running

literally running out of hot water by 2027

by

Brussels has started a new wave of rules designed to protect public health and harmonize standards throughout the Union, and the measure has put manufacturers, regulators and consumers alike on edge… while technicians discuss lists and scientific evaluations in offices and committees, workshops and assembly lines nervously observe the implementation schedule. Therefore, what on paper seems like an unimportant technical detail can lead to something much bigger. A bureaucratic failure. I told it this week the financial times. A cut in a technical list of authorized substances in the European Union – part of an ambitious reform to protect the quality of drinking water that comes into force in 2027 – has unleashed the real possibility that millions of Europeans will become face cold showers. Apparently an administrative omission hafnium and zirconiumkey elements in the enamelling of hot water tanks, do not appear among the recognized substances, and without that authorization more than 90% of current accumulators (water heaters) could be excluded from the European market. What in Brussels is a technical file translates into towns and cities with failing boilers, paralyzed factories and an immediate effect on prices and domestic supply if it is not urgently corrected. Why hafnium and zirconium matter. Hafnium and its “brother” zirconium are not accessories: they participate in the vitrification process inside the tanks and prevent the enamel from cracking. Without them, the protective cover of the tank comes off and the result is obvious and practical: water that does not heat up or premature losses of the equipment. Furthermore, these metals are also used in heat pump varnisha critical component in the thermal electrification that accompanies gas withdrawal. The Times remembered that putting them on the positive list is not a favor to the industry but rather a technical condition for the equipment to work and last as expected. The real economic cost. Replacing hafnium or zirconium with alternatives such as steel or copper would increase the manufacturing cost between four and five timesaccording to the manufacturers, an increase that would inevitably fall on consumers already affected by the energy crisis. For companies the ability to compete on price and supply product in Europe would be at risk facing non-EU rivals that do not face the same regulatory labyrinth, which increases the threat of relocation or loss of industrial investment on the continent. Complexity and absences. The episode reveals two institutional problems: on the one hand, the Commission’s regulatory roadmap did not precisely consider that hot water tanks are part of the drinking water circuit, and on the other, the mechanism to correct the oversight is slow and technocratic. The Commission maintains that it is the Member Statesthose who must notify the need to authorize these substances, and none has done so so far. There are alternative routes (toxicological applications or temporary national authorizations), but the industry considers them too slow and expensive to avoid an interim shortage. Solutions and limits. In practice, there are three exits: a rapid amendment at EU level to include hafnium and zirconium on the list, temporary national authorizations to sustain production while the European assessment is processed, and accelerated toxicological assessment procedures required by the Commission. Each option has its costs and trade-offs: the amendment requires political will and speed in Brussels, the national route can fragment the market and raise costs, and rapid scientific processes must preserve security without becoming an excuse for indefinite delays. In other words, none of the three are perfect, but inaction is possibly the worst alternative. What is at stake. If you also want, the problem is not only domestic or purely technical: it touches on the European ambition of decarbonize heating through heat pumps and electrical appliances. If the regulations induce manufacturers to abandon investments or produce outside the EU due to lack of certainty, the European energy transition would lose momentum and industrial sovereignty. Likewise, the error regulates a greater tension: how to make legitimate health standards compatible with the need to maintain strategic industrial chains and the competitiveness of the European productive fabric. Quick and coordinated correction. I remembered the medium in his report that the solution that best preserves public and private interests involves an expeditious correction in a community key accompanied by scientific safeguards: provisionally authorize use with technical conditions (traceability of supply, quality controls and periodic reviews), accelerate toxicological evaluations and, above all, establish a preventive mechanism for the Commission to integrate the voice of the industry in the technical lists when the standards touch critical industrial processes. Without this coordination, the regulatory shortcut not only aims to cause a equipment cost increase and job losses, but will send the wrong signal to investors considering returning production to Europe. That’s without taking into account the topic nuclearbecause the delay is not only technical, but tangible: it is the difference between a hot shower and a useless radiator. Image | Pixnio, PXHere In Xataka | We are the third country that takes the most showers in Europe. There are scientists trying to find out if this is good news In Xataka | There are people who want to change your life thanks to a cold shower: what science says

CUDA is the standard that grips the world and Nvidia is the only company with chips capable of running it. Until now

by

Goal will acquire rivos, a Californian startup specialized in the design of chips based on RISC-Vaccording to sources of Bloomberg. In addition to the capabilities of its chips, the operation is part of a broader strategy: free itself from the NVIDIA dependence and thus take control of its infrastructure for artificial intelligence without its chips. What is at stake. Throughout these last years, Nvidia has dominated the GPUS market For the thanks to CUDAits owner development platform that has become the de facto standard to train and execute artificial intelligence models. Today, we have reached the point that whoever wants to make a large scale needs Nvidia chips, and that gives the company a huge market power, since they put the necessary hardware for an industry in which everyone wants to enter. Goal, despite having some of the best open models in the sector with Callskeep spending billions annually in Nvidia hardware. The strategic movement. With rivos, goal not only buys a company, buy an alternative to the current technological stack. The startup Develop GPUS and RISC-V-based acceleratorsan open source architecture standard that threatens the traditional X86 (Intel and AMD) and ARM. Goal already works in its own internal chip, the goal Training and Inference Accelerator (Mtia), designed next to Broadcom and manufactured by TSMC, but the advances are not as fast as Zuckerberg would like. According to sources cited by Bloombergthe CEO would have been actively looking for market reinforcements to accelerate development. It is not the only one. Goal adds to a career in which their technological rivals already have an advantage. Google has His tpusAmazon has Trainium and Microsoft has developed Maia. The AI ​​war does not win only with the best models, but also With the chip that executes them And goal, despite being burning hundreds of billions of dollars in AI, it was staying behind in this front. The context. Rivas acquisition is not an isolated movement. Target there was already tried to buy furiosaaia South Korean startup specialized in chips to train AI systems, but the offer of 800 million dollars was rejected. In addition, the company has recently announced An investment of 29,000 million dollars To build a huge data center in Louisiana and plan to spend up to 72,000 million this year on infrastructure related to AI. The RISC-V challenge. Rivas represents an ambitious bet. Although RISC-V has not yet managed to penetrate massively into US data centers (its presence is mainly limited to microcontrollers and IoT devices), its potential is undeniable. China is already launching tablets and laptops with this architecture. If Meta manages to develop an AI accelerator based on RISC-V capable of replacing The NVIDIA H200 In its internal operations, it would be a considerable blow for the dominant standard. Cover image | Nvidia and Goal In Xataka | Openai has just presented Sora 2 with a Tiktok -style app. This is outlined a new wave of viral videos

If after running you feel "In a cloud" You are not alone and it has a name: it is the "Upon of the corridor"

by

Running is a healthy exercise that can help improve the health of our heart, our lungs, or our state in a general way. But running has other advantages, and one of them has to do with the pleasant sensation that seizes us at the end of the exercise, a feeling of being “in a cloud” and that we could say is similar to a “colocon.” Only that is exactly that, a “colocon.” The detail is not trivial. For a while we think the “rush of the corridor” (Runner’s High In English) it was caused by endorphins, but now the focus of experts It focuses on another group of hormonesendocannabinoids (ECB), as responsible for this sensation. Parallelism between the names of endorphins and endocannabinoids It goes beyond the shared prefix. The prefix in question refers to the fact that these are compounds that our own body synthesizes internally, which distinguishes these similar ones that we obtain externally. So, Endocannabinoids They are molecules produced by our body and that are able to activate the cannabinoid receptors of our cells, the same receptors as to those who attach the THC or the CBD present in the marijuana. If ECBs are internal cannabinoids, Endorphins They receive their name from morphine. The function of these compounds is to serve as internal analgesics that our body secretes under certain conditions. In Xataka At 34ºC, ten more beats per minute: the effect of heat on our heart rate when playing sport in summer One of these cases is exercise. According to the neuroscientist David Linden In a publication In the blog of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, when we run, our body responds with a series of changes: our breathing is altered, our pulse accelerates … We need more oxygen to develop this activity and our body works to provide it. But there is more. Exercise also makes our body begin to secrete endorphins. Details that, for a long time, we assume that these compounds were Behind the “Away of the Corridor”but something does not fit: the endorphins are transported by the bloodstream to relieve muscle pain, but they are unable to reach the brain due to the presence of the hematoencephalic barrier, a retaining wall that prevents certain compounds from reaching the brain. Endorphins cannot skip this wall, but endocanabinoids do. Confirming suspicion A study published in 2021 In the magazine Psychoneuroendocrinology He suggested that endocanabinoids were “better candidates than endorphins to explain the ‘rush of the corridor’ in humans.” The team used opioid receptor blockers to try to rule out the effect of endorphins, after which it ran to a group of participants in order to verify that the blockade of these receptors did not reduce the sensations of euphoria and reduction of anxiety in the participants. For now it is little that we have discovered about the relationship between endocannabinoids and exercise. A review of literature published in 2022 In the magazine Neuroscientist This would suggest it. The review found 14 studies that after an intense session of exercise, the ECBs increased in our bloodstream; At the same time that four other studies found indications that, after long -term exercises, the presence of these compounds fell. The conclusion: we need investigate more Regarding this relationship. {“Videid”: “X83E1W0”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “Postural exercises for those who spend many hours on the computer Avoid back pain!”, “Tag”: “”, “Duration”: “445”} With or without endocannabinoides, going to run is usually a good idea. Our cardiorespiratory health is the great beneficiary of this type of physical activity and this is reflected in the data: running can extend our life expectancy. Running is not only important for physical health, but also for Mental health. This exercise It has been linked With advantages such as improving the ability to concentrate, less irascibility or a better sleep, among others. Understand whether there is a relationship between the “rush of the corridor” and these benefits are also a reason for study for those who investigate the neuroscience of this popular sport. In Xataka |To the big question of whether you can lose weight, science has an answer. And it has everything to do with genetics Image | Bohle tremble (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news If after running you feel “in a cloud” you are not alone and it has a name: it is the “climb of the corridor” It was originally posted in Xataka by Pablo Martínez-Juarez .

They are running out of drivers, literally

by

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

We are running out of a key material to build roads and homes. And the guilt has the war in Ukraine

by

In the middle of the month of May a photo seemed to have sneaked between the “normality” of some remote roads from Teruel. The constant coming and going of loaded trucks up to clay He had the answer to thousands of kilometers, in the epicenter of the war in Ukraine. The shortage of the material because of the conflict had found a solution in southern Europe. But now it is, perhaps, more dangerous. We are running out of TNT. From the boom to the agency. I told it a few hours ago The New York Times. For more than a century, Trinitrotoluene (TNT) was a pillar of the American military and civil industry, with millions of tons produced for The two world wars and the second half of the twentieth century. Cheap and abundant (it cost just 50 cents per pound), it became key input for projectiles, pumps and the construction of roads, infrastructure and homes. The problem? That its production generated highly toxic waste, which led to the closing of the last national plant In the eighties. Since then, Washington became dependent on foreign suppliers, mainly in China, Russia, Poland and Ukraine, which assumed the environmental costs of their manufacture. The impact of war. The Russian invasion in 2022 transformed that scheme. The United States stopped recycling explosives of obsolete arsenals, by deciding allocate your production to kyiv. At the same time, Russia and China They cut Exports to the West, leaving the American industry without access to its usual sources. Thus, the European conflict triggered a World TNT scarcity with direct consequences for arms production and, very important, also for civil sectors such as mining and construction. Effects. The lack of TNT Threat with slowing down Infrastructure projects, from roads and bridges to the supply of cement and basic materials. He underlined the Times that the usual procedure in quarries (where minimal loads of TNT detonate ammonium nitrate mixtures with other compounds) has been affected by the reduction of supplies. The use of drones, 3D scanners and digital calculations allows more precise and safe explosions, capable of moving More than 100,000 tons of rock in a single shot, but without TNT the processes lose efficacy, which raises costs and threatens the availability of raw materials. The United States response. Given the shortage, Congress approved the construction of a new TNT plant in Kentucky, with a Budget of 435 million of dollars. It is planned to start operating in 2028, but, and very important, it will only produce for military use, without supplying the civil sector. No doubt, this reflects a clear priority: ensure the autonomy of the military-industrial complex against external dependence, although leaving without immediate solution the problem of extractive and construction industries. In parallel, the pentagon works in Diversify suppliers and increase the internal production of other explosives and propellant. Alternatives and scenarios. At present, the industry seeks substitutes such as The Petn (Tetranitrate Pentaeritritol), which is already manufactured in three US facilities, although its capacity is limited and it is not clear if it can be climbed quickly. Meanwhile, the country’s army has given signs of having assured Additional TNT sources out of Poland, although Without revealing details. In any case, the situation raises a strategic dilemma: the dependence on obsolete material but irreplaceable in many processes, whose absence threatens both the war capacity and the stability of basic sectors of the economy. TNT’s scarcity exposes, one more timehow a distant war can disrupt critical supply chains and force industrial powers to rethink their energy, technological and military security. Image | Operational Command “West” In Xataka | Ukraine has entered a phase so deranged with the drones that his drones are knocking themselves to themselves In Xataka | Someone has taken a look at Russia’s satellite images and has discovered something: it is running out of tanks

Windows 10 is one step away from running out of support. Almost half of the world’s computers continue to trust him, even more

by

In just over 40 days, Windows 10 will stop receiving patches and security updates. Microsoft will thus mark the end of support for an operating system that still Almost half of the global market dominates (In Spain, 54%). Windows 11 It has been in the market for several years, but the change has been slower than expected. The countdown is still underway And millions of users apparently have not yet decided how to face the jump before October arrives, although those willing to pay may keep it with extra support. What real options now has the standard user The end of support does not mean that your computer stops working, but it is more exposed. Microsoft offers three main outputs: Make the leap to Windows 11. If your PC has the necessary hardware, the update is free and guarantees updates and new functions. The equipment that does not meet requirements will have to be renewed to continue protected. Pay for extended updates (ESU). With this plan they continue to receive security patches paying an annual fee. It is designed to win margin, not to stay indefinitely in Windows 10. Keep Windows 10 or explore alternatives. Install Linux or using the system without support in controlled environments is possible, but requires assuming risks and planning in the medium term. Compare the situation of Windows 11 with that of its predecessors helps to understand if this slow change is an exception or simply history that is repeated. According to statistaat three years and ten months of life Windows 11 is around 49% of the global market. Windows 10, at that same age, had reached about 57%, and Windows 7 moved in even higher figures, around 61%. At the opposite end, Windows 8.1 barely reached 10%, a reflection of his warm welcome. These data draw a clear pattern: Windows 11 progresses more slowly than its successful predecessors, but leads widely against Windows 10. Everything indicates that the hardware barrier, which leaves millions of old teams out, explains a good part of this rhythm. It is not that users resist by custom, but that the jump to the new generation implies more effort than ever, and that shows in global and European figures. The slow advance of Windows 11 is better understood when looking at the requirements imposed: TPM 2.0 and a closed list of processors leave out millions of computers that were runnings 10 without problems before. For many users, update implies renewing the equipment, and that slows the transition. There are unofficial methods to install Windows 11 on non -compatible PC, But doing so entails risks. The result is a slower adoption and a Windows 10 that is still very alive at the doors of its end. Microsoft Operating Systems Market share at a global level Europe and Spain advance to another rhythm. While the global average shows that Windows 11 is already present in almost half of the teams, in the old continent Windows 10 maintains more than 53% quota and Windows 11 is around 43.9%. Spain follows that same pattern (54% in Windows 10 and 42.61% in Windows 11), with practically traced figures. ANDThe result is a photograph other than the global: Here the version jump progresses more slowly and Windows 10 is still the protagonist at the doors of its support end. Microsoft operating systems market share in Spain Update resistance is not unpublished either, although the current context has nuances. Windows 7 reached its support end in January 2020 with a still significant presence, around 27% of the global market, but already surpassed long by Windows 10. Today the situation is different: Windows 11 leads, but Windows 10 retains almost half of the teams, just over a month of running out of patches and official support. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | If you have an old PC, there is an effective alternative against the requirements of Windows 11 and the Bloatware: Flyoobe works

There are already robots running 1,500 meters at 13 kilometers per hour. It is the result of China’s robotic muscle

by

Last weekend, Beijing hosted the first “Olympic Games” for humanoid robots. Held in the National Speed Skating Ovalthe Olympic track built for the 2022 winter jjo, the three -day event allowed the attendees to see football, table tennis, boxing, martial arts and Athletics tests. In tests and exhibitions They participated dozens of Humanoid robots belonging to both private companies from 16 countries and 280 teams from universities and, although there were more or less fun moments, which has gone around the world is that of the Unitree robot on the athletics track. We can see it in this video: In this competition, the robots were not in their air, but were being operated by humans with remote control. That does not take merit to the fact that Unitree’s H1 model I got a speed record when completing 1,500 meters in a time of 6 minutes and 34 seconds. Its speed reached 4.78 m/s, exceeding the previous 3.3 m/s mark that held a few months ago and eclipseing the 2.5 m/s that the Boston Dynamics Atlas. And, in context, although it is much slower than Jakob IngebrigstenNorwegian that has the 3: 29.63 mark, it was also faster than many non -professional humans. But what is giving what to talk about, for the “fun” of the moment, was when that same H1 he ran over an operator of another robot who, Next to the Unitree model, I had nothing to do. In the end, as the human operators run next to their robot, when they relieve the control, the H1 operators mislead for a moment and ended up overwhelming the rival. Yellow card, if they ask me. But here the interesting thing is that these Olympics for robots, more than something fun or colorful, was a muscle demonstration to the entire world. That the ‘gag’ does not prevent seeing the forest Robots such as those of Unitree have artificial intelligence systems, and even internal language models, to perform the actions for which they have been trained. H1, without going any further, has been trained with a Honor property. The ‘ruling’ in the 1,500 meters test that resulted in the outrage was due to what was commented: they were not autonomous, but controlled by an operator. However, these Olympics served to demonstrate the versatility of a new generation of robots in which many countries have interest, but that China has become a national priority. The Asian giant is following an extremely ambitious national strategy with a goal: to become a world leader in short -term humanoid robotics. With the so-called ’14th Five-Year Plan for The Robotics Industry’, the government He set goals in 2021 with the idea of annual growth of more than 20% in the robotics sector. This year the First national standards For these robots, a regulation that covers from environmental perception and movement control to the planning and execution of tasks. And, for all this, it has created a state fund of almost 140,000 million dollars for technological startups, and Unitree is one of the spoiled by the Government. HE wait that the country produces more than 10,000 humanoid robots this 2025 and even They are creating “schools” in which these machines are trained in specific tasks such as cleaning, kitchen or series manufacturing. The purpose is that they are capable of perform tasks that require fine mobility. In the “Olympics”, apart from more conventional sports tests, medication classification tournaments, material manipulation and cleaning were held. Come on, it was a window for companies to show achievements that are going to leave in all media, such as the Unitree record, but also to be seen to what extent is the specialization of these robots. China considers that these humanoid robots are “The next great technological revolution” After smartphones and electric vehicles, and are an essential tool in the industry, but also to compensate for the Demographic decrease of some countries who are suffering to find workers in certain sectors. And there are several cities in which universities and startups are investigating in humanoid robotics, but the hard core of investment and leadership in China is made up of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Suzhou and Guangzhou, agglutinating the largest number of companies and industrial parks for the development of robotic projects. In the end, the ‘World Humanoid Robot Games’ or events such as the Robot World Football World or the Boxing championshipsThey are nothing more than a showcase to test the abilities of robots that, in China they are already living with humans. For example, the Roboperros Guide for blindthose who are “living” in the subway distributing packages to feeding stores or those who perform tasks of Hospital care and care for older people. Returning to the Olympics, the most amazing thing is that Unitree ensures that those 4.78 m/s of their H1 have already been surpassed in internal tests. Images | UNITREE In Xataka | Given the irremediable aging of its population, China has made a family decision: up the retirement age

We are running out of beaches on the planet. And we don’t realize because they are filling them at an indecent price

by

There is something much worse than the appearance of algae either Fecal matter On the beaches. Even above of systematic “theft” That is being done on the coasts to continue raising brick, there is a silent reality whose ending is a scenario where, directly, we run out of beaches on the planet. That process is not just happening, we are spending a fortune at all. Global threat. I told this week The Financial Times In an extensive report. Rodanthein the Outer Banks of North Carolina, exemplifies the serious erosion suffered They have collapsed at sea. The problem, aggravated by more intense storms, strong tides and the rise in the level of the sea associated with climate change, is now amplified by a critical factor: the Sand scarcityresource that acts as a natural barrier to floods and temporal, but whose growing demand (especially For construction) it more expensive and limits its availability. The (no) trick. He method More common to stop erosion has been the “beach regeneration”, moving sand From other points, but in Rodanthe the initial cost would exceed 40 million dollarssomething unassumable for the municipality. This leaves as options the planned withdrawal of infrastructure or resistance until the waves dictate the end. Erosion as a structural challenge. Of course, there is a lot more. Cities such as Miami, Barcelona or the Australian Gold Coast face constant sand losses that threaten their beaches, vital for tourism and local economy. In Barcelona, erosion annual 30,000 m³ It is aggravated with each temporary, and although dikes and breakwaters have been added, the setback continues. In the Gold CoastCyclone Alfred in March started so much sand that left stretches of the retaining wall; Restoring the coast will cost three years and 40 million Australian dollars. The dilemma It is global: 10% of the population lives less than 5 km of the coast and urbanization slows the natural flows of sand, aggravating the problem. Rodanthe Steal sand. And yes, even scientists already They have warned On several occasions that sustaining beaches artificially is increasingly difficult and extremely expensive, and that in some cases it would be more sensible to allow the coastline to migrate inland, although socially and politically complex. Gold Coast The dilemma of providing sand. Regeneration It has advantages in front of rigid structures such as retaining walls, which can intensify erosion in adjacent areas. However, it is temporary and its duration depends on local geology, climate and human pressure: some beaches require new contributions every two years, others last a decade. In the United States, where it has been applied for a century, they have been treated almost 600 beachesreaching a maximum of 50 million m³ in 2019. The problem? That the search for proper sand It is complicated: In North Carolina, local reserves are exhausted, in Miami transport is used from inside, and environmental objections, such as marine habitats, delay projects. Plus: Powerful storms can erase millionaire investments. Perspectives and answers. In places with moderate erosion or abundant reserves, such as the Netherlands, regeneration is a State policy: The country invests the 0.3% of your GDP Annual in flood risk management and has 12 million m³ of sand available every year, sufficient to protect entire cities. On the other hand, in areas with severe erosion and overflowing costs, planned withdrawal can be the only viable output, implying controlled expropriations and demolitions. The Times told that in Rodanthe, the National Parks Service acquired and demolished two houses valued in millions to return the land to public use, but There are no funds For more purchases. Many residents, aware of living in the “land of changing sands”, assume that the sea will gain ground and prepare to sell when the water reaches wetlands. Battle against time (and economy). In short, the Sand scarcityits increase and the increase in coastal erosion draw a future in which to keep the current beaches looks like it is unfeasible for many communities. Although Regeneration It remains the preferred option to protect local properties and economies, its physical, financial and environmental limits. rethink strategies. The dilemma between spending more and more to contain the sea or yield terrain to nature will mark the future of much of the inhabited coasts, and the margin of maneuver is narrowed as the climate and the demand for sand accelerate the process. Image | Pxhere, Public Domaine, Petra In Xataka | Xàbia set out to end cao chaos and bathers in his most famous coves. Did not go as expected In Xataka | There is only something more abundant than tourists on Spanish beaches: Asian algae are becoming a huge problem

A Spanish C15 that was born for the field and ended up running next to porch

by

Who has not ever felt the impulse to buy a Citroën C15. This mythical French van has been the pillar of the agricultural industry of Spain for 40 years, and at the same time it is Focus of memes and jokes to each more hilarious. I am sure that many have had that crush with a classic car and we have thought about “I buy it now.” It happened to me with a Citroën Xantia Activabut I have not finished consummating. Gerard, a 20 -year -old Spanish boy, not only got carried away by a “heated” when buying a C15, but has put it in mythical nurburgring circuit. But his story began a couple of years ago, when he needed a car to participate in a Rally by Morocco. And far from more exotic alternatives, he chose a C15 that already has little of his soul from C15: he set up a new engine that elevates its power above 100 hp. And, for a 1985 C15 whose most powerful original engine had 69 hp, that is, a lot. And has taken her to her new natural territory: Nurburgring. A championship C15 for 200 euros … that reaches 200 km/h In This video From Axel Espxnur we are presented to Gerard Casals. Now he is 20 years old, but at 18 he bought a C15 for just 200 euros, with just over 200,000 kilometers and got the impossible: break the engine. This is curious because the C15 is the object of both jokes and admiration, precisely for its resistance and mechanical reliability. In fact, Gerard says that, with all that way behind him, he had not had Not an oil change. The reason that led him to buy this concrete model was the budget, but also because in conditions as hard as those of a rally in Morocco, reliability is needed and, above all, mechanical simplicity. If something breaks, You have to be able to fix it easily. His model was the 60 hp, less than the most powerful that could be bought, but when breaking the engine, he thought to replace it with one that would raise the characteristics of the van. Which? A 1.900 CC 100 hp turbod. taken directly from a Corttoën Xsara. In the axel video we can see that the engine has little to do with that of the original C15. It was not as simple as removing an engine and putting another, since some aspects of the interior had to be realistic, setting up the admission of a Nissan Terranonew sleeves, new water pump and more generous wiring. 100 hp XSara engine within C15 | Axel Spxnur video screenshot With that new heart, and with its barely 750 kilos of weight, its C15 reaches a maximum speed of 200 km/h. “Everything moves, in the end it is a car that has nothing insulating and is more thought for the field than for the road,” he says. The gearbox is also Xsara, five -speed. Consumption? Less than six liters. In fact, he affirms that, from Barcelona to the Nurburgring circuit, he has not needed two deposits. They are 1,200 kilometers. Apart from the engine, there are another series of modifications that make this C15 a real beast not to load melons, but for more demanding roads. The subbase is that of the original ‘van’, but has Koni shock absorbers, new brake tweezers and a 165/70/r14 tire for circuit. To go somewhat more comfortable, it has bmw seats with electronic regulation, but the interior is a sheet, as in the original. Run. “The French go crazy” Casals states that the first round in the circuit woke up laughs. He saw how cars much more thought out for this environment, they spent the stickers, but have taken many photos and what “The French go crazy”. And it is not for less, since the car draws a lot, a lot of attention. In the 7:47 minute of the Axel video we can see the van rolling in the asphalt of ‘Green Hell’. In another video of the YouTuber Misha Charoudin, we can see another round with the C15, but with An interesting added: the speedometer. If you have ever ridden in a C15, you will know that the needle is not so agile when climbing, but in the case of this modified C15, it is a show. There are times when you see the tires scream and give you a loose laugh because, obviously, it is out of its natural environment, but the truth is that Gerard’s, although very interesting in the modifications he has made It is not even the first C15 nor, above all, the first ‘weird’ vehicle that can be seen in Nurburgring. For the German asphalt we have seen KARTSa DHL distribution van, caravans, limousines, a scooter and people who directly go with a BMW with Baca and a couple of bicycles coupled. Of everything except aerodynamic. But for many oddities that we see in ‘Green Hell’, surely few reinvent a classic like Gerard’s C15. Images | Axel Espxnur, Misha Charoudin In Xataka | A millionaire ran out of a card and unable to use its supercar: its own nürburgring was built in the garden

Stress for not running out of rare earth is dominating technological ones. Apple has just spent 500 million

by

Apple has signed An agreement with MP Materialsa US mining company, to ensure the supply of magnets made of rare earths over the next few years. The company led by Tim Cook will invest 500 million dollars In this company with the purpose of eliminating its current dependence on Rare earth from China. However, the supply of rare land magnets of American origin will begin in 2027. This strategic decision is Apple’s response to two needs. The most obvious is that those of Cupertino need to have access to rare earth magnets without being conditioned by The iron control that China currently exercises on the global supply chain of these chemical elements. In addition, its investment in MP Materials has been very well received by the administration of Donald Trump as part of the commitment acquired by Apple at the end of last February. And is that on the 24th of that month the Cupertino announced that will invest 500,000 million dollars During the next four years in the US and will create 20,000 new jobs. In any case, this scenario invites us to ask us two questions. On the one hand it is important to identify why rare earth magnets are so important for Apple and other technology companies. And it is also crucial that we know how China has achieved dominate in such a forceful way the global supply chain of rare earths. Rare earths are essential to make advanced technology “Rare earth materials are fundamental to producing advanced technology, and our association with MP Materials will help strengthen the supply of these vital elements here, in the United States,” has declared Tim Cookthe Director General of Apple. Permanent magnets made with rare earths, such as neodymium or samarium-colto, are very attractive for electronic devices manufacturers because they have high magnetic force, great resistance to demagnetization and high thermal stability, among other remarkable qualities. In fact, they are not essential only for the electronics industry; They also have a leading role in the sector that is dedicated to the manufacture of electric cars, in the aeronautical and in the advanced armament production industry. The problem for the US and its allies is that currently the rare earth supply chain It is almost completely controlled by China. This Asian country produces 70% of rare earths and controls 90% of the processing industry of these chemical elements. Rare earth magnets are very attractive due to their high magnetic force, great resistance to demagnetization and high thermal stability On April 4, just 24 hours after Donald Trump announced the taxes that he was going to apply to the importation of most products from abroad, The administration led by Xi Jinping responded. And he did it forcefully. In early December 2024 He chose to prohibit The export of some critical minerals to the US, among which were three essential metals for the chips industry: Gallium, Germanio and Antimony. Shortly after the Chinese government added two more critical metals to its list of export restrictions: the Scandio and the Disposio. These chemical elements are probably less known than metals prohibited by China previously, such as Gallium or Germanio, but are at least as important as the latter because They have a fundamental role In the industries of integrated circuits, telecommunications and the manufacture of storage devices. The ability to put pressure from China had not yet been extinguished. Just ten days later, on April 14, the Administration did not hesitate take another step forward With the purpose of putting in check, in addition to the industries that I just mentioned, those of electric cars, aeronautics and advanced armament. To achieve this, it effectively suspended, in addition to the export of the most valuable rare earths, that of high -power magnets that have a critical role in the industries that I have cited in this same paragraph. This is the context in which MP Materials has erected as a crucial actor for the US. And this mining company is the owner of the only site in this country that contains some of the rare earths necessary to manufacture high -power industrial magnets. This is the reason why it has become A very valuable strategic resource For the country led by Donald Trump. The US plan pursues Develop your own supply chain of rare earths with the purpose of eliminating any dependence on the global market of these chemical elements. Image | Daniel L. Lu More information | Reuters In Xataka | The US will not be able to contain the technological development of China. Experts from the chips industry forecast it

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

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

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

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