literally

They are running out of drivers, literally

by

Japan has reached a new longevity record when registering 99,763 people 100 years or olderof which 88% are women, consolidating as the more aged society of the world and with the greatest life expectancy, attributed to healthy diets, low rates of obesity and an active culture in old age. However, this figure also has a face B: the birthday collapse and a lack of labor that has become a first -order problem. Or maybe on one occasion. The demographic challenge. Japan, with almost a 30% of its population Above 65, it has become a world laboratory where it is tested if automation can replace the labor that disappears. The country faces a shortage of workers in essential sectors such as Transportation and logisticswhat has placed companies like Amazon at the forefront of a decisive experiment: demonstrate that robotics and artificial intelligence can maintain the rhythm of fast deliveries in an increasingly aged environment. More robots than humans. In the Logistics Center of Chiba, near Tokyo, Amazon has deployed a Arsenal of Technologies that not only multiplies the ability to 40% storage Regarding a conventional warehouse, but it already has more robots than human employees. There, an automatic machine adjusts the paper packaging to the exact size of each product, while a classification system coordinates multiple items to pack them in a single shipment. The objective is that repetitive work disappears and that the process wins in speed and efficiency, with the support of the artificial intelligence model Deepfleetcapable of coordinating the entire robotic fleet and that has already improved a 10% performance. However, and despite technological sophistication, humans remain indispensable: they are responsible for carrying the packages, a critical phase of the distribution chain. The decline of transport. Because, in reality, the most pressing challenge is found in the transport of goods. With a third of drivers about to retire and a forecast of 30% reduction in the workforce by 2030 (which will mean falling to the 480,000 active truck drivers), The Japanese logistics system faces a crisis of historical magnitudes. The problem worsened with the called “Question 2024”a new legislation that limits driving hours and that has further cut the availability of chóferes. Companies like SBS holdings have opted for Immediate solutionssuch as the hiring of hundreds of foreign workers, aware that autonomous driving is still far from offering a large -scale viable alternative. Japanese skepticism. Plus: Despite the image of Japan as “land of robots”, reality in the country’s stores is far from that perception. According to Interact analysis dataoutside the Amazon ecosystem there are barely 0.17 robots per warehouse, compared to 0.68 in the United States and 0.57 in China. The cause It is multiple: a mountainous geography that forces to build small logistics and several floors, an electronic commerce market that only represents the 10% of retail sales (well below 27% in the United Kingdom) and very high installation costs that dissuade many companies. Nippon Express, one of the greats in the sector, has tried Advanced systems As autonomous wheelbarrows, mobile shelves and robotic chairs for operators, but their managers do not yet trust that these investments can be amortized soon. The survival dilemma. The substantive issue transcends profitability calculations. As warns in the Financial Times Akira Unno, from Nippon Express, Japan has entered a stage where there is not enough generational relief: the country today has just one million 18 -year -old young people, compared to two million past decades. The debate, then, is no longer whether a robot can save costs, but if the national logistics can continue working Without a radical transformation. For companies like Amazon, the way It is clear: Expand automation to local distribution centers and bring artificial intelligence to the final client. For others, the question remains more than open: how many years are needed to recover the investment and if, even with patience, there will be enough hands to hold the supply chain in a country where demography seems to play against any economic calculation. Image | Teo Romera In Xataka | Japan believed to have touched back on his birth crisis. Now another question is asked: if there is really a background In Xataka | Japan has a lesson for the world after years of pro-nature policies. A very little encouraging lesson

In full train development in Europe, they have raised a ‘subway’ to unite capitals that is a fantasy. Literally

by

Traditionally, the train was the Interior mobility dorsal spine In Europe. The development of the infrastructure allowed population movements for decades and, although the low-cost flights They have made a large part of the cake, there are European movements for recovering trains. An example is the NOX Night Trainbut another is the Starline project, a high speed ‘subway’ network that connects the main European capitals. Appeals everything that Europe is looking for: interconnection, transport of goods and sustainability. And it sounds too good to be true. Precisely, there is the problem. Starline. 21st Europe It is a Danish group architect of the Starline project. In his web They claim that Starline is not a matter of convenience, but a strategic need for current Europe. It is a high -speed train that will link the main European cities thanks to machines capable of traveling at 400 km/h (superior to that of the bird, for example) connecting, in principle, 39 destinations. To achieve these speeds, the idea is to minimize the closed curves and slopes as much as possible, achieving a great average speed that shortens the times between destinations. In the proposed map we can see that they have used a system of segments such as the one we can find In the subwayas well as stations that allow connections with other lines. The train. The idea is the most attractive, being able to go from Madrid to Istanbul without getting out of the train, or arriving Helsinki transforded in Vienna. As much as they reach 400 km/h, the journeys would be long and, for this, they have thought of wide -seat cars, quieter areas, others open for teleworking or for families with young children and cafeteria. They also propose that there is no seat division based on the classic hierarchy of airlines. And the reason why design should be blue is to distinguish trains and turn them into an icon, such as Red London Buses or the yellow yotk taxis. In addition, they would be connected and travelers could see the train status in real time at all times. Stations? Cultural centers. That experience for the passenger would start directly at the station. Instead of being a mere point of passage, what 21st Europe proposes is that they are public spaces with their own identity. If they advocate infrastructure with the trains, with the stations advocate places designed by the most reputed architects and designers of the different countries, creating buildings that are identity of each of the countries where there is space for stores and restaurants, but also for museums, concert halls, conferences or sports venues. Going directly to a concert or a match of whatever is directly from station to station is a great idea. Goods. Positive points are not limited to travelers. From the group, they detail that rail transport is four times more efficient than classical road transport in Europe, but only 18% of the goods move by train. Thus, they consider that the system could be used as way to transport goods in high speed Without resorting to the truck, the plane or the ship, implementing cargo and unloading hubs directly at the stations and strengthening Europe with a large new commercial network. China’s example. Placing the stations outside the large urban centers, it is achieved that they remain accessible, but avoiding the disturbance of traffic that exists in the central stations of the large European capitals. In addition, they consider that they would be an economic engine for those cities, and all thanks to the data that come from China. The Asian giant has gone expanding its high -speed rail network In record time and, from 21st Europe, they claim that cities with connections to that network experienced an increase of more than 14% in GDP and that each new line connected to the total contributed with an additional 7.2% to that growth of urban GDP. Now, China’s investment has been (and is being) huge, and has the big problem of Periodic maintenance cost. Sustainability, the great asset. In it Ride of decarbonizationthere are countries that are looking for replace short distance flights with the trainand Starline enters perfectly in such proposals. It is estimated that, in Europe, the commercial flight sector represents 4% of the total Greenhouse Emissions and about 14% of transport emissions. The calculation is that European flights contaminate five times more by passenger/kilometer than the train, and that is where Starline points. They detail that it must be independent at the energy level, betting on renewable sources that integrate solar, wind storage and batteries in their stations and operational infrastructure. With all this in mind, they estimate that short -journey flights could be replaced by a high -speed rail, reducing 95%emissions. In Spain, The bird is winning the game to the plane. You have to wait sitting. The 21st Europe project does not leave a stick without touching and it seems that it has no fissure. Everything is positive and sounds great, but there is a problem. Well, two. The first, regardless of complication when governments and companies agree to offer a unified service, is financing. The Danish group points out that the network must be financed through a combination of EU infrastructure budgets, financing of the European Investment Bank and long -term EU bonds. In addition, the governments of each country should co -finance their regional stations and connections, and all this maintaining a lower ticket price than the short -journey flights. The second big problem, and the key in this matter, is that this is an idea thrown into the wind. 21st Europe is something known as a ‘Think Tank‘, a group of experts who design visionary projects on the future of the continent. They have other proposals as an infrastructure of public parks called ‘Continent of Play‘, but basically that is, a project, an idea to initiate a conversation in the political spheres, but without the capacity for what they propose is launched. We will see … Read more

We knew that living near the sea made us “win” years of life. What we did not know is that it was literally

by

We have known for a long time to approach nature has benefits on our health. Beyond avoiding the contamination of our cities, approaching the natural environments around us can improve our psychological well -being, perhaps even inciting a more active life. Little by little, we are also observing that something similar happens if we change the mountain for the sea. More sea, more life. A study has observed a correlation between residing in coastal areas and greater longevity. The analysis It provides new tests of the link between the bodies of water and the health and well -being of the people. Of course, the relationship between “blue spaces” and health is a bit more complex than it might seem. 50 kilometers. The study observed that the benefits of living near the ocean improved the quality of life of the people who lived in a strip of about 50 kilometers of the coast. Inside, however, they observed a very different trend: the people who resided in the vicinity of water bodies of a certain size (about 10 km² on surface) tended to hope for short life. “Globally, residents of the coast are expected to live one year or more above the average of 79 years, and those who lived in more urban areas near rivers and interior lakes were more likely to die around 78 approximately. The residents of the coast probably lived longer due to a variety of interconnected factors,” stood out in a press release Jianyong “Jamie” Wu, member of the study responsible for the study. 66,000 census areas. The study was conducted in the United States, where the team analyzed 66,263 census areas, studying life expectancy and its relationship not only with the proximity of water bodies, also with socio -economic and demographic factors to control the results. The details of the study can be consulted In an article Posted in the magazine Environmental Research. Looking for the cause. The team indicates different factors that could mediate this relationship, such as softer temperatures, better air quality, greater number of opportunities for recreational activities, better transport, less vulnerability to droughts, or rent. These factors could explain why residing near the coast is associated with greater life expectancy, in contrast to people who live near interiors. “Contamination, poverty, lack of opportunities to be physically active and a greater risk of flooding are the main triggers of these differences,” Yanni Cao indicatedCo -author of the study. Correlation or cause? It fits remember that the existence of a correlation does not always imply the existence of a direct (not even indirect) relationship of causality. For example, if income is the determining factor, this causal relationship could have different forms. A possible way would start from the fact that coastal areas They would be more expensiveso they would attract people with more rent, being income, a factor we know affects our life expectancy. Another possible way would be in the fact that the coastal areas generate greater income by offering more job opportunities, and these income again would be the determining factor in longevity. In both cases the mediating factor is the same, but the causal relationship does not. In Xataka | Why is it more hot in cities than in the field: the urban heat island effect Image | Emiliano Arano

In Italy, farmers are so fed up with tourists who are installing lathes in the mountains. Literally

by

There are many places where one would expect to find a lathe. In museums, airports, subway stations, libraries, gyms, bathrooms, stadiums … the list is long and wide. But where nobody would probably expect to see an access tourniquet is in The dolomitesthe steep mountains of the Italian Eastern Alps. After all, what does a metallic closure paint in the field? If that question is asked the farmers of Seda The answer is to remove tourists. That is why they have installed a lathe on a busy route in the area An unexpected landscape. Alps have accustomed us to postal landscapes, but not to what can be seen for weeks on one of its most popular paths, the SECEDA ODLE PANORAMIC ROUTEa mountain of the dolomitas located in Val Gardena. In addition to green slopes, steep summits and film sunset, from early July In the area there is a new element that alters the landscape: a metallic lathe, with its bars, its coin slot and A poster in which you can read “Input for the famous Ruta de las Rocas € 5”. And who put it there? A group of local farmers tired of seeing the continuous transfer of tourists in search of photos for Instagram or the best Selfie. The Telegraph Precise that the initiative started from four land owners that crosses the path. It is not just that the area receives thousands of visitors in high season (recently There was talk of 8,000 in a single day), which already exerts remarkable pressure in the environment, is that this influx, They denounce The owners of the plots, arrives accompanied by “damage” to their lands and garbage. “The authorities must understand that while the cable car operators receive large amounts of money due complaint Georg Rabanser, owner of one of the land that crosses the path. Hence the decision to install a lathe with a toll of five euros (children and locals are exempt) and a person who is responsible for controlling access and demanding the payment of the rate. A QUITA AND PUT TORN. The initiative of Italian farmers could stay there if it were not because the lathe unleashed a considerable controversy in the country. A few days after jumping the news, the device I was already canceledwith which the hikers rose again without problem (or tolls) to the Mirador de Odle. Was that the end of the story? No. Yesterday the newspaper Il post He informed that the lathe is again operation with its controversial rate. OBJECTIVE: launch a SOS. Its promoters decided to recover it to achieve what, They assureThey have always sought: to agit consciences between public administrations to seek solutions to the intense flow of tourists, “the abandoned paths and the meadows full of garbage.” “Ours has been a call for help. We expected a call from the provinces authorities. But nothing. We only read communicated in the press, rumors, nothing concrete.” “We have not even received warning letters, so we move on. The province must understand that, while the facilities (tourist) earn a lot concludes Rabanser. The debate, served. The debate of course is served. The owners of the plots through which the path passes allege that their lands suffer the avalanche of tourists, but the situation is much more complex. Italian law allows free access to environments such as Dolomitas, although in the country there are certain placeslike the popular Via dell´amorein Cinque Terre, which charge access rate. In the background there is an even broader debate and with implications that go beyond Seeda: if farmers are allowed to install lathes, the same will be allowed to the owners of other plots crossed by tourist paths? A lathe field? “I do not want the southern tyrol to become a territory of tourniquetes,” insists Carlo Alberto Zanella, from the Italian Alpine Club. “It is unthinkable that every owner of land crossed by routes begin to collect tolls for access.” Torns are not the only way to prevent tourists from damaging the environment. Moreover, the authorities have already hired more forestry to prevent visitors from leaving the trails or using drones. Images | Robert J. Heath (Flickr), Karen (Flickr) and The Zmora (Flickr) In Xataka | Everest has become a feces. Solution: That all mountaineers carry their own in bags

Our computers are literally full, the problem is that it is almost impossible to extract it. Or we believed

by

Gold is one of the metals with better electrical conductivity. For this reason, it is used in many electronic components, mainly in computers, but also in smartphones or sound systems. The problem is that extracting it from these pieces is very complicated and the cost it means does not compensate. Or we believed. Swiss researchers They have created a method to extract precious metal from a serum protein. Find gold in the trash. The components where gold is used most They are the PCB or printed circuit plates that we find in all types of devices, from computers to smartphones. It can also be found in processors, connectors and HDD hard drives. The problem, as we said, is that the existing methods to extract this metal are very complex and expensive. In addition, it is often necessary to use very toxic chemical components, although that does not stop that many Try it in your own houses. For all this, it is often not worth the effort to the small amounts that are extracted. The extraction process. Whey protein. Researchers at the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich have managed to extract gold with a new more efficient, sustainable and cheap method. As? With serum protein ‘whey’ (yes, the Gym shakes). To do this, they submitted proteins to acidic conditions and high temperatures. These form nanofibers that are added to a gel and, after drying, forms a kind of sponge. It is not the first time we hear that Whey protein is used for similar purposes. A few months ago China managed to recycle the electric car batteries thanks to the glycine present in these shakes. Who was going to tell us that in addition to getting strong, it would serve to extract gold or recycle batteries. The method. The researchers used 20 computer base plates, from which they extracted all metal parts and dissolved them in an acid bath that ionized the metals. The next step was to submerge the sponge in the solution. Although there are other metals that adhere to the fibers that form it, the researchers discovered that gold ions adhere much better. Once “captured”, the sponge is heated and the ions are released and can melt to create a gold peep. Cheaper. The 20 motherboards resulted in a 450 milligrams gold cupcake with 91% purity (the remaining 9% was copper), or what is the same: 22 korates. At the current price of gold, La Pepita would have a value of about 35 euros. It is not much, but the researchers affirm that the cost of the materials and energy necessary for extraction is 50 times less than that of gold obtained. The next step is to climb this technology to be able to apply it to the market. Images | Eth zurich In Xataka | Our dependence on lithium batteries is worrying. These are the alternatives that aspire to replace them

A country has literally found the bomb -proof solution to the large electrical blackouts: Ukraine

by

It happened a few hours ago. Among the multiple calls that the Spanish Government has received from countries, worrying about the emergency situation after The national blackoutone did not go unnoticed. Zelensky, president of Ukraine, called Pedro Sánchezand not only to show your support, but to provide all the necessary help. After all, if anyone knows about blackouts, that is the nation of the East. They have learned to survive in the dark and Russian bomb proof. The devastation of the electrical system. From the beginning of the large -scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has directed a good part of its attacks against infrastructure Ukrainian energy. Last summer, Ukraine had lost and in just three months More than nine gigawatts of generation capacity, more than a third of the one it owned before the war. According to Ukrenergo dataThis would be equivalent to the total demand of countries such as the Netherlands at peak hours, or even the sum of Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Winter. All state thermal plants were destroyed and all hydroelectric plants had suffered damage to missiles or drones. The strategy of Russian attacks was clear: it was not only sought to destroy military capacity, but to break the soul of a society through forced darkness, interrupting the most essential: Heating, running water, elevators, communications, operating rooms or the simple possibility of maintaining an organized civil life. Today, and according to the UN agency for refugees, More than 60% From the country’s electricity generation capacity it has been destroyed or useless. In a country where winter is not only a station but an existential threat, running without energy is running out of heating, without water, without communications. For millions, electricity represents the last bastion between dignity and precarious survival. Survive blackouts. He told the last July the BBC that the blackouts in Ukraine had become a presence as constant as the war itself. In cities such as Odessa, Kyiv or Zaporizhzhia, electricity was an intermittent luxury, a resource that appears and disappears under the buzzing of the generators or the sepulchral silence of the fallen network. In that context, electricity ceased to be just a comfort to become the threshold between life and death. Cases like Tetiana’smother of a child with serious disabilities, who lives that truth every day: her son depends on breathing machines, feeding and receiving medication. Without stable supply, his life hangs from a thread. In your home, prolonged blackouts (sometimes twelve hours a day) force to constantly feed a gasoline generator that, in addition, must stop every six hours so as not to overheat. When your child convulses, the minutes without mobile or ambulance coverage are transformed into torture. In words to the British environment“You can die if you don’t receive oxygen. I am missing words.” Thus thin is the line between chaos and survival. Scheduled cuts. In August of last year there was a substantial change in the struggle of Ukraine to the blackouts. A Mondayhundreds of missiles and Russian drones fell on the nation. First the electricity was cut, then the water. That day marked the Greater Russian air attack against Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the beginning of large -scale invasion. The bombing continued the next day, raising the number of deaths to twelve and leaving millions of people throughout the country. The largest private energy company in Ukraine, DTEKmade a decision: Apply scheduled cuts In multiple regions: Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk. On the periphery of the capital, the neighbors began to live with six hours of blackout followed by two hours with electricity, in the early morning. A rhythm that allowed planning (even if not resting). Loading with energy. The result of the situation is that Ukraine has learned to live with the blackouts. What would have paralyzed the country before, today faced with Decentralized solutions. In Kyiv, the so -called “invincibility points” offer citizens electrical charge and the Internet during the cuts. But many do not even go to them: they have made portable batteries an object as essential as mobile phone or keys. Most shops, from street stalls to shopping centers, already have their own generators. In fact and as we said, that buzz of its engines has become the usual soundtrack of the blackouts. Examples Told the CNN Maksym Holubchenko, a 25 -year -old barista in the capital, that his cafeteria remains open thanks to one of those generators. However, it does not supply to cover all the demand: in winter you can maintain the operation, but in summer they must turn off the air conditioning and parts of the coffee maker so as not to overload the system. Adaptation is not comfortable, it is simply the result of an urgent need, and a resistance without alternatives. For Inna, an 87 -year -old woman from Odessa, the current situation arouses ancient echoes. “I already survived World War, so I have some experience … I bought candles,” He reported. His story underlines a painful paradox: a modern, European country, with full integration ambitions in the West, forced to technologically retreat, to depend on the rudimentary to face the essential. The candles, thermos, the portable loaders, the calendars marked by electric cuts … make up a new normality born of the energy siege. Go to the bank without light. Before prolonged blackouts caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, the National Bank of Ukraine has also launched the Power Banking Projecta network of autonomous bank branches designed to operate without depending on the electricity supply. These “unwavering” offices will be equipped with generators, special communication channels, ATMs, additional and effective personnel available, allowing citizens to access essential services such as money withdrawals, payments, transfers, currency change and financial advice even during prolonged cuts. In addition, a “National Roaming System” Between ATMs, with unified limits and without commissions between banks, initiative already adopted by entities Like Oschadbankto guarantee equitable cash access throughout the country. Broken as a resistance symbol. In short, Ukraine applies preventive cuts Not only … Read more

It is literally from another world

by

Names Like BugattiFerrari or pagani They usually occupy the first positions in the most expensive car lists in the world. However, there is a vehicle whose cost far exceeds Ferrari 250 Gto that, according to Forbesit was sold for 51.7 million dollars. However, despite all that luxury exhibitionfirst engineering and leather, none of the current supercoches has yet surpassed a car made in 1971 that does not appear in auctions and can not even drive on earth. Lunar roving vehicle (LRV) was the first convertible electric off That only astronauts have had the privilege of driving and their test track was nothing less than the surface of the moon. There were no luxuries, but it is still the most exclusive Far from being a whim of millionairesthis vehicle was designed to survive in a completely hostile environment, without air, without roads and with a much lower gravity than the land. The most expensive car in history ended up being a lunar buggy that changed space exploration forever and whose price places it at an unattainable level for any other car. He Lunar Roving Vehicle It was developed by NASA and manufactured by Boeing and Delco Electronics for Apollo 15, 16 and 17, and only four units were built, although only three arrived at the Moon; The fourth was reserved for spare parts. This simple car was an authentic miracle of technology for its time. It was a Electric SUV of four motor wheels, each with its own independent engine. In 1971 he already had the same traction technology that some currently use luxury electric cars. However, unlike the exclusive Bugatti or the McLaren, the LRV never exceeded 14 km/h, although its maximum speed was 18 km/h. Its speed was limited for security reasons. 384,400 km away of the closest workshopany caution is little. This speed limit was only disabled in 1972, when astronaut Eugene Cernan managed to reach 18 km/h during the Apollo 17 mission, establishing the Lunar speed record. Good luck speed radars They have not yet reached the moon. The LRV did not have a conventional steering wheel, but a joystick -type command that allowed control and speed. It worked thanks to two non -rechargeable batteries of 36 volts and could travel up to 90 kilometersmore than enough for the objectives of the Apollo missions. With 3.10 meters long and 1.80 meters wide, the LRV weighed only 210 kg empty, but was able to transport twice its weight, including two astronauts with their scientific costumes and equipment. Among its technological innovations, the Lunar Buggy had front and rear cameras, a navigation gyroscope and a remote controlled television camera from Houston. As he collected The avant -gardethanks to LRV, astronauts of the Apollo 15 mission They could explore 27.8 kilometers of lunar surface, greatly expanding the scope of scientific research. The most expensive car ever built The development and construction of the lunar Roving Vehicle was a colossal investment. In 1971, its cost amounted to 38 million dollars, a figure that, adjusted to inflation, is equivalent to approximately 281 million dollars in 2025. This means that the Lunar Buggy cost almost the triple of the 100 million dollars that cost the development of the Bugatti La Vaiture Noirewhich ended up selling at an auction for 16.3 million dollars, widely exceeding any other known supercar. The three units that arrived at the Moon with the three Apollo missions remain parked there since the 70s. NASA did not contemplate its return due to the excess weight it would add to the lunar module takeoff. Thus, these vehicles, with a current value close to 300 million dollars each, are still parked on the lunar surface converted into unique pieces in the history of engineering and space exploration. The equivalent to Your parking ticket It would be an invoice of about 93,000 million euros, which is what the NASA budgetedFor the Artemis missions that will take man again to the moon. All that China forward And they parquer your double row electric lunar rover. In Xataka | This 1,000 hp electric supercar is a wheel vacuum. And to demonstrate it they have put it to do the pine In Xataka | They are founders and ultra -ups, but they have not always driven luxury supercoches: a review of the cars of the Tech millionaires Image | Wikimedia Commons (Nasa/Dave Scott, NASA LRV Stowage, Alejandro Migl)

The Canary Islands have seven islands, but only one has escaped from the hordes of tourists. His secret is on earth, literally

by

The Canarian archipelago is officially seven islands: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. In addition, we have four islets and a series of Roques (next to a centenary dispute for tiny lands, although that It is another story). The curious thing about the islands is that almost all, to a greater or lesser extent, have ended under the influence of mass tourism. With the exception of one, whose nature gave an “advantage” over the rest: iron. Shine without looking for it. Ironthe smallest, western, less visited and better preserved from all the Canary Islands, has begun to attract the attention of a time to this part, although surely, despite many stores. First was the Netflix series Iron in 2019 the one that put it on the audiovisual map. Later, during the pandemic, he once again occupied headlines in half the world. The reasons: to be one of the first territories of Spain in get out of confinement In June 2020, and for having registered alone A COVID-19 case during the health crisis. Thus came the international recommendations that placed it between the Best destinations in Europe In 2021, but the island continues as is, it has barely changed its leisurely way of life, or its resistance to the transformations that did shape the rest of the archipelago in recent decades. His secret is a paradox: What does not have He does it more strong to the hordes. The island of “No”. The peculiarity of the island resides in what it has decided Do not have: Without chain hotels, without tourist complexes, without elevators or buildings of more than two floors, the island also does not have extensive beaches, although it possesses A network of puddles (natural pools) of an incomparable beauty. Here its geography is key, since reaching it outside the archipelago already implies at least two journeys (by plane, via Tenerife or Gran Canaria, or in Ferry, via Tenerife), since there are no direct international flights or maritime connections from the peninsula or abroad. With just 11,000 inhabitants And a surface that is equivalent to half of Ibiza, the traffic is very small and the sensation remains to be in a territory where modernity has barely touched essential things. And yet, since 2018, iron almost completely self-abused with renewable energies, thanks to its hydro-eolic power plant Gorona del Vientoconsolidating itself as a world reference in sustainability. Indomitable nature. While the major islands of the Canarian archipelago face a growing social resistance to the Mass tourismIron has deliberately adopted a radically different model. Instead of joining the urbanization spiral, direct flights and mass tourism, the island has opted for a strategy of leisurely growthintegral sustainability and an intimate bond with nature. Arising from the ocean 1.2 million years ago For violent underwater eruptions, the island displays an abrupt and wild geography where impressive cliffs, volcanic boilers and dense laurisilva forests coexist with undulating meadows, centenary pine forests and abrupt black rock costs that make it a paradise for hiking, contemplation and, ultimately, an unstable instance. To get an idea, in 2023 Just 20,300 visitors They arrived on the island (in contrast to the more than 6.5 million that Tenerife receivedFor example). Sabinar Tourism to last. There is more, of course. As we said before, since 1997, iron develops an ambitious Sustainable Development Plan which has oriented its tourist model towards a way of traveling with limited impact, focused on the valuation of the natural environment and local culture. They have been created Seven Visitors and Museums CentersInfrastructure has been improved without breaking the landscape balance (the first asphalted road came in 1962 and even today there is only one traffic light), and activities that privilege contact with the environment have been encouraged. In this regard, Davinia Suárez Armas, insular director of Tourism and Transportation, summed up the BBC The spirit of the island: grow without deteriorating the quality of life of residents or compromising their natural resources. In fact, it is possible to travel in less than an hour from the warm coast of the South to the Capital of Valverdecrossing microclimates ranging from arid plains to humid fog forests, where more than a hundred endemic species thrive, including criticism El Hierro giant lizardwhich motivated the entire island to be declared Biosphere Reserve in 2000 and Geoparque in 2014 for Unesco. Resistance symbols. Among closed curves, volcanic landscapes and pastures whipped by the wind, it appears The pasturewhere the most famous trees of the enclave grow: the Sabinares twisted for centuries of Alisios winds, turned into living symbols of the Herreña resistance. In that sense, self -sufficiency has been part of the island DNA since the arrival of The bimbachesBerber people settled around 120. Without rivers or natural lakes, they learned to collect water from the fog, especially from legendary tree Garoéwhose location is traveled today through the Water route. Plus: this 16 -kilometer circular path San Andrés connectsthe tallest town on the island, with deposits, aljibes and remains of primitive hydraulic technologies, all witnesses of a history marked by water scarcity and migratory waves, especially towards Venezuela. The Virgin Downfour -year party dedicated to the Virgen de los Reyes (who, according to tradition, ended the Great drought from 1741), keeps that spiritual legacy that mixes need and faith alive. Self -sufficiency. In 2014, the island opened Gorona del Vientothe pioneer central that combines wind and hydraulic energy thanks to its privileged geography. The system pumps desalted water from a coastal deposit to a volcanic boiler at 700 meters of altitude when there is a surplus of wind, and releases that flow in times without wind to generate electricity with hydraulic turbines. In August 2015, he first managed to supply the entire island for four hours. In 2024, he beat a global record: 24 consecutive days operating exclusively with clean energy, which avoided the emission of 13,708 tons of CO₂ and the consumption of more than 4,500 tons of diesel. Yet, Climate change … Read more

It has rained so much that Spanish legumes are literally rage

by

A phytosanitary alert. Most of the time everything starts like this: a phytosanitary alert and chaos. In this case, the alarm He has launched it The Junta de Castilla y León and the reason has been the rage and Mildiu. We do not know if 2025 will be the worst year for legumes in Spain, but of course it will try. What happened? That the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development Spanish and Leonesa “He has issued A phytosanitary alert aimed at farmers in the region, especially those who cultivate legumes “before the detection of rage (disgust) and Mildiu. It is no accident. The abundant rain of recent months creates the perfect conditions for these two diseases to extend like gunpowder. They are two diseases of fungal origin that cause lesions in leaves, stems or pods. And, in general, they greatly reduce the performance of the bushes. What does the alert entail? In general, a series of recommendations. The Board asks farmers to monitor their plots actively, make an individualized diagnosis if they find visible symptoms of the disease and manage it according to the Technical Support Protocols which facilitates the Ministry. But is it really a problem? Yes. Having fungi of this type belling at ease for some of the main agricultural areas of the country is always a problem. But as if that were a little, it is a quite bad year for legumes. And the best example is the chickpeas. In good part of the country, chickpea plantations They go with great delay. In general, the chickpea has to be more than 100 days in the countryside and “this year, hopefully, will pass 60”. In fact, Just a couple of weeks ago“the plant would have to measure a span and still without sowing” because the accumulation of water on the grounds made it unfeasible. This is a problem because The norms of common agricultural policy obliges to farmers to plant legumes. So we find crops under developed by meteorology and that are widespread for an administrative issue: there is only a plague to round the argument of an economic and productive crisis of a considerable size. To this we must add that our largest chickpea supplier (Commercial war through) It is the United States. And what will happen? It is a good question. Except that implode the international market, consumers are not likely to notice all this. After all, Mexico, Canada and other countries They are in conditions to compensate for our legume needs. At the productive level, The thing is more complicated: As I said, the PAC makes exposure to a bad legume harvest high. And that will complicate the life of a good part of a sector that, After years of droughtI hoped to recover normal this 2025. All scenario are on the table, but what seems clear is that lthe processes of Fielding of the field will accelerate. Image | Shelley Pauls | Aemet In Xataka | It has rained 143% more than normal this March. Although it does not seem like it, for the Spanish field it is also a problem

“With Spherex we will literally map all heaven”

by

NASA has put a new space observatory in orbit: Spherex. This cone -shaped telescope has the mission of creating a complete and detailed map of the sky in infrared light every six months, complementing the observations of the powerful James Webb space telescope. Panoramics of the observable universe. Spherex are the acronym of spectro-pHotometer for the history of the universe, efoch of reion and ices explorer. With its ability to observe the full sky in 102 different infrared colors, the space telescope will complement the findings of the Webb, whose specialty is the deep and detailed observations of specific regions of the universe. In NASA Words: “We will literally map all heaven in 102 infrared colors for the first time in the history of humanity.” Another launch by Spacex. Spherex took off on March 11 In a Falcon 9 rocket to enter polar orbit. He did it from the Vandenberg base of the space force in California next to the Punch Mission, also from NASA. Punch (Polarimeter to Unify The Corona and Heliosphere) are four small satellites designed to study the outer atmosphere of the sun, its crown. Specifically, how the solar wind is generated, responsible for geomagnetic storms that can affect astronauts, satellites and terrestrial infrastructure. Unraveling cosmic inflation. One of the great Spherex telescope objectives It will be to study what happened in the first moments of the universe after the Big Bang: an exponential growth phenomenon known as cosmic inflation. Spherex will map the distribution of more than 450 million galaxies to understand how this event ended up influencing the current structure of the cosmos. Colors and signs of life. Thanks to its infrared spectrograph, Spherex will divide the light captured in hundreds of colors to measure distances, chemical compositions and the historical evolution of the brightness of the universe. In addition to creating the most detailed and colorful infrared map of the cosmos to date, the telescope will look for vital molecules for life, such as water and carbon dioxide, hidden in interstellar clouds of gas and dust inside our galaxy. Why a cone. Spherex’s cone -shaped design is not just aesthetic. It is a passive cooling system that does not need electricity or refrigerants to maintain the cold ship, which will allow it to detect the weak infrared emissions of distant objects without thermal interference. Despite its global vision of the cosmos, Spherex will capture light from galaxies never observed individually, giving clues about objectives of interest for more detailed studies by the Webb and other space telescopes. Images | POT In Xataka | The European Hera probe has just sent us its first photos for the story: we orbit Mars

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.