mountain

When a mountaineer experiences extreme experiences on the mountain, his brain begins to imagine something: a “third man”

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Not all adventures have to be successfully resolved to become epic. It happened with what is known as Imperial Transantarcticthe expedition that left England in August 1914 under the orders of explorer Ernest Shackleton with an enormous purpose and not for the faint of heart: cross Antarcticafrom Vahsel in the Weddell Sea to Ross Island at the other end. Due to the harsh conditions at the South Pole, the ship Endurance ended up trapped between ice and Shackleton saw how his plans became complicated until they dragged him into a real feat that took his endurance and that of his colleagues to a limit level only achievable between icebergs, glacial temperatures and extreme exhaustion. The explorer’s feat also served something that he probably did not even suspect: coining the expression “third man factor or syndrome”. Well known by mountaineers and which is, even today, a fascinating phenomenon. “Who is the third person walking beside you?” Ernest Shackleton (left) with Robert Falcon Scott and Edward Wilson in Antarctica, 1902. The phenomenon was described by Shackleton when he recalled the very hard two and a half days during which he advanced—along with Frank Worseley and Tom Cream—towards a whaling station located on the northern coast of South Georgia. The group walked 36 long hours between terrible conditions, with hardly any material and avoiding death. On their shoulders they also carried the responsibility of having to help the rest of their companions from the ill-fated Imperial Transantarctic. Only the three of them, Ernest, Frank and Tom, wandered through the desolate Antarctica, although if someone had asked them how many people made up that desperate entourage, they would probably have answered something different: that with them was another person, a fourth member, nameless, faceless… but undeniable. “I know that during that long and stormy march over nameless mountains and glaciers, it often seemed to me that there were four of us, not three,” the explorer wrote. That common feeling, precise Guardianoverwhelmed the three men who undertook the journey: the presence of a “fourth” that accompanied them. Such an expression must have surprised the poet. T. S. Eliotwho some time later, in 1922, after reading Shackleton’s story, picked up the idea to capture it in his popular poem The Waste Land: “Who is the third one who always walks by your side? When I count, there is only you and me together, but when I look ahead on the white road there is always another walking at your side.” Eliot’s license, which changed Shackleton’s “fourth” man for a “third” was successful and since then we usually talk about the “third man syndrome” to refer to that: the feeling of a ghost companion, a presence that in a way comforts people who face a borderline sensation. Shackleton was not the only one to describe it. Several years after his death, in 1933, Frank SmytheBritish and explorer like him, recounted an experience similar while trying to summit Mount Everest. “The whole time I was climbing alone I had the strong feeling that I was accompanied by a second person. It was so strong that completely eliminated all the loneliness I might otherwise have felt,” the explorer wrote in his diary. So vivid was the sensation that, Smythe explains, at one point during the ascent he searched in his pocket, took out a piece of Kendal Mint Cakebroke it and turned to offer one of the halves to that companion who felt so close. He didn’t see anyone, of course. You don’t have to go back that far in time. Not that far. The Madrid mountaineer Fernando Garrido wrote in his notebook the feeling that came over him when, at the beginning of 1986, he spent more than two months on the lonely summit of the Aconcaguaat almost 7,000 meters, to achieve the altitude survival record. “Today, like other times, I woke up with the feeling that there was someone outsidenext to the store. Have you spent the night there? Why didn’t he call me to let him in? (…) —said the mountaineer in statements collected for him The Confidential—He’s my brother, my brother Javier! Javi, wake up, come on, wake up! I turn it towards me. “He is dead, his head is a skull.” “A solid science” A good handful of articles and references have been written about the phenomenon, some in media within the reach of Guardian either NPRand in 2008 the writer John Geiger dedicated a monographic book to him, ‘The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible’ after spending five years tracking down similar stories. It is more complicated than collecting experiences, however, to give them a plausible explanation. Years ago, during a chat with the journalist NPR’s Guy Raz, Geiger reported that there are those who turn to spirituality, although he insists that the syndrome can be explained by “a solid science”. “Many skeptics and non-believers have had this experience and attribute it to other causes,” claims the author, who in his volume even includes the case of a 9/11 survivor. In 2009 Geiger pointed out explanations such as biochemical reactions or simply failures in brain activity. “If we understand that the third man factor is part of us, like adrenaline is… then we can access it more easily. It is not a hallucination in the sense that hallucinations are disordered. This is a very useful and orderly guide,” he reflected. Years ago, researchers Ben Alderson-Day and David Smailes commented on the phenomenon and they explained that “strong feelings of presence” do not occur only in dramatic circumstances. Cases have been recorded after bereavement, during sleep paralysis or in cases of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease or brain damage. “The different contexts in which they occur give us some clues about what could be happening,” they say. “Understanding more about how and why felt presences occur has the potential to tell us many things about ourselves: how we react under intense mental or physical stress, how we deal with danger and threat, … Read more

we are creating a 250 million ton mountain of garbage

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The energy transition is happening at an unprecedented speed. According to the latest report from the IEA-PVPSIn 2024 alone, 601 GW of solar power was installed in the world, reaching a cumulative total of 2.2 TW. However, this success hides an environmental paradox. As researcher Rabia Charef warns At The Conversation, we are installing the future on a mountain of potential garbage that, by design, is an “industrial strength sandwich” almost impossible to separate. The “sandwich” design: a durability trap. For a panel to withstand hail, snow and wind for 30 years, it is built by stacking layers of glass, silicon and polymers sealed with adhesives so powerful that they become a single unit. As Charef explainsthis virtue is also its condemnation, since at the end of its useful life the separation of materials is so expensive that most end up in the landfill. It is not a minor problem. Already in 2016, IRENA reports They warned that by 2050 solar waste could total 250 million tons, which would represent 10% of all electronic waste on the planet. China and the “poison” of overproduction. The clock on this crisis has sped up due to geopolitics. China dominates 90% of global capacity of solar cells and in this desire to lead the sector, the Asian giant manufactured 588 GW last year, doubling global demand. This flood of cheap panels has sunk prices and caused million-dollar losses, but also has created a perverse incentive: It is so cheap to buy a new panel that repairing an old one does not seem profitable. Analyst Bo Zhengyuan explains that that “animal spirit” that made the Chinese industry triumph is now suffocating it, filling the world with equipment that will die in two decades without an exit plan. The laboratory of saturation. For its part, another problem that is committed is forgetting the fundamentals, as happens in Spain. The country broke records last summer by generating more than 10,500 GWh per month of sun and wind, but the system cannot hold up. Spain already waste 7% of its clean energy due to lack of networks and storage. “The mistake was not putting up panels, but forgetting about the networks,” quotes an executive in the Financial Times. This lack of investment has plunged the value of solar parks by 30% in just one year, forcing “liquidation sales” (fire sales). If the companies that run these plants go bankrupt or lose profitability, who will take care of the millions of panels when they stop working? The limit of current recycling: shredding is not recovering. Today, recycling is disappointing. As The Conversation denouncesmost plants simply shred the panels to recover low-value aluminum and glass. In the process, the true treasure is lost: high-purity silver, copper and silicon. Silver, although it only represents 0.14% of the weight of the panel, represents 40% of its material value. When crushed, this metal is pulverized and mixed with impurities, making it unrecoverable. According to sourceswe are throwing away an estimated economic value of $15 billion by 2050. Although there are sprouts of hope. Despite the panorama, technology is trying to catch up with the problem: Silver Recovery: Researchers from the University of Camerino (Italy) have developed a hydrometallurgy technique that recovers 99% of pure silver without using harsh chemicals. The milestone of the 100% recycled panel: The Chinese giant Trina Solar has achieved create the first fully recycled crystalline silicon panel. Although its efficiency (20.7%) is somewhat lower than that of a new one (25%), it demonstrates that circularity is possible and that the performance of recycled material is already fully competitive compared to current industry standards. Cutting-edge plants in Spain and the US: While in the United States the company SolarCycle seeks to recover 99% of photovoltaic materials; in Spain, the CERFO project in Teruel positions itself as a European pioneer in the recovery of silicon, a component historically difficult to recycle. Repair before recycling: “Revamping”. Before the panel reaches the recycling plant, there is a more sustainable option: the revamping. A study by the University of Castilla-La Mancha shows that renewing Specific components of a solar plant can maximize production and profitability without the need for total dismantling. In Japan, the startup Girasol Energy has achieved restore the oldest solar system in the country (from 1994), aiming for it to operate for 50 years by using Big Data to identify faults piece by piece without replacing the entire equipment. Digital passports and modular design. The definitive solution could come from regulation. The European Union will implement the Digital Product Passport (DPP) starting in 2027. As the EU source explainsthis document will allow you to know the origin, materials and disassembly instructions for each panel. This passport, along with the “digital twins” mentioned in The Conversationwill allow technicians to monitor performance in real time and know exactly how to separate the “sandwich” of materials without destroying them. Faced with the solar paradox. Solar energy is essential to stop global warming, but it cannot be “clean” if its end is dirty. The industry now faces its biggest test: redesigning the panels not only so that they catch the sun, but so that, when their last sunset comes, they don’t leave behind a legacy of glass and plastic that future generations cannot manage. Image | freepik Xataka | All the solar panel technologies that exist and which ones are most efficient, in a graph that goes from 1975 to today

the “mountain splash” that follows them

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The proverb says that misfortunes never come alone. In Ourense they are proving it in the worst of ways. In summer there were towns there that had to do with forest fires that devoured hectares, burning trees, destroying farms and even (in some cases) destroying houses. Now those same localities are with the ‘hangover’ of the fire: tons of ashes and charred remains that rain washes downhill, forming a dark sludge that threatens (or is already affecting) rivers and water supplies. There are those who even talk about “mountain chapapote”in reference to another unfortunate episode that Galicia had to experience, years ago, on behalf of the Prestige. What has happened? That the residents of the province of Ourense who suffered this summer forest fires They have encountered a new problem, one inherited from those fires and that (they regret) no institution has known how to tackle in time: the ash. During the last months, spare in rainswere not a big problem, but things have changed with the storms and downpours. What was once ashes, branches and charred trunks is now a threat. The most curious (or tragic) thing is that if forest fires are not a novelty in Galicia, neither are they the problems generated by its ashes and sediments. Why’s that? Because the rains wash away this charred ‘heritage’, creating sludge and a threat to the rivers and springs from which the towns are supplied. I described it graphically a few days ago the mayor of O Barco de Valdeorras, Aurentino Alonso, when talking about the situation of the Sil River: “Pure chocolate is going down.” Last week when spoke with Europa Pressthe core of his town was weathering the situation because it draws on a water source that was not affected by the fire. That doesn’t mean he’s calm. Neither him nor the rest of the neighbors. If at any time that water supply fails, they will have to pump from the Sil, a river that, Alonso recalls, has been affected upstream by the fires. “We would have a huge problem if the recruitment fails.” In other parts of the region the situation is even worse. Last week the councilor of O Barco assured that there are already several centers there that suffer “problems” because they are not connected to the urban network and are supplied directly from the streams. Are there more affected? Yes. In Vilamartín de Valdeorras They report a similar problem. Its mayor, Enrique Barreiro, explains that after the rains of recent weeks there are areas of the municipality that have been left without water for two, three and even four hours. When the supply returns, it also does so in conditions that complicate its domestic use. Basically, the same concern: how the drags affect the supply or even the risk of them causing collapses. “We are afraid of what could happen to the river beds, which will not be prepared to withstand the amount of water that will come down the ravines,” warns the mayor. The situation is also followed with expectation from other points, such as neighboring A Gudiña and other towns that have already made a move. And how do they respond? The first councilor of Chandrexa de Queixa explains, for example, that springs have been corrected and “straw fences” set up so that, in the event that the rains wash away remains of forest fires, they do not reach the springs. It is not so much that there are problems with the water as a matter of caution. “We have to prevent it before it happens, it can happen.” For the same reason, the City Council has decided to store 2,000 two-liter bottles of water and in O Barco de Valdeorras they have offered residents fountains and drawers with taps, in addition to mobilizing vans with jugs. In A Gudiña they also clarify that they are constantly controlling the supply, with “morning and afternoon” analysis to ensure that if at any time the water presents “some turbidity” it can be transferred from the springs to pumping from wells. The effect of the trails of ashes and mud carried by the rains, the “chapapote de monte”, as the Platform for a Galician Mountain with a Future called it, is worrying. a report recent posted by The Country. In it he says, for example, that there are villages that have seen how their water supply has not been drinkable for days. Or that in A Rúa bottles are being distributed and a pavilion has been set up so that affected families can shower. Why has it not been planned? That’s the key. The councilors not only explain what they are doing to address the situation. Some they regret also that the Xunta de Galicia and the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation are doing a small part of “what they should” and they miss greater and better coordination between administrations to deal with issues such as supply or collapses. Both the regional and state governments defend that they have not sat idly by, mobilizing brigades and distributing straw to avoid drag. In the background, however, there is an intersection of competencies. As relates The Countrythe Xunta alleges that the protection of rivers depends on the central government. However, the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation responds that it cannot act in the surrounding mountains. The reason: they would step on a competition that is in the hands of the Xunta. The organization remembers that there are other responsibilities, related to the supply, which depend on local administrations or the Xunta. Is that a problem? It has certainly given rise to a political brawl, as made it clear Yesterday the Galician leader, Alfonso Rueda, accused the organizations that depend on Madrid of being “especially slow” when it comes to “reacting” to “prevent damage.” “We will help and act, but each one has to fulfill their obligations and the Xunta is doing it,” Rueda insists. Meanwhile, environmentalists warn of the risk posed by trawling in areas burned by the fire: … Read more

In reality, it hides elevators that take boats up through the heart of a mountain

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Let’s imagine a ship that, instead of descending through locks, rises up a mountain inside a chamber of water. That’s exactly what happens in Goupitana dam in southwest China where the difference in level between the reservoir and the river reaches almost two hundred meters. To overcome this gap, engineers designed three consecutive elevators capable of transporting boats of five hundred tons. It is a system that combines the scale of a hydroelectric dam with the precision of a clock and has once again transformed the Wu River into a continuous navigable waterway after more than twenty years of interruption. For years, the Wu River was a natural highway for Guizhou. From its mountains, barges descended towards the Yangtze loaded with minerals, cement or fertilizers. Everything changed with the construction of large hydroelectric dams in the early 2000s: the reservoirs generated power, but completely cut off shipping. Between 2009 and 2016 there was no continuous navigable passage in Goupitán: the goods had to be unloaded before the damget on trucks, go around the mountain and embark again upriver. That transshipment could take one or two days and cost more than 20,000 yuan per barge, an obstacle that discouraged river transport and made the local economy more expensive. Three elevators, the same river and a mountain in between Goupitan is not one boat lift, but three that work in series to allow the river to become navigable again. Each one overcomes a part of the unevenness and, between them, a connection channel It combines tunnels dug into the mountain and an aqueduct suspended over the valley. According to the Guizhou Department of Transportationthe group forms a route of just over two kilometers where they can operate barges standard five hundred tons. The design distributes the total elevation into three sections, with a fully balanced central level and two submersible-type ends. This system became the first in the world in applying three consecutive elevators within the same project and in achieving an unprecedented single level elevation of 127 m. The investment was around three billion yuan (about 400 million euros), and the infrastructure can move almost three million tons of cargo per year. The operation of Goupitan is based on a principle as simple as it is effective: that of balance. Each ship enters a chamber filled with waterso that the total weight hardly changes when the boat floats inside. This almost constant mass is compensated by counterweights and steel cables that raise and lower the drawer with a precision of centimeters. The first and third elevators are submersible type, with the box that sinks into the water to equalize levels, while the central one uses a fully balanced system, similar to a conventional elevator but on a monumental scale. Electric motors drive the drums that wind the cables, and the entire operation is controlled by sensors that measure tension and position in real time. If they detect a deviation, the system stops immediately. Three years after the hydroelectric dam came into service, navigation works began. For almost ten years, the place was transformed into an engineering laboratory. Navigation tunnels had to be opened under the rock, metal towers had to be erected and the steel caissons had to be assembled by hand inside the valley. In June 2021, a boat five hundred tons completed the journey of the three elevators, marking a milestone. In 2023After the latest inspections, the Ministry of Transportation declared the system operational and handed it over to the provincial authorities for commercial exploitation. Once in service, the system operates as a synchronized chain. The complete transit through the three levels takes approximately 38 minutes, according to official data. The process is automated: sensors, cameras and a central control room manage the gates, water pressure and cable movement. The impact was noticeable from the first day. In November 2021a convoy of fourteen barges carrying seven thousand tons of phosphate completed the journey of the three lifts and marked the official return of navigation on the Wu River after more than twenty years of interruption. Since then, river traffic has established itself as a real alternative to road transport, with lower costs and a much smaller environmental footprint. For Guizhou, a landlocked provincethat difference is strategic. The Wu River connects with the Yangtze and, through it, with the port of Shanghai. The reactivation of traffic makes it possible to export minerals and construction materials directly from the interior and, in turn, receive raw materials without depending on land transportation. Maintenance tasks are constant. Each elevator undergoes daily inspections and more in-depth checks every few weeks. The technicians, for their part, have received specific training to operate the machinery. Keeping such a structure in balance requires the same precision as building it and close operational coordination with the exploitation of the reservoir. Goupitan’s system changed the map of boat lifts. Until its entry into operation, the reference was the elevator the Three Gorges Damwith a difference in altitude of 113 meters. In Europe, the Strépy-Thieuin Belgium, with 73 meters, and the Falkirk Wheel Scottish, a rotating structure of 35. None approaches 199 meters that covers the whole of China nor the 127 of its central section, the highest individual elevation recorded to date. The Goupitan boat lift is nestled in one of the most rugged landscapes in southwest China. The river meanders between forest-covered mountains and villages scattered on the banks. Official photographs taken with drones show the real scale of the complex: three gigantic chambers connected by tunnels and aqueducts, with ships that appear tiny as they ascend. The contrast between industrial precision and the geography of the valley explains part of the visual impact of seeing them in motion. Although its purpose is strictly logistical, The place has attracted the attention of curious people and visitors. From the road that borders the reservoir and the access to the damand get panoramic viewsand media coverage has popularized aerial images of the maneuvers. Images | Guizhou Government In Xataka … Read more

His essential works to enjoy a real roller mountain macabra

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It is, without the slightest doubt, one of the most venerated names of the current Hollywood. His filmography is full of success and commercial failures, but it is undeniable that his peculiar aesthetics, as well as the very recognizable of his visual designs and his themes have made him a venerated author with all the letters. The recent box office success of ‘Bitelchús Bitelchús‘, in which for the first time he has returned to one of his most beloved creatures, and the success of’Wednesday‘In Netflix they invite us to review their filmography. These are the best films of Tim Burton’s long career. Pee Wee’s great adventure (1985) Shared authorship for the debut as director of Tim Burton, even today one of his most irresistibly strange films. Shared because it is a Burton movie, but also by Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee Herman, the unclassifiable comic whirlwind that tirelessly seeks his stolen bicycle in this film where the protagonist works as an alter ego of the Burton that we will see growing in successive films: a big child in perpetual state of wonder before the extravagances of the world. Frantic and unpredictable, and that is especially enjoyed in the double program with the lysergic television program presented in the eighties. Bitelchús (1988) When the budgets that Burton managed were still modest, the director was already able to stand an absolutely personal and overflowing world of the issues that would give him fame: sinister humor, strident pop aesthetics, marginalized characters and heard … Winona Ryder in a story that toys with a runaway vision and hooligan of the beyond and how to interact with him with a curious investment of roles: the living are more scary than the dead. Batman (1989) The film that gave the starting gun to the cinema of modern superheroes and the current vision of a hero with multiple faces, such as Batman. Today he has a naive Camp point that makes it endearing, but continues to endure the passage of time thanks to the undisputed quality of his designs, his very well chosen cast and his abundance of iconic moments. A true foundational milestone. Eduardo Handijeras (1990) After the success of ‘Batman’ and before shooting the sequel, Burton returned with an entirely own film, he is much more restrained and romantic than ‘Bitelchús’ (although he would repeat with him Winona Ryder, who for a while became a symbol of his filmography to the same extent as spiral graphics or marginalized characters). Here the story of a monster of great heart and unable to love was supported by extraordinary designs, as well as in purely Burtonian venom traces: of tributes to the cinema of monsters of the universal symbolized in Vincent Price to the indisged criticism of the American residential life through another Camp icon: Tom Jones. Batman Reto (1992) Another founding film, in this case of the cinema of Superheroes “Author”: Burton used the volatile template of Batman to introduce his particular obsessions about the characters outside the society and the misfits, thus coimo to propose a specially dark and expressionist Gotham, and the result is one of the most impressive villain galleries of the superhero cinema. Danny de Vito’s penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s catwoman are so complex and fascinating that they are still considered the definitive versions of the characters in the cinema. Ed Wood (1994) Burton took as a starting point a delicious excuse (the crazy biography of the one that was considered as “worst director of the history of cinema”) to consider, precisely, an ode of love to the environment and the enthusiasm necessary to stand up a film, however horrendous. Presenting Wood and his cohort of Freaks (a Bela Lugosi in the last, Tor Johnson, the seer Criswell, vampire) as authentic anti -system virus infiltrated involuntarily in the industry, has its main virtue and its greatest defect at the same point: its absolutely dyed vision of rose of the time and its protagonist. However, a unique biopic and a memorable route of entry in the sewers of the Z fifties. Mars Attacks! (1999) Recovering the Bitelchús hooligan vein and with an absolutely coral and overflowing of stars (to mention only a few: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Clones, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny Devito, Sarah Jessica Parker and many others), Burton took as a start Fifty to get your most satirical and destroying vein for a walk. The result is an acidic comedy full of gore and humor that is visually not as characteristic as other films of its filmography, but spiritually yes. Sleepy Hollow (1999) Up to this point, Tim Burton’s career was unstoppable: more or less moderate box office successes and the appreciation of criticism, which would stop when he signed one of his worst films, the remake of ‘The planet of the apes’. But before, he signed this splendid tribute to Hammer’s horror cinemaoverflowing of unforgettable images and again with an excellent cast in which only a something excessive joins a little. In any case, winks to Bava and Fisher and a great Gothic atmosphere for an absolutely delicious film. Sweeney Todd: The Diabolic Barber of Fleet Street (2007) ‘The planet of the apes’ was the departure gun for a much less interesting burton stage. Although he has his fans, ‘Big Fish’ is not up to his classics, and despite his popularity, ‘Charlie and the chocolate factory’ is very far from both Roald Dahl’s novel and previous adaptation. Where he did partially trace the flight was in ‘Sweeney Todd’, an ambitious version of the 1979 musical that maintains all the great, excessive, excessive gothic charm of the original, with His touch of cloudy romanticism. A wonder of morbid dementia with an absolutely fabulous timeless halo. Alicia in Wonderland (2010) Here this adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s immortal novel does not convince us too much: its flashing aesthetics and its freedoms with the text place it very far from more memorable versions, such as Disney’s own animated. However, their errors (some horrible designs, … Read more

The mountain can or cannot be cleaned

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The fires that over recent days have calcined parts of León, Ourense or Zamoraamong other points in Spain, they have done more than razing hectares of field. The political trifulca is also heated. And encouraging bulos in networks, such as It already happened in 2022when Spain suffered another last summer for fire. In recent days there are A debate specifically that has gained strength in forums such as X either Reddit: Can the countryside in Spain To answer it you have to handle some keys. What happened? That fires have done more than razing thousands of hectares, forced to evacuate people and left A tragic balance of deceased. In their own way they have also warmed A debate that the summer of 2022 has already raised: is it prohibited to ‘clean’ the mountain in Spain? Are farmers or neighbors with restrictions when they want to clear fields? And if so, is that one of the reasons that explain that the fire takes days devouring hectares and hectares? Why is it news? They are not new questions, but they have won weight following A video Posted yesterday by The country In X and that in less than one day more than 3.2 million visualizations have accumulated. In it you can see a group of neighbors from Riaño armed with rakes and unbrids that remove weeds from the slopes of the Le-2711 road to prevent the progress of fire. The piece lasts 22 seconds, but has left two big questions by driving. First, why do they take care of that task? And second (and most important), are they risking a fine? What does the law say? In the case of Riaño, factors such as the ownership of the land can come into play, but if the question is whether the Spanish legislation in general prohibits the conservation of the mountains (the “cleanliness” results controversial Because the bushes are not garbage) the answer is no. The Law 43/2003 It makes it clear that one of its principles is “the sustainable management of the mountains” and that it is their owners “who first and more directly take responsibility” for that task. In the case of forest surfaces cataloged as public utility, it also requires that measures must be taken to avoid erosion, fire risk or damage that may derive from snowfall, storms, floods or floods. The mountain law even dedicates a specific section (Article 48) to fire prevention in which it clarifies that surveillance and extinction plans must include “preventive works throughout the year.” And speak specifically of the importance of “silvicultural treatments, firewood areas, access roads and water points that the mountains of the mountains must perform.” Is there more? Yes. Beyond state legislation there are regional norms that are pronounced on the issue. Without going any further Galicia, one of the communities that is most suffering from fire, has a standard on fire (Law 3/2007) that is even clearer: in your Article 3 He points out that forest land owners “have the obligation to keep them in conditions that contribute to prevent or avoid fires, especially respecting biomass management.” The law lends special attention at 50 -meter stripes located near urban areas, buildings, landfills or gas stations, among other facilities, and recalls the obligation to “manage” vegetable biomass at those sensitive points to avoid fire risk. In 2018 the Xunta even signed An agreement with the Federation of Municipalities (Fegamp) and Seaga to offer slips at tight prices. Moreover, have plots Without cleaning And full of stubble, can hold fines. And the 2030 Agenda? Another comment That has been heard is that the UN 2030 Agenda prohibits cleaning the mountains, a deceptive statement, Remember Verifartvefor a simple reason: the 2030 Agenda is a framework that establishes a series of sustainable development objectives, not a law, or a royal decree or any other rule that establishes prohibitions. Its function is to set goals. What the legislation does is establish a series of guidelines when it comes to clearing or cutting thickets. For example, depending on the area or even the time of the year we are talking about, there may be limitations when it comes to clearing or working in the mountains. But in general, as he remembered recently In Lasxta María Colmena, of WWF, cleaning restrictions is applied “in very specific cases in which authorization is required.” “In general you can.” How are fires explained? Among other issues, for a sum of meteorological, orographic and social factors in which a poor or at least not effective enough forest management can be included. Another key element is The depopulation and the progressive abandonment of the rural one, which in turn entails a change in the use of the fields and mountains. In fact, that abandonment partly explains the abandonment of plots that until a few decades were cared for. “Rural depopulation, lack of economic profitability and the disappearance of traditional uses are the other structural cause of the problem,” WWF warns. According to its calculations, the abandonment of agriculture and extensive livestock has left more than 2.3 million hectares without agricultural use and a collapse in the livestock cabin, which facilitates that the mountains are much more flammable. “ Images | Ministry of Defense (X) In x | In the middle of the fire, there is something that Spanish firefighters are very aware: the 30-30 rule

If the question is how to shield the mountain to fires, in Soria they have an ancestral solution: luck of pines

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With tens of thousands of hectares calcinedhundreds of evacuated people, several deceased and an environmental and economic impact that can only be completed with the passing of the weeks, these days do not abound the good news related to forest fires. On Thursday 13, however COLLEGE OF ENGINEERS OF MONTES (Coim), He presumed in networks of an “ancestral formula” that has allowed part of the rural population of the provinces of Soria and Burgos to get rid of the harassment of the flames or, at least, look at the summer with some more peace of mind. His name: “Good luck of pines.” In a place of Soria … For days in Spain, talking about fires is to do it of calcined hectares, evacuations and confinements. That is why it attracts even more attention if it can be published on Thursday A thread of very different tone. In him he remembers that the Pinares regionbetween Soria and Burgos, it seems to have found a formula to reduce the impact of forest fires. And that in the area, between the Natural Park of the black lagoon and the glacier circuses of Urbión, is one of The biggest pine forests from Europe. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Three words: luck of pines. “In the Soriana de Pinares region of Pinares more than 20 years ago there is not a great forest fire. Magic? No … call it ancestral forest management,” starts the school before specifying that the key to that apparent armor in front of the fires is in the “Good luck of pines”“an ancestral management model” that for centuries confers to the neighbors a series of rights and duties over the mountain. Moreover, Coim remembers that a few days ago ray caused a fire conato in Vinuesa, the head of the region, but was suffocated shortly. “Chance? No”, Remar. on Wednesday HERALDO DE SORIA He spoke Of several fire alerts that did not go to adults in the areas of Tera, Gómara and Vinuesa, where in the early morning, around 7.45 h, a fire was detected, probably caused by lightning, which was stifled only one hour later, at 8.42. The intervention of several environmental agents, together with a fire endowment, allowed the flames to raze a reduced surface, of 0.01 hectares of grass. What is the fate of pines? As COIM points out, it has nothing magic. The fate of pines is a way to manage forest resources, a system that goes back centuries ago, to PUEBLAS LETTERS granted during the Middle Ages and has helped establish a strong link between the local population and forests. “This deep link with the forest has created a community that not only lives from the mountain (wood, hunting, mushrooms, tourism), but actively protects it,” They point out from school Before remembering that the formula includes coordination between institutions, prevention systems and continuous surveillance. Going down to detail. Said so maybe it sounds abstract or diffuse, but Philosophy The system is actually very simple: what it raises is the distribution among the members of a community of forest resources such as the wood extracted from municipal pine forests. The cast is made through lots and the beneficiaries must meet certain requirements that guarantee their roots and link with the town, among other things it helps to generate a feeling of local belonging. “The fate of pines is a system to distribute forest exploitation of wood and wood that is integrated into a community such as a practice that has been maintained for centuries uninterrupted thanks to the will of the municipalities and the inhabitants of the peoples, responsible for perpetuating this ritual, transmitting it from generation to generation as a symbol of cultural identity and belonging to the community” explained The Junta de Castilla y León in December, when it decided to declare the well of intangible cultural interest. And how do they do it? “The enjoyment of the lots is carried out through periodic concessions of luck or wooden shorts to the neighbors,” The Board abounds. “These are use divisions in equal portions, lots or lots, which are subject to raffle among the beneficiaries. For a long time, the cast was materialized in kind, with the wood itself. In recent decades, the need to facilitate management and conservation tasks has resulted in the preparation of lots that, once sold, give rise to distribution of money.” Those responsible for controlling and preparing the register of beneficiaries are local municipalities or entities, which sometimes require those who participate that they meet some requirements, such as having roots in the town or taking some time living there. Right now it expands through the regions of Pinares Soria-Burgos and Pinares Llanos de Almazán, for which they extend According to the Junta de Castilla y León to about 100,000 hectares of native forest mass. Is it so old? The truth is that yes. The Board itself recalls that the first written references date back to the 16th century, although its history is actually richer. “The privilege by which the kings granted the right of use that was obtained from the mountains, through letters villages and privileged letters, dates back to the Middle Ages with the repopulation of these territories,” remember. With the passage of time, during the seventeenth, eighteenth or twentieth centuries, the practice was consolidated. At the beginning of the last century, luck was reflected at the legal level through special ordinances and statutes, “turning a situation of fact into a law.” Beyond its tradition and roots, the Board highlights its advantages, as its effect to “link” the population to their environment or its effectiveness to fight depopulation. “It benefits the inhabitants who reside in those locations”, Point out The Government. “It is also an important economic contribution to the community.” The Soriana formula. Whether the pine suertes the key or one more piece of the Forestry Management Formula of Soria, the truth is that for a long time different media The same question have … Read more

Living near a mountain in Spain is already a risk

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Summer is rest time, beach, ice cream, hopefully some trip to a friendlier place of climate and dirt days with friends. If we talk about populations near forests or tree masses, it is also synonymous with something else: anguish. Galicia lived in a hot October 2017when the flames arrived in inhabited areas and forced the neighbors to leave home with Water cubesand three songs have just remembered, in Madrid. Although there the landscape is different, the fire has originated in a Low mountain area Without urbanizing. Actually it is something that has penetrated throughout Spain: in summer, living near the mountain or hills with vegetation has become a risk factor. Earrings of three songs. Three songs, a city of 53,000 neighbors From the Community of Madrid, he lives moments of anguish. And rightly. Yesterday, minutes before eight in the afternoon, a fire was declared that with the passing of the hours it has gone Calcinating hectaresforced to evacuate to the neighbors of several urbanizations and even left a deceasedan employee of the equestrian Soto de Viñuelas to which the flames supposedly surrounded them while trying to save the horses. The emergency services were able to rescue him and transfer him by helicopter to La Paz hospital, but there they could not do anything to save his life. Died a few hours. It was 50 years old and had burns in 98% of the body. Do we know anything else? Yes. Carlos Novillo, Minister of Environment, He explained that the fire has had “an explosive characteristic” that relates to “a storm that dries” accompanied by strong wind gusts. In fact, he assures that bursts have overcome 70 kilometers per hour. The origin of the flames would be in the known as Third phase of three songs, a low mountain area. The flames have forced evacuating several urbanizationsincluding that of Soto de Viñuelas, and host more than a hundred people in sports center. In its updated information service the Community of Madrid states that the flames have affected around 1,000 hectaresespecially pastures, thickets and trees, in addition to four homes of the Soto de Viñuelas urbanization. The fire too He has reached The King´s College campus, one of the most recognized British schools in Spain and that houses internal students. Beyond Madrid. Although the virulence of the three songs has focused the attention of much of the country and its smoke It has been visible From several points of the capital, the truth is that it is not the only asset in Spain. Throughout the last days the flames have hit with greater or lesser force Galicia, Castilla y León, Andalusia either Cataloniaforcing to confine or evacuate thousands of people and razing thousands of hectares. The fire even It has affected to the natural place of the medulla, in the region of El Bierzo, ruining centenary chestnuts. Summer comes … And the fire. The fires of recent days remember a sad reality to Spain: summer, especially the driest months and with higher temperatures, usually bring more than vacation. With them also the fires. Only between January and September of last year were registered near 4,900 fires forestry. And while the vast majority (approximately 71%) were small -range conatos, in total they razed 43,600 hectares. 64 fires also had consequences for the population and 39 were accompanied by evacuations that affected 4,300 people. There were also five deaths. They may seem high figures, but the forest surface razed by the flames represented only 50% of the average of the last decade. This year at the beginning of August the affected surface exceeded 39,100 hamore than in 2024, although below the average of the decade. The hectares consumed these days in several regions of the country must now be added to that figure. Live around the field. Not all regions of Spain suffer the scourge of fires with equal intensity. Civio has elaborated A map distributing the more than 6200.00 forest fires registered between 1968 and 2017 and burned at least one hectares and it can be seen how the problem is especially serious in Galicia, the Cantabrian arch and certain areas of Extremadura. The plane reflects a reality that usually hit the most affected points in summer: living in certain pointsnext to wooded areas, it has become a source of anguish. The case of Galicia. Galicia left a good example in October 2017when the fires ravaged important population nuclei and even charged Several victims. One of the iconic images left by that episode was that of neighbors leaving home with Water buckets or forming Human chains To suffocate the flames. What happened then was especially tragic, but not an isolated case. In Chandrexa de Queixa, Ourense, A fire Declared last Friday, he has approached the homes so much that he has forced to evict neighbors. Something similar has happened in The Bierzoin Cádiz due to A fire originated in the Sierra de la Plata or at points of Tarragona and Lleida In Julywhen local authorities decided to order confinements to protect people from the flames. Proximity and something else. The problem is not just living near the mountains. Fire risk depends on more than factors such as high temperatures, low levels of humidity or wind. The pressure on ecosystems, insufficient forest management, the abandonment of traditional uses of the mountain, depopulation or accumulation of vegetation in forests also influence. “The increase in forest surface does not translate into the increase in healthy, stable and diverse forests. The cultivated and grazing areas in the past are today covered by thickets, young pioneer or monoespecific rods that, without adequate management, are condemned to burn ” warns Miguel Castillo, of the Forest Fire Laboratory of the University of Chile. Images | Elentir (Flickr), 112 Community of Madrid (X) and José Manuel Gacía (Flickr) In Xataka | In the middle of the fire, there is something that Spanish firefighters are very aware: the 30-30 rule

It comes from the Andalusian mountain and burns in French thermal

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While Europe profile new sanctions Against Russia in the energy sector, the clock runs to fill the reserves for winter. In this context, France has decided to look south to supply its thermal plants and reduce its gas dependence: Andalusian biomass is placed in the center of the solution. Short. From the port of Seville a new export operation of forest biomass has come out to an electricity generation plant in the French region of Provence and Costa Azul. As reported by the Junta de Andalucía through a press release4,200 tons of biomass have been loaded, from jungle treatments made in Andalusian mountains and managed by the Novalis company. This operation is part of a public-private collaboration model that seeks to value the forest resources of Andalusia and position biomass as an exportable energy alternative. A paradigm shift. This type of exports shows a deep transformation in territory management: what was previously a residue or a fire risk, today becomes a clean energy resource with international demand. Andalusian woody biomass not only generates renewable energy, but does it with a neutral fingerprint in carbon, contributing to the decarbonization objectives of the European Union. In addition, active jungle improves the structure of forests and reduces plant load, which helps prevent forest fires. “For years conservation was confused with inaction and that has led to the abandonment of many mountains,” has pointed out in Europa Press The general director of Forestry Policy and Biodiversity, Juan Ramón Pérez Valenzuela. The process. The model is based on the tender for forest exploits on public land, especially in areas of high ecological value and risk of depopulation. Cleaning tasks, clareos and jungle treatments are carried out by specialized companies. Once classified and shipyard, biomass is exported through logistics infrastructure to energy facilities in France, Italy, Denmark and Sweden. Since the operation started in 2019, the port of Seville You have seen come out More than 400,000 tons of biomass: wood, cork and even olive bone that now serve to generate clean energy in Europe. Only the Sevillana Novalis company has moved more than 100,000 tons. If the exports also carried out from Huelva, Puerto Real or Almería are added, the total already exceeds 640,000 tons to countries of the north and east of the continent. Now there is no bottleneck. Spain has been seen as a Cul-de-Sac energetic: With limited infrastructures and with hardly any interconnections with central Europe. But when he is interestedas this operation demonstrates from Seville, it can be removed to the sea and what was only gas in gas pipelines, now they are mountains converted into heat. It is not the only case, since companies like Burpellet, in the small bourgeois town of Doña Santos, They consolidate this idea. With a production of up to 150,000 tons per year, its plant demonstrates that biomass can be a viable industrial solution for rural areas, without losing its local scale. The mountain as the energy of the future. The Junta de Andalucía does not hide your bet. The operation in the port of Seville is a sample of the deployment of the Andalusian Forest Plan Horizon 2030, which mobilizes 300 million euros per year to promote the multifunctional management of the mountain. And it will also be the basis for a future mountain law that consolidates the productive and sustainable use of the territory. At a time when Europe fears the cold of winter and heat of energy crises, Andalusia sends more than splinters: exports clean energy, active forest management and future for their peoples. The mountain, finally, is again the protagonist. Image | Port of Seville Xataka | Sea water to heat the streets: the idea of a German city to have more sustainable heating

The Curiosity Rover has been climbing a mountain of Mars for 12 years. I just sent an impressive video from above

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He Increased Rover Curiosity He has sent to Earth a new Marte video that is simply a jewel: an immersive panoramic view of 30 seconds that transports us directly to the slopes of Mount Sharp. Look at it full screen because this is the closest thing to a walk on the red planet that we will have until Elon Musk puts the starship flights at the balance price. A family world. At first glance, the images captured by NASA’s rover last February could remind us of a desert landscape in Chile or the southwest United States. But do not deceive your eyes: that “saw” that is seen in the distance is actually the edge of the gigantic Gale crater, formed by the impact of an asteroid billions of years ago. Curiosity, a rolling laboratory to the size of a mini cooperation, was then ascending on the slopes of Mount Sharp, an imposing mountain of almost 5 kilometers of height sculpted by the time inside the crater itself. Since its arrival in 2012, the Curiosity Rover has traveled about 32 kilometers on the dusty Martian land, exploring the Gale Crater without rest. What we are seeing. The area where these images were taken, formally known as “sulfate carrier unit”, is full of saline minerals. Scientists believe that these minerals are the legacy of streams and ponds that dried eones, before Mars went from being a world potentially similar to Earth to the ice cream desert we know today. NASA invites us to get carried away by imagination: “You can imagine the silent and dim wind, or perhaps even the waves of a disappeared lake have long licking an old shore.” Rumbo to new mysteries. Although it has been on Mars for almost 13 years, the Curiosity expedition does not stop here. Left behind the Gediz Vallis channel, where about a year ago accidentally discovered elementary sulfur (A disconcerting finding, since on Earth it is usually associated with volcanic gases or bacterial activity). And now he is now heading towards a region with some intriguing geological formations called “Boxwork”. These structures, seen from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter orbiter, seem like a kind of spider web, with ridges extending for several kilometers that will probably need warm groundwater to form. And where there is water, it is already known, there is potential to find past life clues. The researchers wonder If you are “Boxwork” They could have housed old unicellular microorganisms and have sent the Curiosity Rover to find out. The Curiosity Rover seen from above for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probe Another point of view. While Curiosity covers these long journeys on the Martian surface, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Follow it from above. On February 28, the Hirise Chamber of the ship captured the first orbital image of the rover in full displacement by the red planet In the image, Curiosity appears as a dark mota in front of a long trace of fingerprints that extend about 320 meters. Curiosity’s footprints can remain visible for months before the Martian wind erases them. Images | POT In Xataka | Curiosity continues to send us videos about Mars. Thanks to him we have discovered something weird: his clouds

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