Writer’s block; This Weekend There Will Be a Nationwide Massive Vaccination Campaign; Tropical Wave No. 1: Rain Surveillance Advisory Issued; Government Signs and Publishes Decree in Official Gazette Regarding Firefighters’ Promotions; These are Some of the Best Writing Tips I\’ve Seen.

Friday, June 02, 2023 Writer\’s block sucks.  It’s a good thing, I’m not a writer, eh?  This morning I had the opportunity to talk with two teachers from my boys’ school.  Both of them got bad grades on a final this semester and they requested a meeting with me.  With me??  Why me?  I’m the dad, go talk to the mom!  Anyways, we talked and I was intent on getting down to solving the problem.  But what I got out of the meeting was something better.  They both painted a picture of my kids as being good boys, very respectful and good natured in general.  Yes, I care about their grades, but screw that!  The best point of my day has been listening to someone of authority talk about how awesome my boys are (other than one bad test).  So I’m floating on cloud 9 today and no-one can take that away from me, not even writer’s block… TOP NEWS and TIDBITS: Yoli’s Wisdom GOVERNMENT DECLARES STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY Government declares State of Environmental Emergency. On Tuesday, May 30th, the State of Environmental Emergency was declared by the National Government in a Cabinet Council, due to the prolonged dry season experienced by the country. The climatic conditions affecting the world, such as high temperatures, evaporation, and lack of rainfall, are a prelude to the possible arrival of El Niño phenomenon, as reported by the Ministry of Environment. The Western region, located in the province of Chiriquí and a center of agricultural production in the country, is forecasted to experience a decrease in rainfall. Prior to the approval of the State of Environmental Emergency, a presentation on \”Scenarios of Climate Change: Vision 2030, 2050, and 2070\” was given to the State ministers by Dr. Ligia Castro, Director of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, and Eng. Berta Alicia Olmedo, Deputy Director of the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology. The Ministry of Agricultural Development, Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, Ministry of Environment, National Authority of Public Services, and the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama are the authorized entities to carry out the necessary special contracts to address the State of Environmental Emergency, according to the approved resolution. READ HERE: GOBIERNO DECLARA ESTADO DE EMERGENCIA AMBIENTAL PANAMA CANAL DOES NOT RULE OUT EXTREME MEASURES DUE TO DROUGHT The Panama Canal, as an extreme measure, would have to limit the transit of ships. The administrator of the Panama Canal, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, stated in a statement released on Thursday that, if the drought continues in the Central American country, they will have to decide, as an \”extreme measure,\” to limit daily transits through the canal from the current 36 vessels to a maximum of 28. \”The Panama Canal, as an extreme measure, would have to make the decision to limit the number of transits through the Panama Canal. Let\’s see what this means: currently, we transit between 35 and 36 vessels per day. We would have to reduce it to 32 to 28, those are extreme situations,\” Vásquez said in a video. This announcement comes in the same week when the Panamanian government declared a state of environmental emergency due to the prolongation of the dry season, which is causing water supply problems. The measure is based on the fact that high temperatures, evaporation, and lack of rainfall are precursors to the possible arrival of an El Niño phenomenon. The artificial lakes of Alhajuela and Gatun, which supply water to over half of the country\’s population and the Panama Canal, \”have been drastically reduced due to the prolongation of the dry season,\” according to the government\’s report. Years of warning The administrator of the Panama Canal, through which around 3% of global trade passes, stated that the \”climate emergency is a topic\” they have been warning about for many years. \”We simply never knew in which year a case like the one we are experiencing now would occur, but it could happen at any time. The last period of intense drought we had was in 2019-2020, and these cycles usually repeat once every five years. What we are seeing now is that it is repeating once every three years. That should alert us to the urgency,\” he emphasized. During the severe drought Panama experienced in 2019, the maximum draft in the neopanamax locks, which are used by vessels passing through the expansion inaugurated in 2016, temporarily decreased to 44 feet (13.4 meters), resulting in a drop in toll revenue. On April 19, the Panama Canal implemented its fifth draft restriction for neopanamax vessels, which are three times larger than those crossing the century-old locks, offering them a draft of 47.5 feet instead of the maximum allowed 50 feet, thus reducing cargo volume. According to Vásquez, the \”climate impact\” and its effect on water availability should be discussed, as it is a problem that affects various sectors such as agriculture and energy consumption. Guaranteeing water for 50 years In addition to ensuring that it uses \”less water per transit,\” the Panama Canal is awaiting the results of research work with which they hope to \”make a national proposal to resolve the water issue, at least in the operation of the Canal and human consumption, for the next 50 years.\” For now, one of the measures the Canal is implementing to reduce consumption, explained Vásquez, is to transfer \”water from one side of the lock to the other,\” as well as to \”schedule transits in such a way that\” they can reuse the maximum amount of water \”within each chamber to accommodate more vessels.\” The passage of ships through these locks occurs through the filling and emptying of water to allow the vessels to navigate through sections of different levels in the Canal. \”So far, transit has not been affected. The only early warning we have is the fact that fewer vessels are arriving in Panama. That is, we used to receive 40 arrivals every day, and now that number has