"About 90 years ago, American farmers in the Great Plains had so ravaged the thin soil there that a series of droughts turned the region into a vast expanse of dust, which formed monstrous storms and polluted the skies in cities hundreds of miles away. Around that same time, many places in the US suffered from the most extreme heat waves in the country’s history, setting temperature records that stand today.
"The two phenomena — the Dust Bowl and those epic heat waves — were connected. The former produced the latter, which in turn refueled the former, and so on. A new study by the weather forecasting firm AccuWeather suggests the conditions that produced the vicious cycle of drought and heat in the 1930s are returning to the US. This time, it appears to be due to the heating of the planet by greenhouse gases, meaning these changes will be essentially permanent, unlike conditions 90 years ago."
That said, it wasn't just drought and heat that produced the Dust Bowl; it was industrial agricultural practices that destroyed soil structure and left it vulnerable to wind erosion. (Hedgerows and windbreaks would have helped a bunch too.)
For the last 50 years we've been farming for efficiency. It's time to start farming for resilience.
Arizona allows foreign Saudi farmers to grow alfalfa in their state and ship it over seas. Alfalfa needs a lot of water. They are essentially sending their water oversees , in a state where there is very limited left in the aquifer
This article is only talking about climate change impacts, but since 1950 we’ve also been depleting the Ogallala Aquifer far faster than it can be replenished, which will almost certainly lead to a much worse dust bowl when farming will inevitably be scaled back as water tables lower.
Extracting water from the aquifer for irrigation is what “fixed” the dust bowl in the first place, the original farming practices that caused the problem were only using the area’s scant rainwater. No water = new dust bowl.
Ken Burns’ 2012 Dust Bowl documentary talked about the aquifer depletion at the end of it, and how there’s almost nothing being done to address the problem. On the plus side, a second dust bowl might give us more kickass folk music though
No it wasn't. Heat extremes were higher in the central US 90 years ago because of the Dust Bowl. Average temperatures are higher now, in the US and around the globe.
And the Trump regime’s policies are the exact opposite of what needs to be done to avert disaster.
From Bloomberg (gift link above):
"About 90 years ago, American farmers in the Great Plains had so ravaged the thin soil there that a series of droughts turned the region into a vast expanse of dust, which formed monstrous storms and polluted the skies in cities hundreds of miles away. Around that same time, many places in the US suffered from the most extreme heat waves in the country’s history, setting temperature records that stand today.
"The two phenomena — the Dust Bowl and those epic heat waves — were connected. The former produced the latter, which in turn refueled the former, and so on. A new study by the weather forecasting firm AccuWeather suggests the conditions that produced the vicious cycle of drought and heat in the 1930s are returning to the US. This time, it appears to be due to the heating of the planet by greenhouse gases, meaning these changes will be essentially permanent, unlike conditions 90 years ago."
While increased temperatures are projected to cause increased precipitation for most of the US, increased soil evaporation may be countering those trends, specifically in the Midwest (where we have a ton of farmland).
That said, it wasn't just drought and heat that produced the Dust Bowl; it was industrial agricultural practices that destroyed soil structure and left it vulnerable to wind erosion. (Hedgerows and windbreaks would have helped a bunch too.)
For the last 50 years we've been farming for efficiency. It's time to start farming for resilience.
And yet, places that are out of water still insist on Growth, that holy word along with Profit. Look at AZ. Southern UT. Etc.
Arizona allows foreign Saudi farmers to grow alfalfa in their state and ship it over seas. Alfalfa needs a lot of water. They are essentially sending their water oversees , in a state where there is very limited left in the aquifer
Yup. Absolute insanity to grow that there. Money talks while science and logic get shoved into the background.
Ignoring it should do the trick.
*purposefully making it worse because it makes libs cry
Amended for accuracy.
This article is only talking about climate change impacts, but since 1950 we’ve also been depleting the Ogallala Aquifer far faster than it can be replenished, which will almost certainly lead to a much worse dust bowl when farming will inevitably be scaled back as water tables lower.
Extracting water from the aquifer for irrigation is what “fixed” the dust bowl in the first place, the original farming practices that caused the problem were only using the area’s scant rainwater. No water = new dust bowl.
Ken Burns’ 2012 Dust Bowl documentary talked about the aquifer depletion at the end of it, and how there’s almost nothing being done to address the problem. On the plus side, a second dust bowl might give us more kickass folk music though
But at least we have AI slop now, so it's not all bad
That's drinking plenty of water also.
Surely once the permanent dusty bowl returns there won’t be any climate deniers… lol /s
Youre telling me? I live in Corpus Christi, TX!
This news is to be expected
"might" doing some heavy lifting in that headline
I drove through the state of Oklahoma two weeks ago. It was my first time to the state. I was shocked while also not to see random clouds of dust.
OMG😱😡
so it was warmer 90 years ago than now
No it wasn't. Heat extremes were higher in the central US 90 years ago because of the Dust Bowl. Average temperatures are higher now, in the US and around the globe.
You should stick to r/climateskepics. The lies you tell will be more appreciated there.
The article states that we have increased average temperatures in the USA by 3 degrees in just 70 years.
ok, so 3 degrees cooler makes vicious cycle of drought and heat, prolly a feedback loop