Wall Street Begins Trading Water Futures as a Commodity

Wall Street has begun trading water as a commodity, like gold or oil.

The market allows farmers, hedge funds, and municipalities to hedge bets on the future price of water and water availability in the American West.

some experts say treating water as a tradable commodity puts a basic human right into the hands of financial institutions and investors, a dangerous arrangement as climate change alters precipitation patterns and increases water scarcity.

“What this represents is a cynical attempt at setting up what’s almost like a betting casino so some people can make money from others suffering,” Basav Sen, climate justice project director at the Institute for Policy Studies,