Desertification and Examples Such as The Dust Bowl

Each year the population of the world increases exponentially, especially in the developing countries of India, Nigeria, Pakistan, are just among many. As populations climbs far beyond the natural equilibrium we start seeing our ecosystem blow away. Each year millions of new acres, of land, is put into production of livestock and food, while others are being pressured harder to produce more on the same amount of acres. The delicate balance in our ecosystem keep getting further out of sync. As more pasture is overgrazed, forests cut down, and prairie land farmed, the amount of soil that is erodible increase. When there is a long and hot drought the wind picks up and blows away the topsoil. This phenomenon of desertification affects almost every continent in the world, slowly blowing Middle Asia into the ocean, causing the Sahara to take over Africa, and bringing the rest of the world to its knees, causing the world to look to and learn from America’s Dust Bowl.

In 1930 the United State had its worst man made natural disaster. Dust Storms miles high blew through the Southern Great Plain states of Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nevada. On April 14, 1935 one resident recalls the unforgettable dust storm, "It was as though the sky was divided into two opposite worlds. On the south there was blue sky, golden sunlight and tranquility; on the north, there was a menacing curtain of boiling black dust that appeared to reach a thousand or more feet into the air. It had the appearance of a mammoth waterfall in reverse – color as well as form. The apex of the cloud was plumed and curling, seething and tumbling over itself from north to south and whipping trash, papers, sticks, and cardboard cartons before it. Even the birds were he...

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... just adopt some more American policies. Although America may not be perfect we have managed to keep the deserts at bay for 70 years through our CRP programs, conservative practice like no-till and strip cropping, and government regulations. Instead of the farmers on the edge of the desert trying to make a living grazing the strained and overstrung lands have them start planting trees, reseeding drought tolerant plants, and try and keep what’s barely hold the ground, there. China and America are the two super powers of the world and we need to be the ones on the forefront of conservation, becoming leaders for the rest of the world. The battle is only becoming harder with rising temperature and populations, and with less rain and land. Desertification is affecting every continent and everyone is watching the power nations to see how the handle this enormous problem.