Oil isn't the only precious fluid we're running low on:
The Future Is Drying Up
New York Times
October 21, 2007
...
(Nobel Laureate Stephen) Chu noted that even the most optimistic climate models for the second half of this century suggest that 30 to 70 percent of the snowpack will disappear. “There’s a two-thirds chance there will be a disaster,” Chu said, “and that’s in the best scenario.”...
Meanwhile, the developers keep building, and new golf courses keep popping up in desert communities. And it isn't just the West, either:
Georgia Declares State Of Emergency Over Drought
By REUTERS
Published: October 21, 2007
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia has declared a state of emergency over its worst drought in decades and appealed to President George W. Bush for federal aid, newspapers said on Sunday.
I doubt the "free market" will solve this one.(More Below)
Update [2007-10-21 22:20:33 by RepubAnon]: The reason I say the "free market" likely won't get us out of the water crunch isn't that I'm against markets - I'm against using unregulated markets subject to manipulation for allocating vital commodities. REGULATED markets designed to maximize efficiency are different. Here's a typical scenario of the "free market" operating in an unregulated environment:
Energy Traders Avoid Scrutiny
As commodities market grows, oversight is slight.
By David Cho
The Washington Post
Sunday 21 October 2007
One year ago, a 32-year-old trader at a giant hedge fund named Amaranth held huge sway over the price the country paid for natural gas. Trading on unregulated commodity exchanges, he made risky bets that led to the fund's collapse - and, according to a congressional investigation, higher gas bills for homeowners.
...
At one point in the summer of 2006, Hunter controlled up to 70 percent of natural gas commodities on Nymex that were scheduled to supply companies and homes in November of last year and more than 40 percent of contracts for the entire winter season, according to a report into Amaranth's activities by the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations.
His positions were so big he could cause the price to move in the way he wanted by buying or selling massive amounts of his holdings in the last 30 minutes of trading on Nymex, a move known as "smashing the close," federal regulators say.
Enron and electricity, Amaranth and natural gas. Allow private companies to control water via unregulated markets, and artificial shortages to drive up profits will follow.