America’s water wars are just beginning

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a water authority of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - The [water wars are already here](. - Humans will need [better bodies for space](. - The [Supreme Court’s conservatives are split](. - Netflix is [God’s gift to Wall Street](. Another Successful Infrastructure Week: Water Wars Edition In Paolo Bacigalupi’s 2015 [cli-fi]( novel “[The Water Knife](,” a hitman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority rides through the desert in a Tesla taking out the water supplies of rival states and factions. In 2015, this was speculative fiction. In 2021, it’s tomorrow’s headlines. Parched [Western states and factions are already fighting over scarce water](, writes Amanda Little. Right now, they’re using Tesla-driving lawyers instead of Tesla-driving hitmen. But given water’s importance to everything from agriculture to hydroelectric power — not to mention the whole sustaining-human-life thing — its scarcity inspires not just [scary stories]( but also actual armed conflict. Without some heavy government investment in water infrastructure, the Water Knives won’t stay sheathed forever. Yes, there’s that “I” word again. Sorry. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan spends a teensy bit on Western water infrastructure, but it won’t be nearly enough. And even that paltry amount hinges on the political Jenga game Biden and Congress are playing over his plan. Biden last week was almost the guy who trips over the cat and knocks down the tower, with some [ill-considered comments that nearly wrecked a fragile bipartisan agreement](. Jonathan Bernstein suggests Biden’s near-goof won’t matter; the votes are there or they aren’t. Isn’t it fun that this is what stands between us and a future of Tesla-driving hitmen? Sponsored Content The power of PayPal online, now in person. Give your small business an easy way to accept touch-free, in-person payments. Create a unique QR code with the PayPal app and display it on your device or as a printout in store. [Download the app.]( Customer must have PayPal account and app to pay. PayPal Editing Bodies: What Could Go Wrong? The biggest problem with space travel is not [xenomorphs]( or the fact that humans can’t build ships with warp drives, but that space is just a nightmare for human bodies. There’s no air. There’s no gravity. And it’s constantly showered in deadly radiation. Some science fiction solves these problems by pretending they don’t exist (see Wars, Star). Other sci-fi assumes humans will reshape their bodies to handle it better. Like “The Water Knife,” give or take a few decades, that day isn’t so far off.   That’s the premise of a [new book]( by Dr. Christopher E. Mason of Weill Cornell Medicine. In an interview with Adam Minter, Mason says [humans could edit their own genes to handle radiation]( and other space horrors (though maybe not xenomorphs) to help them colonize Mars and beyond. It won’t happen tomorrow. For one thing, the technology is still too new. But it’s getting there: Intellia Therapeutics and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals this weekend released promising human-trial data for Crispr gene-editing tech. Sam Fazeli writes the results suggest [we can safely target specific genes for zapping](, which would be a huge breakthrough for fighting diseases. It’s also maybe a huge Slip ’N Slide to ethical dead zones — real “your scientists were so [preoccupied]( with whether or not they could” kind of stuff. But maybe also another step on the way to the stars. Further Space-Race Reading: [Virgin Galactic is a meme stock now](, giving Richard Branson capital to invest. — Chris Byrant SCOTUS Is Full of Surprises A 6-3 conservative split on the Supreme Court should be a nightmare for liberals. But after a slew of decisions by just such a court, the reality has been far more complicated. [The conservative faction has split down the middle](, writes Noah Feldman, with Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh on the moderate side and Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas pushing for more extreme outcomes. The moderates keep joining liberals in decisions that avoid sudden movements that might spook the electorate and make the court look partisan. This is perhaps not what Donald Trump had in mind when he put Barrett and Kavanaugh on the court. It’s almost certainly not what liberals expected. But it may be the way Roberts and his like-minded justices fend off big court reforms. To be sure, the court is still full-on conservative when it wants to be. Its decision last week cutting off labor organizers’ access to California farms, upending an old state law, was [an example of conservative judicial activism](, writes Noah Feldman. But it didn’t get much attention beyond some angry progressives. That may be just how the Roberts Court likes it. Further Politics Reading: - Progressives are [outperforming in elections where nobody’s paying attention]( except for their highly engaged core. — Matthew Yglesias - The [Arizona vote audit won’t produce a reliable result](, but it will further undermine faith in elections. — Tim O’Brien Telltale Charts While its [rivals make bankers happy with frantic deal-making and borrowing](, Tara Lachapelle notes Netflix makes content creators happy, which helps explain its durable lead. [Brevan Howard turning down new money]( because it’s got too much is a sign of better times for macro hedge-fund managers, writes Mark Gilbert. Further Reading America’s [Afghanistan withdrawal is already causing problems](. Biden must work with allies and rivals to keep the country from falling apart. — Bloomberg’s editorial board A [takeover would do Credit Suisse some good](. Just the fear of it should make management fly right. — Chris Hughes [Rental inflation is now becoming a thing](, and it could stick around. — Conor Sen [Investing is the opposite]( of what it was three years ago. — Matt Levine Autocrats are using [homophobia and transphobia to whip up populations]( to stay in power. — Clara Ferreira Marques Emmanuel Macron’s party flopped in weekend elections, but [Macron himself is still very popular](. — Lionel Laurent The [bureaucratic hassles of Covid may last longer]( than the disease. — Niall Ferguson ICYMI Amazon is using [robots to fire workers](. Facebook [won in court](. Abu Dhabi is using [facial Covid scanners](. Kickers [Mongooses live in a society](. (h/t Ellen Kominers) A Wisconsin dairy made a [3,832-foot-long string cheese]( for reasons. (h/t Mike Smedley) Researchers find a way to [hack ATMs by waving a phone](. [Denisova Cave has been a hot spot]( for 300,000 years. (h/t Scott Kominers for the past two kickers)  Notes: Please send string cheese and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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