Hot Water

Talk about scary. In a recent commentary in Nature Fredrick Kaufman discusses the impending commoditization of water. In a world with an ever-expanding population and ever-increasing desire for material goods, there is a growing realization that fresh water will become a limiting resource. Thus the Wall Street 'masters of the universe' are starting to consider how commoditize water resources and bring them into the global gambling casino of futures, derivatives, and credit default swaps. As Kaufman points out this has already been done with foodstuffs leading to recent successive waves of speculation-driven inflated food prices, particularly in less developed counties. 

If ever there was a need for good public policy this is it. Water needs to stay in the public domain and be regulated for the overall well-being of the population, not for the benefit of a greedy few.  

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v490/n7421/full/490469a.html