pipes

Today this tree is one of the trees that breaks the most pipes and sidewalks in Spain

by

The tree that appears above these lines surely sounds familiar to you because you have come across it many times, either because it is in your city or because while walking on vacation through any municipality on the Mediterranean coast it was there, in its most stately gardens. A clue in case you don’t recognize it at first: its seeds have a kind of wings, which helps them spread further and better. It is no coincidence: the ailanthus (Ailanthus altissima) arrive from Southeast Asia two centuries ago for its size and presence, but also because it grew quickly in practically any soil. Today is prohibited by law: It is an invasive species that kills other plants and loads the sewage. Ailanto the colonizer. It can measure up to 30 meters, has gray bark and the leaves are made up of many elongated leaves placed in a row. Its fruits are like seeds with wings, hanging in clusters. One way to recognize it is the (bad) smell: if you tear off a leaf and rub it, it stinks. Since its arrival, ailanthus has spread throughout much of the peninsula, with special intensity in Catalonia and the Valencian Community. This tree colonizes ditches, slopes, degraded banks and abandoned gardens, wherever there is a free piece of land, there is the ailanthus: a single adult specimen It is capable of producing up to 350,000 seeds winged per year and thanks to their wings and the wind, the ailanthus continues to expand. The environmental impact of ailanthus. According to the official MITECO fileailanthus alters the functioning of the forest ecosystem and modifies the chemistry of the soil where it settles, making life difficult for other species. Thanks to its rapid growth and dispersed shape, it competes for space and light in areas close to rivers (rich in vegetation), releasing toxic substances that prevent other plants from growing around it. This environmental study by the Junta de Andalucía It confirms that where there is ailanthus, there is up to 35-40% less vegetation than in areas without it. The impact is not limited to vegetation: the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge points out which can also cause damage to urban infrastructure for one reason: its long and reticulated roots, capable of extending up to 15 meters from the foot. These roots look for cracks and gaps to spread, cracking pipes, sewers, foundations, buildings, and other structures. Context. The ailanthus comes from China, and although there is evidence that it was cultivated as an ornamental tree since the 18th century, the Ministry of Agriculture of Spain gives it as naturalized at the beginning of the 19th century. In the middle of that century, Marcelino Sáez de Sautuola, discoverer of the Altamira caves, wrote a letter to the French Acclimatization Society in which he commented on the success of planting ailanthus, at that time highly appreciated for its ornamental and medicinal qualities. Ailanthus is not only “a fugitive” in Spain, wherever it goes, it has problems. It is present and is classified as an invasive species in almost all the world. In the EU it appears in the list of invasive alien specieswhich forces member states to take coordinated control measures and is common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Danube basin and practically all Mediterranean countries. The ban and fines. That is included within the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species regulated by Royal Decree 630/2013 means that possession, transport, trafficking and trade are prohibited by law throughout Spanish territory. The fines are quite large: from 100 to 3,000 euros for minor infractions, from 3,001 to 200,000 euros for serious ones and up to 2 million euros in the most serious cases. That is state regulation, because each community may have its own additional regulations. What happens then with the ailanthus that there are? This Royal Decree contemplates an exception: those specimens that were already planted in private gardens, urban parks or botanical gardens before the entry into force of the rule. As for those planted in public gardens, administrations must progressively eliminate them. How to keep them at bay. Eradicating them is difficult and expensive. The MITECO report explains Cutting the tree is useless, as it stimulates the appearance of new shoots: the most effective way is to combine the mechanical removal of young seedlings with specific chemical treatments applied to the leaves or stumps. It is what is being done in the Montes de Málaga and the Sierra de Cazorla. Looking to the future, research points to biological control as a more sustainable alternative: the mite Aculus taihangensis has shown be an effective specific agent. In the United States, USDA investigates a soil fungusVerticillium nonalfalfae) that is offering promising results. In Xataka | Spain planted millions of eucalyptus trees to have cheap wood. 90 years later, we have confirmed that they are a green desert In Xataka | The Iberian Peninsula is being invaded: more than 1,200 exotic species have come to stay Cover | Marina Torres

Spain still has dozens of reservoirs that cannot be used because literally no one has laid pipes

by

It was inaugurated in 2015, cost 57 million euros and has a capacity for 30 hm3 of water, but the Siles dam in Jaén hasn’t been used for a decade because no one has made the necessary pipelines to irrigate the Sierra del Segura. It is not an isolated case. An example. The Rules dam was inaugurated a little earlier: in 2004. At the end of 2025, while the province of Granada was at 29% of its capacity, the Vélez de Benaudalla reservoir was close to 70%. The secret is the same: going 20 years without pipes that allow us to use water. These are flagrant cases, but there are many more (and for the most varied reasons): Alcolea in Huelva, Mularroya in Zaragoza, Castrovido in Burgos… Is there anything more Spanish than making reservoirs and taking years—or decades—to build the pipelines that make them useful? The house on the roof. In a country like Spain, each useless cubic hectometer is not only de facto lost water, it is also a tremendous ecological damage inflicted on river channels for no reason. And, if that were not enough, it is economic nonsense. It makes no sense to mobilize all the resources necessary to launch a reservoir and then leave it forgotten. Above all, because (whether we like it or not) we live in an agricultural giant that needs water security that we cannot guarantee. The opportunity cost of delaying the pipelines necessary to launch these reservoirs impacts the economic and employment development of entire regions. A Spanish problem? To tell the truth, we cannot say that it is a purely Spanish problem either. Portugal, France or Italy have had similar problems. What happens in Spain is that there is an enormous fragmentation of powers that means that, when any problem appears, everything comes to a standstill. In our case, the central State designs and finances the main dams and key sections. However, it is the autonomous communities, the hydrographic confederations or the municipalities that they must run the secondary networks. And in determining what is the main or secondary tranche (and who should pay the bill) most problems arise. But not the only ones. And it is that, as the processes become eternallicenses expire, works are not awarded, litigation drags on, environmental requirements become stricter and solving the problem becomes impossible. In the end, the dams are what is striking (what is politically profitable). The “last mile” (that whole set of pumping stations, pipelines and treatment plants) is much less striking, as crucial as it is. When problems become entrenched, there are no good solutions and administrations prefer to put the issue aside rather than make decisions. The country of a thousand preys. Because yes, it is true: Spain has many damsbut dozens of them remain vats of water with no use. And as much as the causes are clear, it is still striking that not even water crises like those of recent years manage to solve this. Image | Red Zeppelin In Xataka | “In the next ten years, Spain and Latin America are going to suffer (a lot) with water,” Robert Glennon (University of Arizona) A version of this theme was published in 2025

renew Osaka water pipes

by

Osaka usually appears in rankings as one of the most powerful cities in Japan outside of Tokyo. Without going any further, the “power cities” ranking of 2025 once again placed it in the lead among the country’s large cities excluding Tokyo. However, beneath this modern profile lies a much less visible problem: an aging pipeline network that requires million-dollar investments and constant planning. In recent years, the state of these infrastructures has been gaining weight in the public debate, and the country’s third largest city is no exception. The donation. In November of last year, in the midst of a technical discussion on how to face this renovation, an unexpected gesture came to the municipal body in charge of water. An individual delivered 21 kilos of gold bars with one condition: that it be used entirely to improve deteriorated pipelines. The Mainichi newspaper notes that Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama explained at a press conference that the complex is valued at 560 million yen, around 3 million euros. “Repairing old water pipes requires a large investment. For that reason, I only have gratitude,” he said when thanking the donation, and confirmed that the City Council will respect that wish. We know (almost) nothing about the donor. Beyond the value of the gold and its destination, the identity of the person who made the donation remains unknown. The mayor explained that the person asked to remain anonymous and no information has been provided about his profile or origin. It has been made public that this is not an isolated gesture: previously he had already contributed 500,000 yen (about 2,700 euros) in cash for the water system. The actual invoice. When the official figures are analyzed, the scope of the donation takes on another dimension. As he explained to the Associated Press Eiji Kotani, head of the municipal water service, Osaka needs to renew a total of 259 kilometers of pipes. Replacing a section of just 2 kilometers represents an approximate cost of 500 million yen (about 2.7 million euros), an amount close to the full value of the ingots. In addition, it has been announced that leaks under the roads have increased in recent times. The problem is not limited to Osaka. Much of Japan’s public infrastructure was built during the rapid economic growth of the 1960s and 1970s, and today many of those networks are undergoing major renovations. BBC notes that More than 20% of the country’s water pipes have exceeded 40 years, which is the legal useful life. a real problem. That debate stopped being abstract at the end of January 2025, when a huge sinkhole opened on a road in Yashioin Saitama prefecture. The collapse engulfed a truck and triggered a complex rescue operation as teams tried to access the cabin where the 74-year-old driver was. Sewer system officials said corrosion of a pipe could have created a cavity under the asphalt and caused it to collapse. As we can see, the donation can help boost the renovation of the pipes, but it is far from solving the entire problem. Images | Jingming Pan | Juliana Barquero In Xataka | The Aztecs and Ulysses had something in common that humanity has always sought: the true secret of happiness.

Spain still has dozens of reservoirs that cannot be used because literally no one has laid pipes

by

It was inaugurated in 2015, cost 57 million euros and has a capacity for 30 hm3 of water, but the Siles dam in Jaén hasn’t been used for a decade because no one has made the necessary pipelines to irrigate the Sierra del Segura. It is not an isolated case. An example. The Rules dam was inaugurated a little earlier: in 2004. Today, while the province of Granada is at 29% of its capacity, the Vélez de Benaudalla reservoir is close to 70%. The secret is the same: going 20 years without pipes that allow us to use water. These flagrant cases, but there are many more: Alcolea in Huelva, Mularroya in Zaragoza, Castrovido in Burgos… Is there anything more Spanish than making reservoirs and taking years—or decades—to build the pipelines that make them useful? The house on the roof. In a country like Spain, each useless cubic hectometer is not only de facto lost water, it is also a tremendous ecological damage inflicted on river channels for no reason. And, if that were not enough, it is economic nonsense. It makes no sense to mobilize all the resources necessary to launch a reservoir and then leave it forgotten. Above all, because (whether we like it or not) we live in an agricultural giant that needs water security that we cannot guarantee. The opportunity cost of delaying the pipelines necessary to launch these reservoirs impacts the economic and employment development of entire regions. A Spanish problem? To tell the truth, we cannot say that it is a purely Spanish problem either. Portugal, France or Italy have had similar problems. What happens in Spain is that there is an enormous fragmentation of powers that means that, when any problem appears, everything comes to a standstill. In our case, the central State designs and finances the main dams and key sections. However, it is the autonomous communities, the hydrographic confederations or the municipalities that they must run the secondary networks. And in determining what is the main or secondary tranche (and who should pay the bill) most problems arise. But not the only ones. And it is that, as the processes become eternallicenses expire, works are not awarded, litigation drags on, environmental requirements become stricter and solving the problem becomes impossible. In the end, the dams are what is striking (what is politically profitable). The “last mile” (that whole set of pumping stations, pipelines and treatment plants) is much less striking, as crucial as it is. When problems become entrenched, there are no good solutions and administrations prefer to put the issue aside rather than make decisions. The country of a thousand preys. Because yes, it is true: Spain has many damsbut dozens of them remain vats of water without any use. And as much as the causes are clear, it is still striking that not even water crises like those of recent years manage to solve this. Image | Red Zeppelin In Xataka | “In the next ten years, Spain and Latin America are going to suffer (a lot) with water,” Robert Glennon (University of Arizona)

Modern oil did not invent anything. China already extracted natural gas 2,000 years ago and transported it by bamboo pipes

by

Possibly, many consider that oil industry And modern gas, with its platforms, deep wells, pumping systems and distribution networks, is a creation of the nineteenth century onwards, one associated with Western industrialization. And although they are not entirely wrong, the truth is that there was already a nation that had developed techniques for drilling, extraction and transporting energy resources with a simply amazing level of sophistication. That nation was China, and he did it a thousand years before Edwin Drake will pierce the first commercial oil well in 1859. Before the crude. As we said, although the collective imaginary places the beginning of the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the industrial revolution From the nineteenth century, history shows that ancient civilizations had already developed surprisingly advanced techniques of energy extraction. In fact, in the Chinese province of Sichuan, more than one millennium before the first commercial wells in the United States or Russia, entire communities already They pierced the earth To get brine And, later, natural gas. The salt searchvital for food conservation and human nutrition, led Chinese engineers to devise sophisticated Performant drilling systemsoperated with bamboo towers, pulleys, jump platforms and specialized metal tools that remember, in many ways, those used in the modern oil industry. Challenging your time. The wells, initiated during the PERIOD OF THE COMBATING KINGDOMS (480–221 AC), reached depths of up to 250 meters already in the Tang dynastyand exceeded the kilometer in the nineteenth century, long before the West even dreamed of such achievements. For each phase of the process they were used Different Broks (Fish tail, silver or horseshoe ingot) adapted to the type of rock. I also know They developed solutions for problems such as broken bits or collapsed wells, using ingenious technologies such as elongated bamboo tubes With fin valves, hydraulic cements based on Tung oil, and shutter with expanded straw. Then, around 1050, the introduction of flexible bamboo cables It allowed to achieve greater depths and simplify the operations a little more. By 1835, the Shenghai well reached officially The 1,000 meters deepa milestone in the world. From the byproduct to the energy treasure. Everything changed at a given time. During drilling in search of brine, workers began to run into Natural gas bagsinitially seen as dangerous or useless. But over time, that gas (mainly methane, often mixed with hydrogen sulphide) was recognized as energy resource and used for lighting, heating and, above all, to feed the boilers that evaporated the brine. This transition became crucial when deforestation prevented continuing to use firewood. The need promoted the invention of the call Drum Kang Penwhich allowed to extract and separate simultaneously gas and brine, and early carburetor that mixed gas with air to achieve more efficient combustion. In turn, the old perforators also included geology rudiments, placing gas wells in high areas and brine in valleys, according to the formation of underground bags. Industrial Network Without Pare. Over the centuries, the region was filled with bamboo towers, merchant ships and an infrastructure that included hundreds of kilometers of pipes Bamboo built completely. Far from being rudimentary, those pipes were precisely sealed by tung oil cement and braided rope, which made them surprisingly stagnant and durable. To get an idea, in the 1950s they were still operational More than 95 km of these conductions. A complex system that transformed Zigong and other cities into industrial, commercial and cultural centers. The operation was so extensive that it required uninterrupted shifts and written legal contracts (some of the first in the history of China) to distribute tasks and resources. Historical and legacy. The scale and sophistication of the Sichuan gas field eclipsed other premodern operations in Europe or Central Asia, such as those of Naples or Bakú. Beyond the volume produced, the most notable was the continuity and efficiency of the system itself. Even today, the region produces some 30,000 million cubic meters of gas annually, in many cases from perforated wells centuries ago. However, the work is still dangerous: in 2003, an explosion of gas near Chongqing He killed 233 people and left 9,000 intoxicatedbut the accumulated experience over almost 2,000 years avoided a major catastrophe. That technical and human legacy is, in fact, honest in the Shanxi Salt Museumwhere original tools and detailed models are preserved that document an industrial feat advanced to their time by millennia. If you want too, the Sichuan history Not only does it rewrite the origins of oil and gas in a certain way: redefine what we consider possible in ancient civilizations. Image | Thomas dependb, CSEG In Xataka | In its effort to extract oil, China is beating records: it has drilled a well -deep well In Xataka | 2025, a raw year: the sanctions to the Russian ships and the tension with China are raising the price of oil

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.