"By the end of this year, digging could begin on a waterway that would stretch roughly 180 miles across Nicaragua to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans."
Kendra King's insight:
Form the perspective of the Nicaraguan Government, this project is a chance to get ahead economically regardless of the consequences to the environment and its population. As the article mentions, this is the second poorest country in the region, but the project could triple the economy's growth and strengthen employment. As a government leader who wants to be a more powerful country, a few causalities on the quest to economic prowess is nothing. Especially because the government doesn't really have any other alternative ways to expand the economy that quickly with so much potential success.
I think this project is part of a common trend seen throughout this class. When I read this it reminded me of the workers safety video in which Chinese companies let their employees jump on a crane without safety gear in order to cheaply complete a project. Or how China allows their factories to run despite the mass pollution the industry is causing. It isn't like China is the only country to ever cut corners either. Before the US and Europe become switch from the industrial sector to the service sector, these countries employment laws and environmental laws were horrible (some could argue they still are actually). One of the scientist in this article, Myers, even touched on this point by saying he "there’s a touch of hypocrisy in outsiders from industrialized countries preaching environmental purity." Hypocritical or not, I really wish countries would learn the harm that came from the actions past industrial societies took to get ahead. Although, given the government's stance on this project, I really don't think that was the lesson learned.
As a citizen of Nicaragua this is incredibly worrisome. Their is the potential that the ecosystem is disturbed, which would have many unpredictable consequences. Furthermore, the drinking supply could be destroyed. Since this area is already poor, the families of this area would have a hard time just up and leaving their homes. So for the sake of the citizens, I really hope that if the project moves forward there won't be many adverse complications.