Many western waterways go bone dry, creating high tension for water rights and jeopardizing our pursuit of the perfect pint.

Ben Franklin, noted scientist and reputed lush, once soberly spake: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” And it just may be that beer holds the secret to our sustainable future.

The annual dry river and creek beds of the West demonstrate Garret Hardin’s classic tale of how the tragedy of the commons meets our deep love of fresh water and a quality pint of ale.  This Montana story of water rights, litigated for decades from a perspective of economic priorities, brings locals to the brink of a broken system.  Thank God . . . it’s beer to the rescue!  Using an ingenious systems approach, locals were able to create a thoughtful market solution that returned water to the streams. And kept local ales on the shelf and in the pub.

A restored Prickly Pear Creek

It helps if you drink a pint as you watch!

Rob Harmon: How the market can keep streams flowing | Video on TED.com.