plants

New York Bitcoin miners are buying old power plants. New Yorkers are not happy

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Minar Bitcoins can be a very profitable business, but the growing difficulty of adding a new block and the rules of the economy of scale make, in the end, they are only earning money the mining farms that have access to huge amounts of energy at a low price. What are mining farms. They are large data centers full of ASICs, computers specialized in solving cryptographic problems. His work is to find a hash (the output of a mathematical function called SHA-256) to appear a valid block. How to buy bitcoins safely and without risk This process orders and propagates the safe transactions of the Bitcoin block chain, which has a juicy reward: every time a miner manages to add a block to the chain (once every approximately 10 minutes), receives 3,125 new bitcoins, the equivalent of 101,606 dollars. But not everything is benefit. In fact, Minar Bitcoin has a very high energy cost. This is where the price of electricity comes into play. And the north of the state of New York is especially attractive thanks to its abundant hydroelectric energy. But hydroelectric plants are not exactly the main objective of mining farms. Bitcoin gas and mining plants. In New York, the energy appetite of Bitcoin’s miners has reached a dystopian look with companies that acquire old or little used electric power plants, mainly of natural gas, to feed their operations 24/7. The old Greenidge generation coal plant, located next to Lake Senecato the north of the state, it became a combined cycle center in 2017, operating only when the energy demand was high. In 2020, the company installed a Bitcoin mining farm next to the plant. Greenidge Generation opened the ban. In 2018, the combined cycle plant supplied 203,918 MWh to the electricity network. In 2020, with mining as its main business, it began to burn much more gas, generating 215,588 MWh for the network and additional MWH for mine Bitcoin. Its emissions have multiplied by six since the Bitcoin mine is, according to a report of Inside Climate News. But in addition, he sealed a kind of symbiosis between gas plants and cryptocurrency mining. Greenidge became a proof of concept to resurrect another 49 similar plants in the state of New York. In a legal limbo. New York is not precisely a permissive state in Environment Policy. The Environmental Conservation Department denied the renewal of Greenidge permits in 2022 for violating the climate law of the State, which requires strong emission reductions. However, Greenidge continues to operate thanks to his appeals. The state law allows you to work as long as the administrative process lasts. New Yorkers are not happy. Another controversial case is that of Digi Power X. The Canadian company bought Fortistar the Combined Cycle of North Tonawanda, near the Niagara cataracts, to feed its own Bitcoins farm. The neighbors began to complain about a “persistent buzz” from the huge fans that refrigerate the data center. They ended up demanding the company, which triggered a two -year moratorium and formal studies on the noise and water consumption of the installation, estimated at 1.9 million liters to cool the servers. It is not drinking water, but exerts pressure on local wastewater infrastructure. In November 2024, the New York Supreme Court ordered the Public Services Commission to reassess the sale of Fortistar for a possible violation of the state climate law. However, as with Greenidge, the plant can continue to operate while the process lasts. The battle continues. With Trump things have changed at the federal level. In favor of miners. The new administration has raised restrictions on the use of fossil fuels and has promoted a new more lax regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, despite legal battles, Greenidge and North Tonawanda mines continue to operate, along with their associated electric power plants. According to the United States Energy Information Agency, cryptocurrency mining represents up to 2.3% of the country’s total electricity consumption. In Xataka | Bitcoin is not to blame for a glacier lake to have become a “hot jacuzzi.” Still

Nuclear power plants have a very valuable resource so as not to collapse if electricity fails: the “flex” strategy

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The refrigeration system of The reactors of nuclear centrals It has a fundamental purpose: to guarantee that Fuel bars will remain at all times within Its operating temperatures range. If this parameter increases excessively they could melt and trigger a serious accident. To avoid it Conventional nuclear reactorslike those we have in Spanish nuclear plants, have a triple cooling circuit. The primary circuit consists of the vessel that contains the fuel bars and a deposit known as heat exchanger. The hot water from the vessel circulates between both deposits thanks to the action of a pump, so that it cools in the exchanger before returning to the vessel. This circuit is closed. In addition, the heat exchanger acts as a steam generator, so a second circuit is responsible for introducing the cold water inside that, when coming into contact with the hot water of the primary circuit enters boiling. From there the necessary steam proceeds to transfer to the turbine the kinetic energy that will make it possible to obtain electricity thanks to the action of the alternator. Once the fluid crosses the turbine the water steam is cooled and condenses inside an additional tank to promote the appearance of water in the liquid state that will be introduced again in the heat exchangerthus giving rise to a second closed circuit known as secondary circuit. Again a pump is responsible for the water to circulate between the condensation tank and the heat exchanger. So far we have described two different closed circuits, the primary and the secondary, but we have left a loose end. In order for the water vapor of the secondary circuit to be condensed inside the condensation tank it is necessary to introduce in the latter cold water. And to do so it is necessary to resort to a third circuit known as external cooling circuit. The water of this last installation comes from the sea or from a river near the nuclear power plant, hence it is necessary to accommodate this type of centrals near one of these two natural resources. In modern nuclear centrals flexibility and redundancy are everything As we have just verified, so that the water that acts as a refrigerant element circulates correctly inside the primary and secondary circuits the action of at least two pumps is necessary, one for each circuit. And, of course, the pumps need electricity to function, like many other elements of the nuclear reactor, such as the pressor, the external cooling circuit pumps or the safety injection pumps. We explain everything in more detail in the article that we dedicate to The control rooms of nuclear centrals. Portable equipment allows all these functions to be performed without having to depend on exterior power supply After Fukushima The safety of all the world’s nuclear power plants was reinforced. They underwent very important stress tests during which all the central parameters were reviewed, especially those that were related to what had happened in Fukushim Baskets on the electricity grid. And once everything was reviewed, the incorporation of a series of measures to mitigate and prevent such accidents was standardized worldwide. This strategy is known as “flex”, which is the flexibility apocope. Nuclear centrals have been designed to Prevent Design Base accidents. This philosophy consists in thinking about what can happen with the purpose of implementing security measures to mitigate them in case they occur. What happens is that in practice, of course, there are accidents that you can not have planned, so in addition to the security systems prior to Fukushima, a series of portable equipment that allow all those functions from outside without having to depend on exterior power supply have been incorporated. They are totally portable and autonomous equipment that are already incorporated into all nuclear plants, and that can also be transported from one central to another in case of need via helicopter or through the military emergency unit (UME). In addition, there are also A central warehouse in Technatom Madrid where there are portable equipment that could be transferred in two or three hours to any Spanish nuclear power plant. As we have just seen, the redundancy of the equipment is also a crucial strategy in nuclear facilities. However, there is another resource that is even more important: The security culture. The training of all people who work in a nuclear power plant is individualized and permanent throughout their professional career. In Xataka | China and Russia have an extremely ambitious plan: in 2028 they will build a nuclear power plant on the moon In Xataka | This nuclear reactor is different from everyone else. It has been expressly designed for data centers

Plants have become the new pets. So much that we even bury them in the garden when they die

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If you watch a video about how decorate your work spacesurely a plant appears. Also in offices, restaurants or stores: they are everywhere. But for many, they are no longer just a decorative element. The plants have become more close: they have become A new pet. Moreover, there are people who see them like their “girls.” And the reason is that we are developing a very deep relationship with them. The new pets. I have grown surrounded by plants and yet they never caught my attention. I did not understand the interest that people had to take care of something that did nothing. They do not move the tail when you return home, do not accompany you to the bathroom at your most intimate time and do not scratch you when you tried to make a caress. Little by little I have changed to look like and, now, I love them. I also feel very identified with this meme: It is not new. Now, interior plants have been with us since ancient Egypt, remains in Pompeii reveal than the Pompeyans They took care of Interior plants But something change with the Covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps because he cannot leave the home so much for a few weeks or for other reasons, it seems that we begin to develop a special relationship with indoor plants. All advantages. There are studies that talk about this, precisely, how interior plants help us connect with nature. He also has investigated On the improvement of air quality and a series of emotional benefits, such as stress reduction or its properties when creating a quiet environment at home. But beyond all this, there is the fact that they are living beings that need Our careit is satisfactory to see them grow and develop and, above all, do not require attention as demanding as those that Yes, pets may need. If we go on a trip, do not leave them to anyone, they do not need to go out to do their things on a rainy day, they do not dirty the home, they do not make noise and, ultimately, they are easy to take care of. It is also possible that we simply have allergy to animals hair or do not let us have a pet on a rental floor, and they are all perfect scenarios for an interior plant. Deeper connection of what it seems. Let’s go back to that we are forming a link with plants. The conversation He has published a study which was performed in Australia during the aforementioned pandemia. In total, the researchers surveyed 115 adults (69% women, 30% men and 1% non -binary) between 18 and 69 years and found a curious scenario. The majority had an average of 15 interior plants (one had 500, and I have not sneaked into a zero) and the most interesting thing is that the relationship between them and the plants varied considerably. The study identifies four “commitment.” Are the following: Committed – The majority of adults, 42%. They take care of their plants, like and enjoy them. They are satisfied to see them grow, but the relationship is practical and that growth is the reward. Limited commitment – 23% of respondents value having plants, but have no emotional attachment. They are simply part of the decoration. Highly connected – We go with the opposite poles. In this category, 14% of respondents said they maintain a deep emotional bond with plants, coming to consider them as part of the family. Not only do they take care of them, but they care intensely about their health, they seek how to take care of them in the best possible way and join a spiral of sadness and guilt if a dies. Even if only one sheet is broken. In the study they point out that sometimes they carry out symbolic burials in the garden. No relationship – (Here I could have been a few years ago). 12% of respondents said they don’t pay attention to them and that if they have them, they have been given them. There is 9% left to reach 100%, but their answers were not valid and were not included in the study. And the market shows it. In Reddit there is a lot Of threads in which people show their indoor plants, comment on their care and boast of “collections”, but something interesting is that in many comments they point out that they began that collection following the Covid-19 pandemic. Thinking about it, I think it was also at that time when my mentality began to change, and this is something that the market is noticing. Money. In the last five years, it is estimated that the global interior plants market has experienced remarkable growth, with an annual rate of 5% from the pandemic. The total market value was about $ 19.4 billion in 2023 and wait that reaches 30,000 million for 2032 with a growth sustained in all regions. In fact, these last years have been launched many intelligent elements so that whoever wants plants, but not a responsibility, can have them at home. We talk about Home automation systems With mobile connection and even Intelligent potssome with very striking designs Thanks to screens that give “life” to the plant. And there are also memes, many, many memes on this matter. Plants ‘Pet Friendly’. Now, if we already have four -legged friends at home and we are thinking of starting in the world of plants, there is some vital importance, literally: the plants we choose should be suitable for dogs and cats. There are many plants that are not toxic, but many others areand in different degrees: from some irritation to much more severe problems. The good thing is that there is a lot of information and, although It is not the most reliable in the worldwe can always ask for advice from Chatgpt When we are in the nursery, even sending a photo of the plant To analyze it … Read more

The production of renewables in Europe is so strong that it is forcing nuclear power plants to work

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In Europe there is a division around the closure of nuclear. Some countries have already disconnected them at all, such as Germanyor are in the process of doing so, like Spain. Meanwhile, France keeps them as a pillar of its electrical system. However, the arrival of spring has evidenced something that was suspected: the rise of renewables have forced nuclear plants to stop. A lot of light and little demand. The production of renewable energy has saturated the electrical networks in several European countries. According to Bloombergthe immediate consequence has been the fall in electricity prices, which on holidays (Easter and Easter) and with low demand have even become negative. In Spain, five of the seven nuclear reactors They stopped or reduced their burden And, in the case of France, its electric company, known by its acronym EDF, has cut its atomic production in an average of 4GW daily in March, double a year earlier. Negative prices When talking about negative price it may seem that electricity will be free, but it is not. This means that the electric market, based on time auctions, can yield negative prices when there is too much supply and very little demand. In those hours, producers or electrical companies have to pay to place their energy on the network. Renewables, which have legal priority of access, continue to function. On the other hand, nuclear cannot lower their power so quickly and operate in these conditions, especially in countries such as Spain where the tax burden has increased by 71% since 2019, According to PWC. The clean boom. The rise of renewables is promoting many countries to operate with energy 100% cleanrecently Spain He joined this new coverage. Yes, it is true that the increase in installed total capacity has grown vertiginously in a few years, reaching almost 700 GW According to the Global Energy Review 2025. In this commitment to clean generation systems, storage systems also enters batteries either Reservoirsin addition to creating A good electric structuredespite the fear of companies around The uncertainty of the closure of nuclear. What about nuclear energy? If the nuclear operate less hours and with low prices, they lose profitability. And if they also have to stop and restart due to demand variations, costs rise and technical risks increase. As has detailed The New York medium, France, with 70% of its electricity still of nuclear origin, is seeing how that technical rigidity collides with a system in transformation. EDF has warned that frequent variations hinder maintenance and routine tests. Spain already has put closing date To all its reactors between 2027 and 2035, and other countries follow that path. Forecasts According to Staffan Bergh, chief analyst of Bodecker Partners: “We will see many more hours with negative prices, and these will only increase during spring.” In this line the analyst explained that it is not necessary to install more renewable, but in knowing how to use them well, manage them better and complement them with intelligence. Image |Nuclear forum Xataka | A Tesla co -founder has done business with tariffs: it extracts rare land from old batteries without going through China

If you talk to your plants even if everyone thinks you are crazy, science has something to tell you: you’re not so crazy

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When in January 2012, Risto Mejide said that of “You sing like a diva, but you move like a plant“I did not know that I was completely wrong. And not only for Natalia, the contestant of ‘You do vouchers’ to which he directed those pearls, but because, under that static appearance, the plants do not stop doing things. And not by chance, no. Plants are not only able to detect threats, but activate a whole series of defensive reactions that have intrigued scientists for decades. Everything starts with a bite. Heidi Appel and Rex Cocroft met at a seminar at the University of Missouri and, quickly, saw that His interests fit. Cocroft was one of the great experts in biotremology (the branch of biology that studies the role of vibrations and sound in life) and had been analyzing how insects use the stem of plants to communicate. Do you listen? Apple was an expert in ecological chemistry and listening to those recordings (specifically how the caterpillars of the butterflies of the Col bit tiny mustard plants) had an idea: what if the plants could listen to them? And if that explained that, suddenly, plants activated a whole series of physiological reactions to “attack” the caterpillars? Answering that question was not easy. We had to measure laser vibrations and try to understand what plants could really hear. On the other hand, we had to quantify “how plants care and how.” However, it was enough to measure in real time what happened to the first bite of an caterpillar to verify that, indeed, the plants listened. And not just that. “What is surprising and great is that these plants only create defense responses to feeding vibrations and not to wind or other vibrations in the same frequency as the chewing caterpillar,” Appel explained. They discovered that, in fact, it was enough to expose plants to the sound of chewing so that glucosinolate levels (that defensive response) triggered. Does this mean that putting music to plants is a good idea? No, it doesn’t mean that. “This field is somewhat obsessed with its history of putting music to plants. That kind of stimulus is so far from the natural ecology of plants that it is very difficult to interpret their answers,” Cocroft explained. What it really means is that what we usually think about plants is often wrong. A mistake that, little by little, we are waking up. Image | Annie Spratt In Xataka | We have found a plant capable of producing 40 cannabinoids. A closer plant evolutionarily to lettuce that to hemp

25% tariffs on cars are already translated into dismissals and plants at medium gas in Mexico

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One has a thousand ways of Spanish to search synonyms to talk about threats and continuing notices. That of “the wolf”, the pitcher and the fountain, to pull the rope … It will not be for stories, word games or metaphors. Exactly that is the risk that is run with the tariff war that Donald Trump has opened. Since he arrived at the White House, the new president of the United States does not stop launch threats of new tariffsincendiary messages against their own allies (or those that were considered allies until not so long) and more and more statements in which The same is attacked to Europeans than Mexicans and Canadians. And, along the way … little or nothing applicable. Because although the United States applies since April 2 A 25% tariff on cars that pass through their borders and the pieces that help manufacture them, as well as steel and aluminum (also Keys in the automotive industry). The caraded tariffs to these two neighboring countries They are suspended. On April 2 tariffs have been announced to almost the entire world. They should Enter into force on April 9. Yes, we talk about 20% of tariff to any European product and even the 10% tariff applied to an uninhabited island. Or at least Only inhabited by penguins and seals. But along the way, China has already sent a notice: if the tariffs continue, if there is no possible conversation, They will impose back 34% of tariffs to American products. It is the most forceful response that the United States has received so far. But it is not the only one. Because so much threat has consequences. Canada and Mexico already prove how their automotive industry can go through many problems. Some, in fact, are already specifying. The first consequences Until now, Canada and Mexico had been commercial partners. To the point that the Inflation reduction law promoted by the government of Joe Biden that prioritized tax incentives to companies that produced in the United States also contemplated that part of the production would take these two countries. In either of them it occurs A very high volume vehicular. Except Tesla (produces all its cars there) and Ford (77% of what it produces is manufactured in the United States). The rest import vehicles in a much higher amount. General Motors, for example, produces 30% in Canada and Mexico. Nissan 31% and Toyota 27%. With the aim of counteracting the coup, Canada has announced that it will also impose 25% of tariffs on US cars that do not comply with the T-MEC free trade agreement. Both countries, together with Mexico, had been subject to a reciprocal agreement for 60 years so as not to pay tariffs on the import and export of vehicles and promote a connected automotive industry. To understand to what extent the new relationship is complicated, in BBC They explain with a map the complex process since a piston of an engine is born until it is introduced into the cylinder. On the way, the piece crosses the United States to Canada, from Canada passes to Mexico and from Mexico returns to the United States where, it is finally mounted. Impose round trip tariffs It will make a product that has its consequences on employment and the volume of cars sold. Stellantis is one of the companies that has announced drastic measures. The first, the temporary retirement of 900 employees in the United States. They are people distributed by five floors that will cease their work assembling motor trains and trains for a decrease in production as a cause of tariffs. In addition, another 4,500 employees will be sent home in Ontario (Canada), where their factory will remain closed for two weeks. Mexico does not get rid because its Toluca plant (2,400 employees) will also be closed throughout the month of April. Despite being the least affected (taking into account exclusively the production of cars and not so much where the pieces they use), Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, already warned in February that “a 25% tariff at the borders with Mexico and Canada would open a hole in the US industry as we have never seen,” they collect in The New York Times. These pieces are, without a doubt, the part that most directly affects Spain. Our country had an important commercial partner in the United States when selling parts to produce cars. There 4% of them are exported but, above all, they take air to the paths that the trade war will take in Mexico where a good part of The largest Spanish companies are settled. The other way is to make the products more expensive, move there part of their production or, directly get them out. The latter is what they value in Mercedes that can Stop selling your Mercedes Gla. Small cars are more complicated to make profitable and would not be competitive if they face a 25%tariff. Volkswagen is in an extremely complicated position. 43% of their sales for the United States arrive from Canada and Mexico. Another 36% produce it in Europe, mainly. Only 21% of their sales there are produced within their borders. An option raised is to bring the most profitable vehicles to the plants they already have in the country. For the moment, Automotive News He assures that the German company has already ordered to stop its shipments from Mexico and Europe. And Toyota, who was already reducing its production, has also ordered to reduce the working hours at its Guanajuato (Mexico) plant, they point out in Bloomberg. The same path leads in Honda, where they also have conversations to reduce their production and, therefore, send workers home even if it is temporarily. Photo | Honda and Luis Ramirez In Xataka | The Spanish car will not suffer with 25% of the United States tariffs but with its consequences: a poorest Europe

The iPhone had no rival on Android. The iPhone 16e only plants a phone

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A mobile with just a camera and the front of the iPhone 13 for 709 euros, this is the iPhone 16E. A priori, they don’t seem the best sales arguments. Apple competes against itself in a market in which the iPhone 16 It can be purchased for new for 750 euros. But what happens if we are looking for alternatives on Android? The answer is simple: it is practically impossible to find a similar device. And it will not be because there are no good proposals in hardware, it is because 6.1 inches are a very rare exception. The clear rival. The 16E iPhone has its negative points but, even with them, it is still a 6.1 -inch phone. If we look for Android phones with high -end processor and this size … everything is a lot. The most similar would be a Google Pixel 8aa 6.1 -inch telephone with a panel with much more brightness (2,000 nits peak) and a 90 Hz soda rate. His G4 tensioner It is quite far in gross performance with respect to the A18 of the iPhone, but after having thoroughly tasted this device I can assure you that its performance is spectacular. It also has an ultra wide angle of relative quality, WiFi 6E and updates for five years. Clearly, the “Android iPhone” at a groundbreaking price: 399 euros. It is not small mobile time. High -end Android mobiles are tens, but beyond pixel 8a, not one meets the size requirement. High -end proposals in the second line, such as Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe either Xiaomi 14t They move away a lot from the 16E concept, with 6.7 -inch panels and much larger sizes. Nor is there color in regard to processor: Apple has done something very good with this phone, and is to provide it with the same chip of the iPhone 16. This means that it is, by far, the most powerful mobile in the range of the 700 euros. Apple keeps competing alone. Apple is, next to Google, the only company that continues to compete in high range with 6.1 inches phones. In fact, the Pixel 9 Pro He was one of the pleasant surprises of the year, since he finally put the last name “Pro” to a compact phone. Taking into account that The iPhone 15 is the best -selling mobile in the worldabove the pro max models, it may not be a bad idea to rethink if this concept of the compact mobile (not tiny, Like the extinct iPhone 13 mini) makes more sense than ever. What can I buy for 700 euros. Even so, if the budget is 700 euros and does not convince you the 16E iPhone (and you are willing to sacrifice size in exchange for better specs in fast charging, screen, more cameras, etc.), there are a few options that, in the moment in which we write this article, they are much cheaper. Image | Apple In Xataka | I want a small mobile: the best recommendations of compact mobiles from Xataka editors

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