Keeping up with modernization

In our constantly changing world of the 21st century we are always looking for ways to make transportation of goods more efficient. Ships are continually being built larger in order to meet demands of consumers while minimizing the costs of transportation. As the transport vessels continue to grow, demands are placed on the ports that house the ships as well as the routes by which the vessels move.

Recently, there has been a push to add a third lock to the Panama Canal in order to meet demands of the daily transits that move through the canal. The decision lies in the hands of the Panamanians, since the control of the canal was handed over by the U.S. to Panama on December 31, 1999. If the third lock is added to the canal it will not only increase the amount of traffic that can move through the canal, but it will allow even the largest vessels to navigate the canal. (Full article)

I find that this article relates back to the selection from Hobsbawm's The World Unified. The world is constantly growing more integrated. The unification is achieved by standardizing networks simultaneously. The 92-year-old Panama Canal was not built for the large superships of today, therefore Panama is being pressured to modernize the canal. If Panama votes against the expansion of the canal they are at risk of losing much of the revenue that is generated by the canal because as more ships outgrow the canal shippers will seek alternate trade routes.