What can be done about the PANAMA CANAL?

[AviatorTom]

Climate Change is having a negative impact on the Panama Canal. Less rainfall in the area limits the amount of water the canal needs to operate its locks, causing the Panama Canal Authority to reduce the numbers of ships that use the canal (fewer lock operations). This has resulted in large backlogs of more than a hundred ships waiting to use the canal, which has negatively impacted global trade, and ultimately leads to increased prices for consumer goods.

What do you think can be done to help the Panama Canal reduce this crisis, which is only expected to get worse?

[Fireguy17]

We went through them on a cruise in Dec 22.

They were ass deep in water, and the amount that is stored there is staggering.

They do have ways to recycle most of the water but they didn't need to use it when we went through.

They are probably going to add a 3rd set of locks to handle the larger container ships, and the bridge in Panama city has to be rebuilt because it isn't high enough for some ships.

They screwed up when they built it.

Our ship had to go under during low tide and it wasn't one of the largest cruise ships.

The cost to go through is not cheap, 200, 300 thousand and higher, but it saves so much money in time lost, less loads a ship can haul in a year, fuel and labor costs, and weather issues that it is cheaper to go through the loss vs going around the horn.

[rigmarole]

All you have to do is relocate manufacturing to more favorable locations. Obviously when you try to manufacture too much in one location, there will be bottlenecks in logistics. It's pretty basic. Move operations away from China toward the USA and Mediterranean countries to meet local demands. Utilize advanced manufacturing methods to offset labor costs.

[rigmarole]

If you don't, then you gamble with the livelihood of your company as your shipments fail to reach markets in a reasonable time frame. There have been plenty of companies that have gone bankrupt because they couldn't get their product to market quick enough that they already manufactured in China and shipped to our shores. They had cans of products sitting on the docks and couldn't afford to get them off because of the timing and interest associated with that time delay...

[exitseven]

sounds like a win-win.

[purplepoppy]

Dig it deeper and let the oceans flood through or build another one next to it.
Just looked on my ship tracker app and your right things do look screwed up

[caring__1]

Sea level is about 20 cm higher on the Pacific side than the Atlantic due to the water being less dense on average on the Pacific side and due to the prevailing weather and ocean conditions. Therefore, the oceans can flood through only from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Also, the canal is already set up with parallel locks to allow ships to travel in both directions simultaneously. I don't see how either digging it deeper or building another one would be a cost-effective solution.

Maybe they can build a pipeline to move salt water from the Pacific side to fill the locks rather than rely on gravity flow of water from Gatún, Alajuela, and Miraflores lakes.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Nothing can be done, but reduce shipments.

Either by stop consuming as much,
or going more locally, in terms of agriculture and manufacturing.

Everything else, is no real longterm solution and even may worsen the situation for the following years.

[Anonymous]

It has been 20 years since I've been down in Panama. If I recall they had a dry season there and things did get quite dry and some of the lights went down some. I know people like Al Gore blows this thing out of proportion like the polar bears. Until he was exposed. I do know that the Al Gore's of the world are trying to blow things out of proportion and scare people. It could be and could not be until they are proven. Bunch of crazy doomsdays.

[msc545]

Since profits are apparently more important than mitigating the effects oclimate change, nothing can be done.

[Andres77]

If sea levels are rising how is this possible?

[Anonymous]

Genocide to reduce global overpopulation

Less customers equals less products so therefore less ships