As my time in Panama comes to an end, I find myself wishing I could extend my stay, both to learn and to enjoy the hospitality that Panama has so kindly offered. Most obvious to my visit was the Panama Canal, something which I hope to continue to learn more about. As they finish the expansion project for the Miraflores Canal, ideally by 2014, I'm told. The new canal will allow ships 2x as large as those currently passing through and they will pay upwards of $1 million dollars for their voyage through the canal.
A video of one of the larger ships going through one set of locks. Those little locomotive-like machines are specially made for the canal to guide the ships through and cost $2.1 million each.
As I went through the Canal Museum, there seemed to be a shortage of information. Where was the land coming from for the new canal? Whose land was it? What were they doing to protect the environment? The fish, the birds, the monkeys?
An article and clip from AJE illustrate how big business is crushing the indigenous with little concern for taking their land.
A quick boat ride down the canal, once can see how polluted with pipes and machines, old and new, it had become. An example below.
An example of the pipes that line the new canal and what is pumped out of them, after it is blown up, crushed and sent through the system. And what does the museum tell you? Well, they have this nice sign I found on the 2nd floor (see below). But, that is about it. And as I ask various people about how the environment and indigenous communities are impacted, the response over and again relates back to business and how it will be good for the economy.
Floating down the canal, I had to blink at the sight of this, as it couldn't be real. Oh no, folks, it is! Meet the USS Independence, a whooping $704 million of your tax dollars went to build this, not including staff and upkeep and fuel. Oy, imagine how much fuel these battleships go through. If I'd have known how much they cost, I would have stolen my brother's battleship board and traded it in for my college education. Though the new ships are built to be "fuel efficient" following behind the battle ship was a fuel tanker.
There is much done here (and elsewhere!) in the name of business. Is it worth it, we should stop and ask ourselves.
Two impactful ventures I crossed paths with in my travels were the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, of which I visited the Punta Culebra site. With a goal of understanding biological diversity, through research and conservation efforts STRI works to increase the understanding of biodiversity in the tropics. Another area which I passed by (and many Panamanians spoke proudly of) was the City of Knowledge, which is housed in old US barracks. "In 1994, Panamanian industrialist Fernando Eleta Almarán proposed the creation of a Socratic Square, a center for knowledge exchange, in the so-called Reverted Areas, and turning what was then the Panama Canal College into the University of the Americas." The City of Knowledge has programs which focus on environment, sustainability and conservation, among other things.
I shall continue to learn, to listen and to live. And hopefully along the way do my part to make this world a more peaceful place.
A video of one of the larger ships going through one set of locks. Those little locomotive-like machines are specially made for the canal to guide the ships through and cost $2.1 million each.
As I went through the Canal Museum, there seemed to be a shortage of information. Where was the land coming from for the new canal? Whose land was it? What were they doing to protect the environment? The fish, the birds, the monkeys?
An article and clip from AJE illustrate how big business is crushing the indigenous with little concern for taking their land.
A quick boat ride down the canal, once can see how polluted with pipes and machines, old and new, it had become. An example below.
An example of the pipes that line the new canal and what is pumped out of them, after it is blown up, crushed and sent through the system. And what does the museum tell you? Well, they have this nice sign I found on the 2nd floor (see below). But, that is about it. And as I ask various people about how the environment and indigenous communities are impacted, the response over and again relates back to business and how it will be good for the economy.
Floating down the canal, I had to blink at the sight of this, as it couldn't be real. Oh no, folks, it is! Meet the USS Independence, a whooping $704 million of your tax dollars went to build this, not including staff and upkeep and fuel. Oy, imagine how much fuel these battleships go through. If I'd have known how much they cost, I would have stolen my brother's battleship board and traded it in for my college education. Though the new ships are built to be "fuel efficient" following behind the battle ship was a fuel tanker.
There is much done here (and elsewhere!) in the name of business. Is it worth it, we should stop and ask ourselves.
Two impactful ventures I crossed paths with in my travels were the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, of which I visited the Punta Culebra site. With a goal of understanding biological diversity, through research and conservation efforts STRI works to increase the understanding of biodiversity in the tropics. Another area which I passed by (and many Panamanians spoke proudly of) was the City of Knowledge, which is housed in old US barracks. "In 1994, Panamanian industrialist Fernando Eleta Almarán proposed the creation of a Socratic Square, a center for knowledge exchange, in the so-called Reverted Areas, and turning what was then the Panama Canal College into the University of the Americas." The City of Knowledge has programs which focus on environment, sustainability and conservation, among other things.
I shall continue to learn, to listen and to live. And hopefully along the way do my part to make this world a more peaceful place.
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