Save the Cruces Trail and Panama Canal Watershed

Americas June 28, 2015 Water begins to fill massive Panama Canal expansion locks Water rush into the lower chamber of new 11-story locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal expansion. | Panama Canal Authority By Mimi Whitefield mwhitefield@MiamiHerald.com LinkedIn Google+ Pinterest Reddit Print Order Reprint of this Story Some 50,000 cubic meters of water per hour began to pour into the Panama Canal’s new Atlantic locks earlier this month, a sign that the massive project to expand the waterway is reaching its final stages. It took five days to fill the Atlantic locks, and then the Panama Canal Authority began pumping water into the chambers of the 11-story locks on the Pacific side of the canal in preparation for about four months of tests and inspections. It’s even chartering a ship so canal pilots will be able to get some real-life training on the new locks. “Filling the...

Nicaragua says study finds canal 'viable'; no details public   21 hours ago     MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — An environmental study has concluded a planned $50 billion canal across this Central American nation is "viable," officials said Monday, but without releasing details of the report. Canal Commission spokesman Telemaco Talavera said the next step is to submit the findings to an analysis conducted jointly with the Environment Ministry. He said the proposed 172-mile (278-kilometer) route for the canal has been determined to be the right one. Environmental activists, Nicaraguans who stand to be displaced and President Daniel Ortega's political opponents have criticized the project, including what they say has been a lack of transparency since it was first announced. Crews broke ground on access roads related to the canal in December, but have yet to start digging the waterway itself. Some experts doubt ...