Who's water?

Judge Steven W. Rhodes said he lacked the authority to issue a restraining order to stop the shut-offs of water by city authorities, ruling that citizens have no implicit right to water. “There is no such right or law," Rhodes said.

The Detroit Water Brigade, which has spear-headed relief efforts for households where the water has been shut off, issued a statement following the ruling saying they "strongly condemn" the decision.
"Each day, hundreds of our neighbors and friends are losing access to life’s most essential ingredient for the simple fact that they are unable to pay," their statement reads:
"Thousands of people in Detroit remain without water service, including the elderly, the disabled, and families with small children," said Kary Moss, ACLU of Michigan executive director.

While on the west coast another type of water crisis grows. Over a dozen California communities now face running out of water within 60 days if urgent steps are not taken, and that list will only grow as the record drought of 2014 continues. 58 percent of the state is experiencing Exceptional Drought, the highest category of drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and roughly 82 percent of the state is under Extreme or Exceptional Drought. 37 million people are feeling the effects as reservoir levels in the state continue to decline and groundwater wells go dry.

The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society said that the conditions contributing to the historic drought in California are "very likely” linked to human-caused climate change due to the presence of greenhouse gas emissions.