patrick.net

This is what happens when water is more rare than money.

Call it Crazy says

Well you know, they're not building any more water!

They're not building homes either.

I'm in Florida, when they get too stupid I'll just disconnect my sprinkler well pump from the irrigation and hook it up to a water filter.

In Colorado they fined a guy for collecting rainwater from his gutters using barrels.

I'm surprised corporations aren't trying to buy patches of the sky. How else will they own the rain?

turtledove says

I'm surprised corporations aren't trying to buy patches of the sky. How else will they own the rain?

That is such a great idea. They even sell acres on the moon, why not a piece of the sky. Maybe I could bill them for MY water, and MY solar power.

Call it Crazy says

turtledove says

I'm surprised corporations aren't trying to buy patches of the sky. How else will they own the rain?

Shhhhhh... Don't give them any ideas!

Strategist says

turtledove says

I'm surprised corporations aren't trying to buy patches of the sky. How else will they own the rain?

That is such a great idea. They even sell acres on the moon, why not a piece of the sky. Maybe I could bill them for MY water, and MY solar power.

On second thoughts I don't want to own the sky and bill them. If it rains, they will claim their car got dirty or their vacation got screwed up, and sue me. If they get skin cancer I'm in real trouble.
Think of something else.

I can see giant elephant fans ballooning skyward in an effort to blow the nimbus fluffys into a private patch of sky.....i'm sinking my cash into extension cord technology..

turtledove says

I'm surprised corporations aren't trying to buy patches of the sky. How else will they own the rain?

I think I just read some brilliant investment strategies.

Riparian Rape Derivatives. And you thought the geniuses on Wall Street were out of new tricks.

turtledove says

The second disturbing trend is that while the new water barons are buying up water all over the world, governments are moving fast to limit citizens’ ability to become water self-sufficient (as evidenced by the well-publicized Gary Harrington’s case in Oregon, in which the state criminalized the collection of rainwater in three ponds located on his private land, by convicting him on nine counts and sentencing him for 30 days in jail). Let’s put this criminalization in perspective:

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens owned more water rights than any other individuals in America, with rights over enough of the Ogallala Aquifer to drain approximately 200,000 acre-feet (or 65 billion gallons of water) a year. But ordinary citizen Gary Harrington cannot collect rainwater runoff on 170 acres of his private land.

And here is a little further perspective.

The law in question id an Oregon state law which PREVENTS private ownership of significant sources of fresh water, that is all waster is public property. Does T. Boone Pickins own any water in Oregon? Not likely because by law he is not allowed to. Oregon passed this law in 1925, long before this drought and I'd assume to prevent exactly this problem of the wealthy cornering the market on this vital commodity.

The Oregon case is a bit different. Gary constructed a series of dams which blocked a tributary feeding the main water supply to the city of Medford. He claimed it was to capture rainwater and snowmelt not covered under the law. The judge felt differently, the permits were revoked, Gary plead guilty and was given three years probation and ordered to open the gates on his dams. Which he did, then he closed them again and diverted the city water to his private reservoirs. That's when he was jailed.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/oregon-man-sentenced-30-days-jail-collecting-rainwater-his-property

Imagine if a billionare tried this, constructing private reservoirs and filling them with water that would normally flow into a municipal water supply.

The solution is to live on a boat, 15 miles off shore in International waters. Collect the water in dark bottles and then, setup a Fresnel lens and start to distill the ocean water.