Panama Scrambles to Save Its Canal and Keep Global Trade Humming

A few hundred feet from the massive ships hauling goods across the globe, gaunt tree stumps rise above the waterline. They’re a visible reminder of how parched conditions have crippled the Panama Canal — a waterway that handles $270 billion a year in global trade. And there are no easy solutions. The Panama Canal Authority is weighing potential fixes that include an artificial lake to pump water into the canal and cloud seeding to boost rainfall, but both options would take years to implement, if they’re even feasible.