Timely Tidbits...

World markets crashing today. You might swing by Yahoo! Finance or CNN Money and gawk at the carnage... a list of markets down more than 3.5% at the moment: India, Brazil (-6%!), Argentina, Mexico, Indonesia (-6%!), Singapore, Austria (-7.5%!), Norway, Sweden (-5.5%), Belgium, Egypt (-5+%), Italy...

And speaking of indexes, I thought it might be a good time to check back in with the price of water--or rather a rough proxy for it in the demand for shares of companies in the newly emerging "Water Industry". How newly emerging? Well the most comprehensive index is called the Palisades Water Index, which was inaugurated on the Amex. just over 2 years ago. Check out the PR statement:

"The Palisades Water Index is the premier vehicle developed for investors to capture the potential associated with the substantial increase in the economic value of water. We believe that this value will inevitably be unlocked as the global population adjusts to the linkages between human health, economic development and resource sustainability."

Is that last statement a chilling double entendre or what?

Anyway, as things stand now the wild bull-market in water appears to be taking a header with all the other Industrials. [Click Image for Bigness] But this likely only affects the inflated market-cap of the underlying stocks, and not the actual price on your utility bill. Water is still looking like the next oil, and the world's industrialists are climbing all over themselves not only to own it, but to take water handling "technology" ever forward (i.e. filtration, desalinisation, distribution, waste-water treatment and handling, etc.). Which should serve as a reminder to us all that complex systems are very precarious and require large energy-inputs to maintain. Therefore we should all have a Plan B for water, no matter where we live. That's why I've listed some helpful resources in this respect over on the Deconsumption Product Cata'blog.

It occurred to me over the weekend that it's rather interesting that the sudden upsurge in border control also very neatly coincides with the busting of the home-building market--which throughout the nation fundamentally depends on labor from South of the Border.

I mean without taking sides one way or the other in the immigration issue, isn't it worth questioning why it is that for five years after 9-11, when the so-called War on Terrorism™ was in full swing, both of our political parties completely ignored the fact that an estimated 1,000 or so non-resident aliens were illegally crossing the Mexican-American border every day? (Actually, by many accounts from within the Border Patrol there was an active resistance being put-up which prevented them from fullfilling their duties). And now it's such an issue that they're considering walling the border off in places. I'm not saying there has to be a direct correlation, but I bet it hasn't been lost on a lot of lawmakers (especially those in the Southwest) that the nation is going to have a lot of idle (Mexican) hands on its hands pretty soon--and you know the saying about idle hands.

Again, I'm not picking a argument...only pointing out that the globalization of jobs means both exporting jobs and importing cheap labor, and it's very serious business for our nation's lobbying interests. So during the time the housing market was propping-up a failing economy I can see how "immigration" would have been seen as an issue best left ignored. But now that the money has been made.... And besides, what if next year the Hispanic community decides to protest for a week instead of just one day?

And to close on a less controversial subject... Via Urbansurvival.com you may have heard that NBC affiliate Channel 4 News out of Los Angeles will be airing a segment on Chem-trails tomorrow night. Might be interesting if you live in the area. The report is called "Toxic Sky".

Comments

[Mark]

Water water every where, but not a drop to buy.
Well, we are lucky in that it rains, except if you live in an aria that is so conserned with surface water that it is considered illegil to collect rain water. In some arias of Colorado it is. So check your aria out. However, it is not considered surface water till it hits the ground. Let me pass it though my kidneys first. OK?

I would imagin though, if the defication hits the ventilator that water agents will be too tapped (pun intended) for resorses to respont to some ones roof water system in rural CO. or any where else for that matter. Besides, the Puruveans resisted this sort of BS.
But, Water is an issue here in the Rockies and the South West. It is something to consider when the tipping point has done tipped.
conservation is key here. I am some how reminded of the "Dune" seires by Frank Herbert.
please pardon my stream of blather.

[mark]

I would like to add that the snow pack that supplys the water for most of the western states was up this year for the first time in 5. But most of it sublimated, evaporated that is before it got to the ground as liquid. Each year it gets warmer sooner and the winds are more strong, pulling more mosisture from the snowpack leaving less to melt and add to the streams and water table. Just an other way that globle warming is affecting things. Did any one see the artical in National Geographic about lake Powell?