Abstract
Conventional environmentalist thought is suspicious of private markets and property rights. The prospect of global climate change, and consequent ecological disruptions, has fueled the call for additional limitations on private 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.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 2012
Publication Information
42 Environmental Law 93-113 (2012)
Repository Citation
Adler, Jonathan H., "Water Rights, Markets, and Changing Ecological Conditions" (2012). Faculty Publications. 2304.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/2304
Included in
Environmental Law Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons, Water Law Commons
Comments
Written for the symposium Twenty-First Century Water Law (2011) at Lewis & Clark Law School.