By Robert Glennon Some readers might wonder why I, a liberal
Democrat, spent this past summer as a fellow at a free-market
think tank. The answer is that I believe that water marketing is
essential if we are to prevent further damage to the environment
from development. Where I probably depart from some of my PERC
associates is that I believe government must play a critical
role in overseeing markets to protect the environment and third
parties. We in the United States are heading toward a water
scar-city crisis: We can’t make new water; all the water there
is, is. In July, the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, froze new
development due to a lack of water. The city expects literally
to run out of water this month. Such a dramatic action may
become commonplace in future years. In a recent survey, 36
states reported that they expect to suffer water shortages in
the next ten years, yet demand for new sup-plies is increasing
dramatically, mostly due to the increase in population. We now
number 300 million and will e