The End of the Era of Cheap Water?

Available for over a year

Water shortages are becoming a problem everywhere, and companies are taking note. So how should we value water? Is the answer in trading it as a commodity? Dan Crossley, Executive Director at the UK-based not-for-profit the Food Ethics Council tells us how the food industry is one of the biggest consumers of water. Dr Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute and a renowned authority on water issues, debates the feasability of trading water as a global commodity with Richard Sandor, CEO of Environmental Financial Products, the company that helped develop carbon trading. And speaking of shortages, James Hassam, the BBC's Ethiopia correspondent, considers a shortage of imported butter in the capital Addis Ababa. (Photo credit: Getty)