WATER RIGHTS, MARKETS, AND CHANGING ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Conventional environmentalist thought is suspicious of prívate markets and property rights. The prospect of global climate change, and consequent ecological disruptions, has fueled the call for additional limitations on prívate markets and property rights. This Essay presents an alternative view. Specifically, this Essay briefly explains why environmental problems generally, and the prospect of changing environmental conditions such as those brought about by climate change in particular, do not counsel further restrictions on private property rights and markets. To the contrary, the prospect of significant environmental changes strengthens the case for greater reliance on property rights and market institutions to address environmental problems, such as the management of fresh water resources.