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.
Shindo, Charles J. "The Dust Bowl Myth." The Wilson Quarterly. (Vol. 24). .4 (Autumn 2000): p25. Literature Resource Center. Gale. New York Public Library. 6 Mar. 2011 .
The book The Worst Hard Time describes my experience on trying to get through this book but somehow almost made me grateful that even as difficult and exhausting as it was in actuality there was nothing worse, difficult or exhausting than living through the dust bowl storms in the 1930’s which luckily I did not do. If you ever feel ungrateful or depressed about something in your life just read this book and you will know that most problems now a days in the United States don’t compare to the hardships and loss of loved ones who died during the dust storms in the 1930s. The people who inhabited the dust bowl area which consisted of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas where sold an Idea of the American dream of owning property
Due to the populations’ spartic increase population expansion became an issue. Humans were forced to take land from surrounding habitats in order to create their own. The destruction of forests and greenlands caused deforestation, animal endangerment, and extinction, “Agriculture is estimated to be the direct driver for around 80% of deforestation worldwide” (Wageningen University). While this occurred crops gradually depleted almost all the nutrients from the soil leaving areas bare and unable to unable to sustain plant life. Making acres useless to humans or animals and in return humans had to reach farther into inhabited areas in order to find fertile land. The sudden environmental burden in carbon dioxide from increased population and decrease in forest a plants to convert the high carbon dioxide levels produced an environmental issue which affects climate and the seasonal cycles. Recent research shows that “In Latin America, commercial agriculture is the main direct driver, responsible for 2/3 of all cut forests, while in Africa and tropical Asia commercial agriculture and subsistence agriculture both account for one third of deforestation”(Wageningen University).When viewing the change from hunter-gathering to farming from a global perspective the transition was very selfish of
The Dust Bowl was also known as the “Dirty Thirties” which took its toll (Dunn n. pag.). The decade from the Dust Bowl was filled with extreme conditions such as tornadoes, floods, droughts, and dirt storms. The Dust Bowl occurred in the midwestern states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. Within these states the conditions affected many peoples lives. The Dust Bowl had gotten its name after Black Sunday, April 14,1935( Ganzel n. pag.). While traveling through the midwest a reporter named Robert Geige, wrote, “Three little words achingly familiar on a western farmer’s tongue, rule life in the Dust Bowl of the continent- if it rains” (The Drought n. pag.). People back then used the term Dust Bowl to help describe the people that lived in the hard times of the drought stricken region during the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl is still a term we use today to describe the harsh times of the droughts and dirt storms. The Dust Bowl was a harsh time to live in, it affected many things such as: the way people lived and farming.
Davidson, J. W. & Lytle, M. H. (2009a). Dust Bowl Odyssey. In, After the Fact. The Art of
...elful of fine sand flung against the face. People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk... We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions. It is becoming Real." said by Avis D. Carlson (Ganzel, The Dust Bowl). The farmers could have colorful fruits on one day, and then the next it would turn black the next. People were getting really tired of the drought and were desperate to try anything to let rain fall. This one guy named Tex Thorton had a crazy idea that explosions would give some excitement to the atmosphere and rain fall would happen. Surprisingly, after a couple of explosions; a little bit of snow began to fall from the sky. But it wasn’t what the people were looking for. Then on one random day a group
The Dust Bowl also referred to as the Dirty Thirties; was a time where many people in the United States struggled through a difficult time caused by their own mistake of farming choice. For eight years, simple acts of life such as breathing, eating, and taking a walk were no longer easy to do. The Dust Bowl belongs on the list of the top three, four, or five environmental catastrophes in world history," according to historian Donald Worster of the University of Kansas.
On a website called Drought Disasters, sponsored by Browing University, it was written “the seeds of the Dust Bowl may have been sown during the early 1920s. However, overproduction of wheat coupled with the Great Depression led to severely reduced market prices” (Black Sunday). In the ICE case study number 288 Noel Sanders writes, “The region of the Dust Bowl was an area most affected by the drought - Kansas, southeastern Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Northern Texas. But a much larger areas, all the way to the east coast felt the impact” (Sander). With the help of new mech...
Not only were there many storms throughout the years, they were also very intense, “By April 1935, there had been weeks of dust storms, but the cloud that appeared on the horizon that Sunday was the worst. Winds were clocked at 60 mph” (Black Sunday.) Sometimes the storms were so bad schools either kept the children overnight or sent them home early. “During the Depression, schools across the Plains sent students home because of the dust storms. Some school administrators were worried about what might happen to the students' health. There had been cases of ‘dust pneumonia’ where dust clogged up the lungs just like the disease. Other administrators and teachers, especially in the southern Plains, knew that people had gotten lost in dust storms when visibility went to zero” (Schrute.) Even residents were afraid of the storms, “One afternoon when my dad awakened from a nap he called out, ‘I’m blind, I’m blind.’ It was black all around because another storm had hit as he slept. When it was like that and we lit a lamp at one end of the room, it was only a blur from the other end, because of all the silt in the air” (Franz.) These conditions added with dust pneumonia and low income practically forced the okies out of the
The Dust Bowl was one of the hardest times in America in the 1930’s. The Dust Bowl was in the top 5 largest environmental catastrophes. It was harsh winds blowing dirt, sand, and dust up into the air making
In 1934 to 1937 there was a major drought in many states, which caused dust to fly around rapidly in big amounts known as "black blizzards", which was soon to be known as the Dust Bowl.
First the northern plains were hit by the dry spell, but by July the southern plains were in the drought. Because of the late planting and early frost, much of the wheat was damaged when the spring winds of 1932 began to blow. The region was blasted by a horrible dirt storm, which killed almost all the wheat. Although the dirt storms were fewer in 1934, it was the year, which brought the Dust Bowl national attention. A severe storm blew dirt from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. In spite of the terrific storm in the year 1934 there was a satisfying break from the blowing dirt and tornadoes of the previous year. But nature had another trick up her sleeve, the year was extremely hot with new records being made. Before the year had run its course, hundreds of people in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas had died from the heat. The weather in the Dust Bowl again made the national headlines. A description of this storm of coming was made by a farmer:" The storm causes a tremendous amount of damage and suffering mentally and physically some of the conditions were animals dying from dust in the lungs and people developing dust pneumonia.” A giant dust storm engulfs Oklahoma. These storms destroyed vast areas of the Great Plains farmland. The methods of fighting the dust were as many and varied as were the means of finding a way to get something to eat. Canned foods had became the only way anybody could eat. Every possible crack was plugged, sheets were placed over windows and blankets were hung behind doors. Often the places were so tightly plugged against the dust that the houses became extremely hot and stuffy. Men, women and children stayed in their houses and tied handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths. When they dared to leave, they added goggles to protect their eyes. Houses were shut tight, cloth was wedged in the cracks of the doors and windows but still the fine silt forced its way into houses, schools
The Dust Bowl was a huge impact on the U.S. in the 1930’s, it was also called the dirty thirties. It took place right after the stock market crashed and put many families that lived in the Great Plains out of their homes. The giant cloud of dust came from unanchored topsoil on the ground and carried it far away, and after the wind settled down, all of the dust that was carried, dropped and buried some homes and vehicles, even with families inside of them. It ruined crops and farms and damaged many homes. The storm mainly affected the states of Texas and Oklahoma, and touched the sides of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. The drought that came with the dust bowl lasted for several years but came in three different waves, 1934, 1936, and 1939 through 1940. Some regions in the high plains experienced it for as much as eight years. “The Dust Bowl was the name given to the Great Plains region devastated by drought in 1930s depression-ridden America” (History.com Staff, 2009).
The rich dark soil of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado—an area also known as the Great Plains—formed from thousands of years of soil forming factors in action (Surviving the Dust Bowl). From the beginning of human populations living in the area, the soils, for the most part, remained untouched and unscathed by the plow. Thick prairie grasses covered the area and held the soils in the ground even during the periodic times of drought. This area of land was suitable for grazing practices and it was in this area that the large cattle ranches flourished. Little did the newly arrived farmers realize that this seemingly plentiful land followed a pattern of several years of rain followed by several years of drought and high winds.