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A consortium of environmental scientists has expressed strong concern about the impact of a controversial Central American canal across Nicaragua.
The path of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will cut through Lake Cocibolca (aka Lake Nicaragua), Central America's main freshwater reservoir and the largest tropical freshwater lake of the Americas; this plan will force the relocation of indigenous populations and impact a fragile ecosystem, including species at risk of extinction, according to Rice University environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez and other members of the consortium.
Alvarez is co-corresponding author of an article that includes 21 co-authors from 18 institutions in the United States and Central and South America who gathered at a multidisciplinary international workshop in Managua, Nicaragua, last November to discuss the project. The paper, titled "Scientists Raise Alarms About Fast Tracking of Transoceanic Canal Through Nicaragua," was published this week by the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science and Technology.
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-scientists-nicaragua-canal.html
[Abstract]: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b00215
[Source]: http://news.rice.edu/2015/03/04/scientists-question-rush-to-build-canal-2/
(Score: 5, Insightful) by GungnirSniper on Friday March 06 2015, @01:36PM
Yes, let's forever salinate that main freshwater reservoir because fresh potable water is so abundant. No siree, this can't be shortsighted at all.
It's like selling your rims to buy new tires, only they're the only rims you've got.
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by iwoloschin on Friday March 06 2015, @03:04PM
Water only flows downhill, so unless the lake is below sea level, I wouldn't worry about salt. I would be concerned about invasive species, oil and other hazardous wastes, and environmental destruction from the construction of the canal itself. Oh, and maybe North Koreans smuggling weapons through.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 06 2015, @03:25PM
I agree, the locks will keep excess salt out. But given the problems the great lakes in the US have had with stuff like zebra mussels I think lake cocibolca is going to be severely disrupted.