"The canal would allow passage for the largest ships on the water, but cut through wetlands, forests and the region's largest freshwater lake — and environmentalists worry about the consequences."

"In Nicaragua, preliminary work has begun on a canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This canal will be three times the length of Panama's and will cut through forests, wetlands and a giant inland lake. Backers say the project will create 50,000 jobs and double the size of Nicaragua's economy. But opposition to the waterway is growing...."

John Otis reports for NPR's All Things Considered February 26, 2015. [2]