Water becoming more valuable than gold

water investing


In fact, water has become more precious than gold.



Water: The new gold



U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that, "over 780 million people today do not have access to improved sources of drinking water, especially in Africa."

$50 turns ditch water into drinking water

The corporate world has weighed in as well. The chairman of Nestle, the world's largest food company, says that water is, "a human right." Of course, Nestle also sells 63 brands of water around the planet.



The report breaks the global water market into four distinct categories. For water treatment the list includes firms like Stericycle (SRCL). For water management, companies like Monsanto (MON) fit the bill. When it comes to water infrastructure & supply the list includes companies like American Water Works (AWK). The final group contains water-friendly energy companies that provide wind, solar and geothermal opportunities like NRG Energy (NRG).

Related: China's soil pollution: It's much worse than you think


One is the idea that water will cause global conflicts in the future. Since water, food, and agriculture are so closely tied together, the idea of "water wars" erupting in Africa, the Middle East and Asia is seen as a real possibility by the Pacific Institute, a non-profit research group that studies resources worldwide, as nations rush to secure fresh water for their populations.

And don't think that it's only a third world problem. The U.S. Department of State has already mentioned water risk as a threat to national security.

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