Hydrokinetic Energy Corp. works in turbines that take advantage of the Gulf of Mexico current. On the other hand, it should be noted that Herbst has never intended to patent his invention or keep it exclusive. “When I finish developing it, I’m going to release it openly… everyone in the world will be able to have access to the bill of materials and the data that I got, everything necessary to make this device,” explained Herbst to Fast Company magazine in 2015. And now what. Herbst has continued to broaden his horizons ever since. He trained in information systems at Florida Atlantic University, years later developed an antibacterial bandage inspired by shark skin and, now in the field of medical technology, created AutoTQan automatic tourniquet designed to save lives in severe bleeding situations. In fact, she is currently listed as founder and CEO of this medical initiative. Cover image | Medill News Service In Xataka | Europe has found an energy vein for the next decade: North Africa

The AVE to Extremadura has taken a key step in its connection with Madrid. It’s a small step that takes us back a decade.

by

They say that things in the palace go slowly. We could say the same about high speed. Not only because “high-speed” trains are taking longer than ever, but also because the construction of each new line resembles a birth that lasts decades. For example, the AVE to Extremadura. A quarter of a century has now passed since the project was approved. 25 years. And what we continue to have are connections typical of the 70s until we enter Extremadura where, coincidentally, the pace is already accelerating past Cáceres. We don’t lie. In 1970whoever took a train to Extremadura would arrive at the current Monfragüe station in 181 minutes. Today if everything goes well it will only take 20 minutes less. More than half a century after passing times collected in this guideit still takes more than three hours to get from Madrid to Plasencia. And right now it is necessary to stop at the aforementioned station and take a bus because the train no longer goes there. At least, in Extremadura they can boast since last December of having Cáceres and Badajoz connected, now, by high speed. Since the last days of the year, it is possible to cover the journey in 50 minutes. It is the result of works that, although they have taken time, have ended up being completed. A milestone that they cannot boast of in Castilla-La Mancha. And, 25 years after beginning to study where the AVE will pass on its way to Lisbon, a new step forward has been taken. One that also takes us almost ten years back. One step forward, Toledo. One step back When it was planned that an AVE would connect Madrid with Extremadura, it was decided that the work would have two large, clearly differentiated sections. One of them would be Madrid-Oropesa, the second Talayuela-Cáceres. With its obvious delaysthat second section is close to completion and its completion past Cáceres is what has allowed the arrival of high speed in that interprovincial Extremaduran section. And, as they point out in this great review of the diary Today Despite all the dates that have occurred in this quarter of a century, the end of the project could have been very advanced if the La Mancha section had been built at the same speed. However, since 2008 the various parties involved have been discussing what to do with the passage through Toledo. Or, rather, whether or not the train should pass through Toledo. That year, with the environmental impact report of the Madrid-Oropesa section already approved, the final approval was given to the informative study that contemplated a connection with the Andalusian corridor next to the Toledo town of Pantoja. The idea was to take a branch of this line towards Extremadura and thus save costs. The works, however, were not carried out. The 2008 crisis wiped out the project and it was never launched. Without machines working, the environmental report expired and that was when the Ministry of Public Works indicated that the AVE would pass through Toledo. We are already in 2017. The Government’s proposal was that, by passing through Toledo, the line would attract a greater number of travelers since the line would connect with a city that is a World Heritage Site. Of course, this meant traveling more kilometers and increasing travel time because Toledo is located further south than the first proposal. The idea was rejected by local authorities from the first moment. And the passage through Toledo It’s delicate. The Executive’s proposal has always been to take the AVE to the current station, which is just two kilometers in a straight line from the city center. But that means building a viaduct to overcome the passage of the Tagus, which has received continued rejection from local governments and the neighborhood platforms that consider that the image of the city would be damaged. Their proposal was to build a new station in a nearby industrial estate. This is how the year 2020 was reached, with an informative study in which it was proposed to subdivide the section into four parts: Toledo, Torrijos, Talavera de la Reina and Oropesa. They also showed their rejection of this project in Torrijos, which led to more bureaucracy and carrying out a complementary study in 2022. This document was presented in 2024 and had the approval of this town the following year… but in Toledo, as we have said, they still do not view the project favorably. In order to streamline the project, finally The Ministry of Transport has finally approved a new informative study that would contemplate building two branches from the Andalusian corridor. They explain in Today that if the branch goes ahead it would have its origin in Pantoja (as planned from 2008 to 2017) and that it would allow passage in both directions with trains of Iberian width and international width. However, it would be necessary to use trains capable of making this jumpsince the rest of the route to Extremadura is built on Iberian gauge. That is, right now what is being studied is the same to the conclusion that It was arrived in 2008 and that remained on the agenda until 2017. At least, as an alternative until it is decided whether or not the AVE to Extremadura passes through Toledo. And, if it happens, where is it going to do it. Photo | Gunnar Ridderström, Jaime Lillo and Falk2 In Xataka | The theory said that the entry of the AVE into Galicia would plummet aircraft prices. Practice is something else

We paid for the most expensive tomato in the last decade and farmers claim that they can’t pay the bills. They are right

by

“I’d rather throw away the harvest than pay us 80 cents per kilo of tomatoes.” Almost a year ago, Riojan farmer Clara Sarramián gave an interview to Jaime Gumiel that still kicking. Above all, because it explains in a simple and accessible way the last five years of tractor units. And yet, no matter how much it is repeated, Sarramián’s speech and that of other farmers never ceases to surprise: “they wanted to pay me half as much as the previous year. I preferred to throw it away. If we all go through the hoop, we are going against ourselves,” he says. We have heard it many times, yes; but does it make sense? Are they right in their complaint? That is the first thing to clarify and the truth is that if we look at the data, it is difficult to say no. The origin-destination commercial margin of tomato reached in 2025 81.1% (second highest in a decade)according to data from the Observatory of the Junta de Andalucía. In fact, without leaving aside the case of the tomato, a 2020 study by the Institut Cerdà on the value chain pointed out that the total cost of tomatoes is €0.61/kg (labor 0.258; seeds 0.081; structure 0.078; fertilizers 0.059; others) compared to the €0.57/kg paid to the producer. And this is data from 2017: the situation has only worsened since the war in Ukraine. It doesn’t seem like the best business in the world. In fact, it seems like a pretty bad one. Above all, because although we have been developing regulations for years that allow us to limit the impact of these problems, they all end up in a dead letter. Furthermore, the external pressure (especially from Morocco for the tomato issue) is enormous. And many of the main market players play “double agents” because they are conglomerates with investments on both sides of the Strait. Why should we care? I imagine that the simplest data to understand how this impacts the consumer is this: we are paying for fresh tomatoes. the highest price in the last decade and, at the same time, the farmer who grows it in Spain affirms that it does not pay him to harvest it. And, anyway, as we have just seen, he is right. And, under these circumstances, why would they want to throw away the harvest? That is to say, it is worth paying below cost; But something will always be better than nothing, right? And that idea makes sense, but it ignores some important things. To begin with, that between 25 and 30% of agricultural costs They occur in collection, packaging, transportation and wholesale sales (with possible associated losses). If they are not collected, the farmer loses what he has already invested, yes. But it does not incur more costs that it cannot recover. Furthermore, as we have seen in situations like lemon either the bananaletting part of the harvest be lost prevents prices from collapsing. It is not an easy strategy to implement (because there are always people with incentives to sell as the price rises), but it is a rational strategy. Tick ​​tock Tick ​​tock All this happens in a very specific context: in June it begins the negotiation of the post-2027 CAP and that is what makes the key question not “why does Clara Sarramián throw away her tomatoes?” but “how do we ensure that one of the central industries of the Spanish economy (the only one that supports the emptied Spain) does not die in a matter of a few years?” Image | Rachel Clark In Xataka | We have a problem with pesticides in agriculture. And a bigger one with the panic they generate

There are 3 fewer days of frost and 5 more days of summer each decade

by

Mountains are one of the first thermometers on the planet: they respond earlier, do so intensely and more visibly than any other terrestrial ecosystem to global warming. What begins happening at its summits anticipates what will come later to the rest. The Pyrenees are no exception, in fact they work like a huge natural laboratoryone of the most documented in Europe. And the data they provide is anything but good. He Bulletin of Climate Change Indicators of the Pyrenees prepared annually by Meteocat and coordinated by the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) confirms it: the warming of the mountain range is not something punctual, but structural. What is happening in the Pyrenees. That they are warming asymmetrically and accelerated, with summers exploding at a rate that doubles the rest of the year, which has direct and different consequences on the ecosystem. Jordi Cunillera, head of the Meteocat climate change team, goes even more into detail: on the southern slope the trend is also drier, adding additional water pressure on the southern ecosystems. In data. The list of indicators and the 65 years of monitoring show clear and worrying trends. From 1959 to 2024: Increase in average annual temperature of 1.9 °C. By seasons: while in winter the increase has been 1.4 °C, in summer it has been almost double (+ 2.7 °C) Steady increase in tropical nights. There are 20 fewer days of frost and 32 more days of summer per year. Every decade: There are 3 fewer days of frost with colder winters There are 4.9 more days of summer (temperature above 25 ºC). The temperature increases +0.30 ºC. Why is it important. Firstly, because of the solidity of the research: it does not measure specific variability, but rather the structural and accumulated transformation of the Pyrenean climate over 65 years. The Pyrenees are a climatic island for alpine species that do not have the capacity to migrate further north or higher, a true gem in flora and fauna with endemisms particularly sensitive and vulnerable to changes in temperature. Thanks to its rugged terrain, it has been able to preserve certain spaces from direct human activity (from tourism to agriculture), but it cannot escape this indirect effect. On the other hand, the Pyrenees are also a tap for southern Europe: the accumulated snow and ice feed rivers such as the Ebro, the Segre or the Garonne during the dry season, on whose flow millions of people, irrigated hectares and river ecosystems depend. It is true that precipitation remains stable, but if it gets hotter, water stress increases: evapotranspiration skyrockets, the soil loses moisture faster and terrestrial ecosystems enter a situation of progressive summer water deficit. The system becomes less resilient to disturbances, such as fires. Context. The study is part of the work of the Pyrenees Working Community, which through the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory seeks to unify the data of the Spanish, French and Andorran states through the LIFE project Pyrenees4Climate. This international cooperation effort is essential as ecosystems do not understand political borders and climate change requires joint actions. In addition to climate monitoring, its objective is to implement the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategythe first European initiative of its kind designed specifically for a transboundary mountain bioregion. The project has established 16 key recommendations, including a “Pyrenean Forest Emergencies Protocol” to share cartography, meteorological data and crisis communication. The report highlights that differences in regulations between the three states slow down the response, which is why they urge the interoperability of physical means and improve protocols to be more resilient to climate change. How they measure it. The scientific robustness of these results is based on the analysis of 12 temperature series and 26 high-quality precipitation series, strategically distributed throughout the mountain range. The different research teams use the period 1961-1990 as a historical reference to calculate anomalies and ensure that the observed trends are statistically significant. The work team is led by Meteocat and has the collaboration of affected organizations such as AEMET, Météo-France, the Andorra Meteorological Service, IPE-CSIC or Euskalmet for a complete and unified view. Among the indicators studied are the average annual temperature, seasonal variation, frost days, summer days, tropical nights, warm and cold spells or water stress. These indicators respond to internationally standardized definitions by the World Meteorological Organization, which allows comparison with other European high mountain studies. The impact on the ecosystem. One of the most serious effects is anoxia in mountain lakes: as surface water warms and winter ice reduces, the natural water mixing cycle is broken, leaving the bottom without oxygen. This phenomenon puts at risk the survival of invertebrates and microorganisms that are the base of the trophic chain in these sensitive aquatic ecosystems, something that is happening, for example. in the Ibón de Marboréin the Aragonese Pyrenees. The Pyrenean glaciers have lost 96% of their glacial surface since the 15th century and the future looks even darker: 4% are will be extinct by 2050. On the other hand, the more intense heat is causing the snow to melt earlier due to the arrival of intrusions of Saharan dust associated with warm air masses from Africa: when dust particles are deposited on the surface of the snow, it absorbs more energy instead of reflecting it, thus accelerating its fusion, as explains Meteored. In addition to being a climatic indicator, the disappearance of the Pyrenean cryosphere means the irreversible destruction of a habitat and a hydrological function on which the entire chain of ecosystems rests, from high mountain lakes to wetlands many kilometers ahead. In Xataka | If we want to know how climate change will affect the Pyrenees, we do not have to look at the heat or the snow. You have to study the caves In Xataka | The Pyrenees have become a huge meteorological laboratory: torrential rains have multiplied by four in Spain Cover | jolumurcia and Myrabella

from spending a decade sowing ports and trains to reaping with their electric cars

by

For more than a decade, Beijing has been building the infrastructure, alliances and agreements that allow it to gain an advantage in a continent that has just opened its doors wide. And after having conquered Europe, and in the process of doing the same in Canada With its new energy and industrial vehicles, Latin America has for years been a pending strategic point for China in which to transfer a good part of its technology in exchange for raw materials. A fertilized land. Although China has had an eye on Latin America for many years, its strategy is now entering a different phase. For years, his play has focused on ports, railways, loans and commodities. Today, to this is added an automobile industry that urgently need to exportand that finds in Latin America a terrain that has already been fertilized with patience. Infrastructure. The most visible example is the Chancay megaporton the central coast of Peru, operated by the Chinese state shipping company Cosco Shipping. With the capacity to receive the largest container ships in the world, its objective is to reduce transit times between South America and Asia from the current 40 days to just 28. Robert Evan Ellis of the US Army Institute for Strategic Studies. he described it to the BBC some time ago as the transition from a route that “previously made all the stops” to another that “goes directly to the destination.” Peru, with China as its main trading partner for more than a decade, is not the only country: 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are already part of the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s great global connection project. Added to that are the railways. It is estimated that Latin America has more than 150 railway projects on the table with an estimated investment of 384 billion dollars until 2050, according to the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. China plays a central role in its financing, from the 16 billion dollars in road modernization in Argentina to the Bioceánica Railway, the 3,700 kilometer corridor that It will connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, crossing Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.. A work that not only connects countries, but shortens China’s route to the continent’s raw materials. lthe cars chinese. While the country is building all this logistics operations, China has been facing a serious problem for some time: a chronically overproduced automobile industrymargins under pressure and a cooling domestic market. BYD, its best-known manufacturer, saw the state withdraw subsidies for plug-in vehicles, making it its sales suffered. The answer to preventing its economy from sinking has been foreign expansion. Europe knows this perfectly, and Latin America has also been at the center of the plan for some time. To continue with the example of BYD, despite being a privately held company, already produces in Brazilwhere it sold 113,000 cars last year, more than in any other market outside of China, with a plant with the capacity to reach 600,000 vehicles annually. As Bloomberg tells it, from there, it will export 50,000 units to Mexico and another 50,000 to Argentina, taking advantage of trade agreements that eliminate tariffs between these countries. The factory in Brazil will be the one that supplies vehicles to the rest of Latin America. It is not the only front. Manufacturers like Changan have been perfecting for years in Mexico a model reuse strategy (the same vehicle with different brands and prices over time) that allows them to maintain a constant presence with a minimum investment in development. On the other hand, Yutong, one of the largest bus manufacturers in the world, has just delivered the first 180 of the 600 buses planned for modernize public transportation in Nicaragua within the framework of an agreement with the country’s Government. Concern in Washington. Donald Trump’s administration has classified the case of the port of Chancay as an example of how “cheap Chinese money” can erode national control over critical infrastructure. His warning also points to something more serious: that China uses displaced labor from its country instead of local ones, something that does not catch us by surprise in Europe, and that ends up generating economic dependencies that are difficult to reverse. Ellis counted to the BBC that “with Chancay, Peru will become more dependent on China,” and recalled that in other relations between Latin America and Asia “China used predatory techniques and ended up taking natural resources.” Peru illustrates the tension well: it has China as its main trading partner and the United States as a strategic ally and military partner. Washington negotiates the construction of a naval base a few kilometers from the port that Beijing operates. The same enclave, two powers, and an uncomfortable decision. A paradise for Chinese technology. Latin America is not a homogeneous market, but it has several common features that make it attractive to China: aging transportation infrastructures, growing middle classes, low penetration of electric vehicles and tariffs that, in many cases, have not yet adjusted to the pace of China’s entry. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina concentrate the bulk of attention by market size, but the agreements with Nicaragua or the projects in Chile, Colombia and Peru show that the strategy is much broader. In Xataka | In 2022 it seemed impossible for China to close the US “gap” in AI in four years. In 2026 it is a fact

from sharing mobile data to paying again like a decade ago

by

Saturday is a good day to have your internet cut off. At first you don’t notice, because you’re at home and you don’t use the computer (as much). But you end up finding out, and that’s what happened to me when I realized that I was without my O2 fiber connection, againfor the underground works from the A-5, again. Two days later I’m still the same, like many residents of the area, and this is becoming a small (but bearable) headache. The cuts are back. These works have already caused cuts in the past. They did it in July, August and November of 2025, and also in January 2026. Each time the affected areas and operators have occurred, they have varied, but for example on social networks there is data that indicate that this time the cut has been important and has affected to Movistar/O2 clients,Orange, VodafoneJazztel or Digi. Meanwhile, unlimited data. Spotting the problem on Saturday morning, I called my operator, O2, to find out what was happening. They confirmed to me that it was a fiber optic cable cut due to the works on the A-5, and they explained to me that they hoped to resolve the problem as soon as possible. And as in the previous outage, they told me that during this period I was offered unlimited mobile data on all the lines associated with my contract. It is something that operators usually offer in these cases and that certainly makes the problem mitigate… although it does not disappear. He tethering saves (quite a lot) the papers. Since then I have been using my computer with mobile data: I have shared the connection on my smartphone through tetheringwhich allows me to work normally and at decent speeds without problems. This weekend I have also used this connection, sharing it with the Chromecast on my TV to watch a series or movie without problems. Paying as before. Businesses in the area have also been affected by these service cuts, and the example is a supermarket near my house where this weekend there was no option to pay with a mobile phone. The POS did not accept contactless payments and you had to pay either in cash or with a physical debit/credit card, inserting it into the POS slot. Better to be proactive. Users have few options here beyond calling the operator to find out what happened and to have them activate that unlimited data if they had not already done so. Here it is advisable to be proactive and call because at least in my case until I called they did not activate those unlimited “bonuses”, and it makes sense: the operators may not know which users exactly are affected. If we want to have this option we will have to call and probably wait a few minutes until an agent answers us, something that may take time because these breakdowns affect many people. In my personal case the wait was about 5 or 6 minutes this time. It’s time to wait. As is often the case on these occasions, there is no clear estimate of when the problem can be resolved. In January the disconnection lasted approximately two days, and this time the outage is already on its way to lasting up to three days or more. Neither the operators nor the Community of Madrid offer much information in this regard, and in most cases the only thing that users can do is be patient. In Xataka | There is an extensive system to avoid being cut off in the 48 km underground of the M-30. It’s time to renew it

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.