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Water Wars: The Bigger Commodity Over Oil
   

We hear a lot about wars being fought over oil, but what you don't hear about is that water is quickly becoming a bigger commodity over oil. How can this be so? We have all probably heard about wars over oil, but did you know that many researchers believe that the real threat in the future will be wars over water? Many experts believe that water is gradually becoming a bigger commodity over oil. Why is this so? Here is a brief overview over why water will soon eclipse oil as the most sought-after commodity.

Water, clean, potable drinking water, is poised to become one of the most sought-after commodities in the future. Researchers have found that the emerging money trail has pointed to the trend of water becoming a valuable commodity. For instance, many of the world's biggest companies and leading investors have been recently investing big money on water. Why is this so? With a little research it becomes clear why so many leading companies and investors around the world on investing in water—there simply is not enough good clean freshwater to go around. And unfortunately for the rest of us, it appears that water will indeed be treated like a valuable commodity in the near future.

A recent news report put out by Bloomberg News has shown that the world will probably experience a scarcity of available freshwater in the future, and the effects of not enough freshwater are already evident in certain parts of the world. According to the Bloomberg world water index, water has become one of the most profitable utilities in recent years. The Bloomberg water index has tracked eleven utility stocks and has found that water stocks have returned roughly 35 percent to investors each year since 2003. Compare this to oil and gas, which have only returned 29 percent and 10 percent respectively. Indeed, water has already become a profitable utility. Water stock investments have become very profitable, which is proof that water is increasingly becoming a very profitable commodity. Many unscrupulous investors are trying to find out how to invest in water stocks so they can profit from the onset of the global climate change crisis, where water is poised to be a much sought-after commodity. According to financial analysts, water prices are climbing and they are not projected to drop any time soon. Water funds have grown in value and their value is only growing with the passage of time.

Why is water becoming such a hot commodity, even hotter than oil? Because water, especially freshwater, is increasingly becoming more and more scarce. It is estimated by the United Nations that more than 48 countries around the world will lack a sufficient amount of water by the year 2050. That means that over two billion people will not have access to enough freshwater to thrive or even survive. As scientists point out, most of the earth, roughly 97 to 98 percent of it, is covered in saltwater. Saltwater is simply not potable. So where do we get our freshwater from?

Freshwater sources come from the frozen polar ice caps and glaciers. Other sources of freshwater include lakes, groundwater, and rivers. However, global warming is gradually taking hold of freshwater sources, most notably the polar ice caps and glaciers. As the global climate continues to change, the polar ice caps and glaciers will continue to melt and become unusable. This is because much of our freshwater sources will begin to melt and mix with salt water, making our freshwater sources too salty to for human consumption. Another reason that global warming will turn freshwater into our most sought-after commodity is that the melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers will cause sea levels to rise, which means that the rest of our freshwater sources will become contaminated.

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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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