Water becoming more valuable than gold

Something that might be taken for granted by many is becoming highly coveted: water

In fact by some standards H2O is now more precious than gold.

Over the past 10 years, the S. and P. Global Water Index has outperformed the bellwether gold and energy indices.

In fact, water outperformed the stock market over the same period.

While the planet is primarily covered in water, only about 2 per cent of it is fresh and only a portion of that is drinkable.

Many global agencies now say humankind is in a water crisis.

The World Economic Forum names it as the No. 3 global risk of 2014.

Wall Street has taken notice of companies tackling the issue of supplying clear water and many are fast becoming the darlings of the investment world.

H2O is a $600 billion business, but it will grow to a $1 trillion business over the next six years, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

But besides the problem of generating enough clean water, the crisis also raises scary scenarios.

One is the idea that water will cause global conflicts in the future.

Since water, food and agriculture are so closely tied, the idea of “water wars” erupting in Africa, the Mid-East and Asia is a real possibility says the Pacific Institute, a non-profit research group that studies resources world-wide.

And do not think it’s only a Third World problem. The U.S. Department of State has already mentioned water risk as a threat to national security.