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Building a Dam in Gatun – On Dams (part 1)

It took nearly four decades, the lives of some 30,000 human beings and billions of US Dollars in current values to build; it was a source for heated debates and the kiss of death to some careers; it was rooted in vision – but took ample amounts of practicality to realize. You might know it simply as The Panama Canal – in a stretch of land not wider than 70 kilometers wide, humanity saw the opportunity to connect two great oceans – the Atlantic and the Pacific – and managed to cut the route by sea from California to Europe – by half.

The keystone of the canal is a dam that was the biggest ever to be built at the time – the dam near the small town of Gatun.
You are invited to hear a tale about politics, engineering, money and tons of controversy, which, a century on is all but forgotten.

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We wish to thank the Panama Canal Authority, whose records on the history of the Panama Canal’s construction provided great help in the crafting of this episode.

Research for this episode was done by Nate Nelson.

Audio segments used:

Panama Canal archive movie:

https://archive.org/details/0384_Panama_Canal_15_10_55_19#

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

https://freesound.org/people/thorvandahl/sounds/383314/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Amazing Plan:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100737

Amazing Plan Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Amazing Plan –  Distressed:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100738

Amazing Plan – Distressed Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Anguish:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=usuan1400047

Anguish Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Scheming Weasel Faster:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100085

Scheming Weasel (faster version) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Plucky Daisy:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100110

Plucky Daisy Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Local Forecast –  elevator:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300012

Local Forecast – Elevator Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The complex

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300025

The Complex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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“Water Makes the World Go ‘Round” – The Water Economy

Water is a global issue as much as it is a local issue.
Water is life – anyone will tell you that. However, when was the last time you thought about water and the role it plays in the global economy?

I am sure you can tell me the price of a used car but are you able to tell me the value (in real monetary terms) of the water you consume? in this episode, we take a deeper look at the water economy.

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Interviewed in this episode are:

Oded Distel – Head of Israel NewTech.

Dr. Xavier Leflaive – Principle Administrator, Water Team, OECD.

Paul O’Callaghan – Founder & CEO, BlueTech Research.

Henk Ovink – Special Envoy International Water Affairs, Government of the Netherlands.

Will Sarni – Water strategist and consultant.

Seth Siegel – Author of Let There Be Water.

Theme and music composed by Nir Sayag.

Posted on

“Water & Peace” – Hydropolitics

More often than not – water has been a source of deadly conflicts worldwide.
For example, the spark that ignited the Syrian civil war is attributed to the country’s poor management of its water sector.
Are we able – in this day and age, when water scarcity is a growing global phenomenon – to create a paradigm shift towards a water-based conflict resolution? this episode of Waterline focuses on hydro politics.

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Interviewed in this episode:

Oded Distel – head of Israel NewTech
Seth Siegel – author of Let There Be Water 
Dr. Tabea Stotter – ICPR 
Tami Shor – Senior deputy director general for regulation, Israeli Water Authority
Zohar Yinon – CEO of Hagihon – Jerusalem’s water and wastewater utility company. He was chosen as one of the 50 most impactful leaders in Water & Water management (global listing) for CSR Day 2018.

Theme and music composed by Nir Sayag

Additional music:
The Descent Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Modern Vibes Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Black Vortex” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/