The Panama Canal is running dry. That's the U.S.'s fault and the U.S.'s problem

The Panama Canal is running dry. That's the U.S.'s fault and the U.S.'s problem

A slight competition between transit and human consumption.

That’s how Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, an official with the Panama Canal Authority, described a possible water crunch in the region as a historic drought threatens the trade route he oversees.

Although the canal connects two oceans, its operation depends upon fresh water from a nearby lake, which has been dwindling during a 20-year drought. As a result, there is not as much water for vessels to sail through — or for local communities to drink.
-------------------------------------


Evidence of human influence on climate change is so pronounced even Fox News moderators brought it up during the first debate of the Republican presidential primary season.

Sadly Vivek Ramaswamy provided the most memorable response: "The climate change agenda is a hoax."

What’s even sadder is he got a bump in the polls afterward.

Meanwhile Panama officials plan to spend $2 billion to redirect more rivers toward the man-made lake to supply the man-made canal. We’re changing the Earth and the atmosphere.

Some hoax.

The 50 million gallons of fresh water used to fill the locks of the canal are lost to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The fresh water sources involved with moving the vessels also supply drinking water for half the country. And diverting water will have repercussions on the ecosystem … if anyone still cares about that sort of thing.


-----------------------------------------------
Climate change deniers who prefer to look away are running out of places to look. For people in power in the U.S., that’s not only counterproductive but also immoral. Our economy has a direct effect on how fresh water is used in Panama. And remember, it wasn’t just American ingenuity that built the canal, but also American imperialism. Not until 1999 did we relinquish control.

Now changes in the climate — ones that U.S. industrialization and consumption fueled — may trigger a “slight competition” between transit and human consumption. Or between capitalism and humanity, as it ever was.

I’m not saying the answers are easy to find. But the least we can do is elect leaders who acknowledge we are part of the problem.

LINK