Be Thankful We Argue Politics

A regional idea.  Georgia was under a "severe" drought over the last 2 or 3 years.  Yes, I put the severe in quotes because I wasn't a believer, but that's another debate for another day.  What was serious is that a mini-war amongst states began.  Alabama and Florida started bitching and complaining about Georgia not letting enough water down the Chattahoochee River which is their fresh water source.  This went to court and became front page news for many months until the ruling came down against Georgia.  We could not withhold water from the downstream states.

Fast forward to the last few months where we've seen floods and we're close to setting an all time rainfall record for the month of October.  Now we're talking "negotiations" and other civil means for dealing with neighboring states and water.  This was less than civil just a few months ago.

Rainfall averages are just that, averages.  Like the market, from time to time, they will deviate, sometimes wildly, but eventually the snapback will happen.  When the news here was that Atlanta could possibly be a desert, I wanted to be long rain.  If that were possible, I would be talking of my windfall at this point.

However, what if the trend changed permanently.  What if fresh water or water supplies were severely crippled or cut off in a region.  How could/would that be remedied? What sort of companies could provide relief in a serious situation? I know the water angle isn't new, but the water angle in the US is.  This has my eye on Claymore's CGW ETF.  Unfortunately, this is "global" in nature, but I suspect that a US water ETF is an idea for the future.  The next time there is a regional water crisis and the discussion turns to ghost towns in a major region of the United States, a good speculative play might be water.  High risk / high reward, for sure.

So we're back to arguing politics in the Atlanta area, not whether or not we're going to have to abandon our homes in search of H2O.  Forecast in Atlanta, rain showers, maybe some thunder, just in time for the weekend.