I must say that you seem to have a very emotional view of water.
I'm somewhat attached to
life, yes.
But economically it is just another commodity.
If that is so, that is the end of life on earth.
Moving vast quantities of water from eco-system that are water-oriented to desert eco-systems means destroying both.
Oil and its commoditization has destroyed nations, populations, sealife and wildlife.
The commodification of water - which, FYI iceaura - has already happened: it is already owned - will just accelerate the killing process.
Regarding the weaknesses you allege - rather feebly - in worldwide fuel distribution, I'd like you to give me some examples.
http://www.rockofafrica.org/news/effects_of_fuel_shortages.htm
http://www.sciforums.com/threads/water-shortage.159029/page-5
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-An-Energy-Crisis-Brewing-In-The-Caribbean.html
I just realized you're making me jump through hoops to prove the obvious.
All commodities are priced according to scarcity and demand, and distributed unevenly, according to the consumer's ability to pay.
There may be people - many people - in the world who are not directly affected by their inability to buy diesel, but are nevertheless affected by the price of food, electricity and building materials due to a rise in the price of fuel to produce and transport them. The billions who are barely subsisting can't absorb any market adjustments.
Because unless you can, you have not made your case that my fuel supply analogy cannot work.
The analogy was always inapplicable. We can adapt to economies and life-styles without oil - after all, it's only been in general use for about two hundred years.
We
cannot adapt to life without water, which has been in use for over 4 billion years.
Moving oil from one place to another causes many local disasters. Moving water from where there is lots to where there is little causes the destruction of both eco-systems.
Death is permanent.
- international supply agreements to provide water, and get reimbursed for doing so,
- pipelines thousands of km long, crossing international borders,
- water tankers, shipping water thousands of tonnes at a time, perhaps between continents, with export and import terminals to handle them,
How would I
handle this? I would shut it down! This is
nuts.
- local distribution grids for both potable and "grey" water, to enabling recycling to get serious,
- incentives for domestic, commercial and industrial use of water to change, to use it efficiently instead of assuming it is close to "free".
Strict regulation and huge fines for abuse - all such fines going toward the reclamation projects.
All water management projects must be local, just as energy production should be, because conditions vary.
I believe your last suggestion was Town Councils.
Town councils are in charge of local distribution of potable water and the collection of waste water in urban areas.
They have to charge to cover the cost of the facilities and processing -
not for the actual water.
Private companies raise the price for increased profit and do a much less efficient job of maintenance and delivery.
However, the protection of lakes, rivers, ocean fronts, wetlands and aquifers is a matter for regional and national governments.
Sore, many of these entities are strapped for cash and/or corrupt, so they can be bribed or coerced into signing away their state's or nation's
water supply. With horrific consequences.