Water, Drought | featured news

6,000 people in remote Marshall Islands face acute water shortages as drought worsens. 

The United States is in the midst of one of the biggest droughts in recent memory. At last count, over half of the lower 48 states had abnormally dry conditions and are suffering from at least moderate drought.

Drought, floods and a lack of fresh water may cause significant global instability and conflict in the coming decades, as developing countries scramble to meet demand from exploding populations while dealing with the effects of climate change, U.S. intelligence agencies said in a report released Thursday.

14-year-old William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his village with the only resource freely available to him -- wind. His native Malawi had gone through one of its worst droughts seven years ago, killing thousands, when he thought of building a windmill to generate electricity and pump much-needed water.