Yeah, I could see that, I guess I just struggle to see how today, when water intensive crops are so profitable and entrenched, a market-based system would make

Yeah, I could see that, I guess I just struggle to see how today, when water intensive crops are so profitable and entrenched, a market-based system would make an impact. I struggle to believe that the incentives would prevent BigCorp from selling an equivalent amount of water that’s being pumped out today, given the already-planted acreages of these crops. The cost benefit of depletion vs hoarding isn’t convincing enough, IMO, because the owners could always delude themselves into thinking that the next big wet season is next year. The fact that water is renewable on human time scales (unlike oil) complicates the calculus. That said, I agree that this system would be better. It’s better for markets to exist. But I do think it should be regulated to limit the supply side, because I think we’re too short term-ist to make the right decisions here. These are generally the only situations where I’m comfortable with advocating for intervention.