Dust Bowl Research Paper
Not only was the “Dust Bowl” one of the most devastating climatic events in American history, we cannot even comfortably call it a natural disaster. Rather, it was us, humanity, who played a major role in bringing this calamity upon on ourselves. Indeed, one does not need to look further than the 20th century to see that human activity may in fact have immediate consequences on climate. In particular, situations can be exacerbated when in unison with the forces of natures. What would otherwise have been a drought, the Dust of Bowl of the 1930’s intensified due to increasing human agitation. Nonetheless, it is still disputed today that the causal relationship between humans and the environment is exaggerated. Many skeptics even assert that
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the ability of humans to seriously affect climate is merely the imaginings of alarmists motivated by paranoia and sinister political agendas. While this paper does not attempt to discuss modern climate change, it does aim to validate the concept that humans, albeit only complex primates, have the power to wreak havoc on the planet and in turn, ourselves. Hopefully, as we see that it has happened before in recent history, we will not be so quick to sweep this notion like dust under the rug. Therefore, in order to appreciate the gravity of our own capabilities within our environmental context, this paper will explore the Dust Bowl’s manmade and natural causes, the manner in which various parts of the climate system interacted to intensify this event and the impact this catastrophe had on human life as well as the environment.
The first European explorers to voyage through the Great American Plains remarked that the lack of moisture in the soil rendered this terrain less than ideal for agriculture.1 At the turn of the century, however, a period of abnormally high rain fall seemingly contradicted this time-established observation. The American federal government believed this anomaly was permanent and actively encouraged migration to the Great Plains with the Homestead Act.2 Drawn by the dream of owning their own farm, thousands took up the offer to settle the Great Plains to enjoy their own piece of the American dream. After a brief drought in 1890, however, the region experienced yet another unusually wet period. This apparently verified the view that this region was indeed arable. Increased migration coupled with industrialized technology such as the gasoline tractor and the mechanized plow greatly expanded cultivation to unforeseen levels. During this period, farms were quite profitable, particularly during World War One in which food prices increased. Economic pressure, however, only encouraged further exploitation of the land to unsustainable levels.3 In total, during the five years between 1925 and 1930, more than 5 million acres of grasslands were plowed and cultivated. 4In fact, it would seem that this rapid expansion was favorable as it culminated in record breaking harvests in 1931. 5
This success story, however, came to an abrupt halt and then spiraled out of control. When markets crashed during the Great Depression, the price for wheat plummeted and farmers were stuck with an oversupply of produce. In the state of panic, farmers only intensified expansion of their farmers in a desperate attempt to recreate past profits. What remained of the natural drought-resistant grass was uprooted, plowed and cultivated. Moreover, there was an absence of “crop rotation, fallow fields, cover crops, soil terracing and wind-breaking trees to prevent wind erosion”.6 This over exertion of virgin topsoil left the infertile fields covered with a layer of desiccated dirt which became drier and drier as it was unable to retain moisture. Then, just as the situation could not get any worse, the rain stopped and a severe draught ensued. In 1931, the eroded land was blown away in the common winds of the region and developed into the first dust storm to sweep the United States in what came to be known as the Dust Bowl. There were thirteen more “black blizzards” to wreak havoc on the region that year.7 A year later the devastation was amplified by another 38 black blizzards which destroyed 100 million acres of farmland.8 It would continue to plague the United States and parts of Canada until the end of the decade. In a recent study by NASA, light has been cast upon the interacting parts of this dark period. Using a computer model based on satellite data, the NASA study clearly demonstrates that unusually cool tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures interacted with unusually warm tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures “to create conditions in the atmosphere that turned America’s breadbasket into a dust bowl."9 The situation originates in changes in sea surface temperatures which drastically reduced jet streams levels. As a result, the normal westward flow of the jet stream over the Gulf of Mexico was rerouted northward to the Great Plains. This condition caused moisture levels to increase in the Great Plains and explains its wet period. However, as the intensity of the low level jet stream diminished, it traveled farther South and caused a drought in the Great Plains. 10 This unexpected change had major implications on weather patterns that reduced precipitation in the Great Plains. Unfortunately, this aridness developed into a vicious cycle in which the dry soil led to even less evaporation. The dust itself, therefore, blocked the solar energy which is necessary to initiate the chain reaction to form rainclouds.11 The dust storm ravaged the area with massive clouds turning day into night wherever they went. In fact, one massive black blizzard in 1934 travelled 2,000 miles to the East Coast and covered the statue of liberty and the Capitol building. Amazingly, New England also experienced a red snow fall that year. 12
Temperature rose steadily because of the heat which radiated and had direct contact with the air.
Studies report that soil temperatures were as high as 93°C at 10 cm depth in the Dust Bowl region. 13Indeed, this incredible heat sterilized the little remaining soil by neutralizing nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In 1936, the Dust Bowl’s temperature reached a peak exceeding 40°C and spread to the East Coast as well as parts of Canada. Interestingly, this heat wave was followed by the coldest winter on record. 14Needless to say, this only worsened the drought. Furthermore, due to the friction between airborne and ground dust, static electricity could be seen as blue lightning bolts from metal fences and could even knock people down.15 During dust storms, drivers would drag chains on their cars in order to ground static electricity from interfering with their engines and …show more content…
radios.16
The transformation to the ecosystem put the nearby animals also into hard times. With much of the landscape reduced to dust, hundreds of thousands of jack rabbits were forced to target whatever little vegetation remained on the farms. In response, farmers organized “rabbit drives” in which townspeople herded the rabbits into pens in order to bludgeon them to death with sticks and clubs.17 Plagues of grasshoppers came next in the area with as many as 23,000 insects per acre which devoured the struggling farms.18 President Roosevelt reacted to these infestations by ordering the National Guard to burn fields and spread potent arsenic-based insecticides which had the negative side effect of poisoning plant life. 19Additionally, in order to curb surpluses, the federal government ordered the slaughter of six million pigs to stabilize prices. The meat was then distributed among the poor to ease food shortages. The government also created incentives of $14-$20 a head for livestock animals to be sent to the poor and provide struggling farmers with some cash.20 The government’s most effective environmental policy, however, was the planting of 200 million trees from Canada to Texas to serve as a windbreak, a means to retain moisture in the soil and prevent erosion.21 The New Deal also included education programs which aimed to teach farmers about soil conservation, plowing and planting methods. Farmers were provided the incentive of a $1 an acre to use the improved farmer techniques.22 According to some estimates, these measures reduced the intensity of dust storms by 65%. 23 With failing farms unable to produce any profits, thousands of homes were seized by banks in the foreclosure process or were simply abandoned due to the severity of the black blizzards and drought. In total, more than 2.5 million fled the Great Plains to neighboring states of which half a million of the migrants were homeless.24 This exodus led to the largest migration to the agriculture producing state of California with nearly 100,000 new arrivals termed “Okies” although most did not come from Oklahoma.25 Work on farms, however, was scarce and large agricultural companies took advantage of the desperation of these displaced laborers. Moreover, dust inhalation caused severe health problems such as coughing spasms, asthma, bronchitis, influenza and a dust induced form of pneumonia called the “brown plague.”26 This desolation is the background to John Steinbeck’s famous works such as “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath” which typified the lives of thousands of Okies suffering during this period. The Dust Bowl is remembered as a critical component of the Great Depression and the era known as the Dirty Thirties. Indeed, nothing good can be said to have come out of the suffering of millions of people. The Dust Bowl, however, does provide us with an important lesson about humanity and its potential effects on nature. The importance of sustainable development is paramount. Had the farmers of the Great Plains considered the long-term consequences of their actions, it would have been evident that there continued course was unsustainable and doomed to fail. The farmer’s attraction to property ownership and growing profits, however, overshadowed environmental concerns until they, ironically, overshadowed them. As the dust has settled from the 1930’s, it is integral that we revisit the Dust Bowl as the new millennium now faces its own climate challenges. The issue of sustainability is no longer one of the issues at hand, but maybe the only issue as we continue to transform unchartered terrain into farmland. After all, what can be a taste of the good life for one generation, can force the next to bite the dust. at can be a taste for an ed strailzise wiits, however, overshadowed other concerns untille onsidered the long-term consequence
Works Cited
"10 Things You May Not Know About the Dust Bowl." History.com.
A&E Television Networks, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
Allen, John L. "New World Encounters: Exploring The Great Plains of North America." Great Plains Quarterly (1993): 69-123. Http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1749&context=greatplainsquarterly. University of Nebraska. Web.
"DUST BOWL." DUST BOWL. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
"DUST BOWL." DUST BOWL. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
"The Dust Bowl of the 1930s." The Dust Bowl of the 1930s. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
Farris, John, and Maurie Manning. The Dust Bowl. San Diego: Lucent, 1989. Print.
Hansen, Zeynep K., and Gary D. Libecap. "Small Farms, Externalities, and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s." Journal of Political Economy 112.3 (2004): 665-94. Print.
Middleton, N. "Book Review: Regions at Risk: Comparisons of Threatened Environments." Progress in Human Geography 22.1 (1998): 145-46. Print.
"NASA - Top Story - SOURCE OF 1930s 'DUST BOWL ' DROUGHT IN TROPICAL WATERS, NASA FINDS - March 18, 2004." NASA - Top Story - SOURCE OF 1930s 'DUST BOWL ' DROUGHT IN TROPICAL WATERS, NASA FINDS - March 18, 2004. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb.
2013.
Rousseau, D., P. Antoine, S. Kunesch, C. Hatte, J. Rossignol, S. Packman, A. Lang, and C. Gauthier. "Evidence of Cyclic Dust Deposition in the US Great Plains during the Last Deglaciation from the High-resolution Analysis of the Peoria Loess in the Eustis Sequence (Nebraska, USA)." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 262.1-2 (2007): 159-74. Print.
the ability of humans to seriously affect climate is merely the imaginings of alarmists motivated by paranoia and sinister political agendas. While this paper does not attempt to discuss modern climate change, it does aim to validate the concept that humans, albeit only complex primates, have the power to wreak havoc on the planet and in turn, ourselves. Hopefully, as we see that it has happened before in recent history, we will not be so quick to sweep this notion like dust under the rug. Therefore, in order to appreciate the gravity of our own capabilities within our environmental context, this paper will explore the Dust Bowl’s manmade and natural causes, the manner in which various parts of the climate system interacted to intensify this event and the impact this catastrophe had on human life as well as the environment.
The first European explorers to voyage through the Great American Plains remarked that the lack of moisture in the soil rendered this terrain less than ideal for agriculture.1 At the turn of the century, however, a period of abnormally high rain fall seemingly contradicted this time-established observation. The American federal government believed this anomaly was permanent and actively encouraged migration to the Great Plains with the Homestead Act.2 Drawn by the dream of owning their own farm, thousands took up the offer to settle the Great Plains to enjoy their own piece of the American dream. After a brief drought in 1890, however, the region experienced yet another unusually wet period. This apparently verified the view that this region was indeed arable. Increased migration coupled with industrialized technology such as the gasoline tractor and the mechanized plow greatly expanded cultivation to unforeseen levels. During this period, farms were quite profitable, particularly during World War One in which food prices increased. Economic pressure, however, only encouraged further exploitation of the land to unsustainable levels.3 In total, during the five years between 1925 and 1930, more than 5 million acres of grasslands were plowed and cultivated. 4In fact, it would seem that this rapid expansion was favorable as it culminated in record breaking harvests in 1931. 5
This success story, however, came to an abrupt halt and then spiraled out of control. When markets crashed during the Great Depression, the price for wheat plummeted and farmers were stuck with an oversupply of produce. In the state of panic, farmers only intensified expansion of their farmers in a desperate attempt to recreate past profits. What remained of the natural drought-resistant grass was uprooted, plowed and cultivated. Moreover, there was an absence of “crop rotation, fallow fields, cover crops, soil terracing and wind-breaking trees to prevent wind erosion”.6 This over exertion of virgin topsoil left the infertile fields covered with a layer of desiccated dirt which became drier and drier as it was unable to retain moisture. Then, just as the situation could not get any worse, the rain stopped and a severe draught ensued. In 1931, the eroded land was blown away in the common winds of the region and developed into the first dust storm to sweep the United States in what came to be known as the Dust Bowl. There were thirteen more “black blizzards” to wreak havoc on the region that year.7 A year later the devastation was amplified by another 38 black blizzards which destroyed 100 million acres of farmland.8 It would continue to plague the United States and parts of Canada until the end of the decade. In a recent study by NASA, light has been cast upon the interacting parts of this dark period. Using a computer model based on satellite data, the NASA study clearly demonstrates that unusually cool tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures interacted with unusually warm tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures “to create conditions in the atmosphere that turned America’s breadbasket into a dust bowl."9 The situation originates in changes in sea surface temperatures which drastically reduced jet streams levels. As a result, the normal westward flow of the jet stream over the Gulf of Mexico was rerouted northward to the Great Plains. This condition caused moisture levels to increase in the Great Plains and explains its wet period. However, as the intensity of the low level jet stream diminished, it traveled farther South and caused a drought in the Great Plains. 10 This unexpected change had major implications on weather patterns that reduced precipitation in the Great Plains. Unfortunately, this aridness developed into a vicious cycle in which the dry soil led to even less evaporation. The dust itself, therefore, blocked the solar energy which is necessary to initiate the chain reaction to form rainclouds.11 The dust storm ravaged the area with massive clouds turning day into night wherever they went. In fact, one massive black blizzard in 1934 travelled 2,000 miles to the East Coast and covered the statue of liberty and the Capitol building. Amazingly, New England also experienced a red snow fall that year. 12
Temperature rose steadily because of the heat which radiated and had direct contact with the air.
Studies report that soil temperatures were as high as 93°C at 10 cm depth in the Dust Bowl region. 13Indeed, this incredible heat sterilized the little remaining soil by neutralizing nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In 1936, the Dust Bowl’s temperature reached a peak exceeding 40°C and spread to the East Coast as well as parts of Canada. Interestingly, this heat wave was followed by the coldest winter on record. 14Needless to say, this only worsened the drought. Furthermore, due to the friction between airborne and ground dust, static electricity could be seen as blue lightning bolts from metal fences and could even knock people down.15 During dust storms, drivers would drag chains on their cars in order to ground static electricity from interfering with their engines and …show more content…
radios.16
The transformation to the ecosystem put the nearby animals also into hard times. With much of the landscape reduced to dust, hundreds of thousands of jack rabbits were forced to target whatever little vegetation remained on the farms. In response, farmers organized “rabbit drives” in which townspeople herded the rabbits into pens in order to bludgeon them to death with sticks and clubs.17 Plagues of grasshoppers came next in the area with as many as 23,000 insects per acre which devoured the struggling farms.18 President Roosevelt reacted to these infestations by ordering the National Guard to burn fields and spread potent arsenic-based insecticides which had the negative side effect of poisoning plant life. 19Additionally, in order to curb surpluses, the federal government ordered the slaughter of six million pigs to stabilize prices. The meat was then distributed among the poor to ease food shortages. The government also created incentives of $14-$20 a head for livestock animals to be sent to the poor and provide struggling farmers with some cash.20 The government’s most effective environmental policy, however, was the planting of 200 million trees from Canada to Texas to serve as a windbreak, a means to retain moisture in the soil and prevent erosion.21 The New Deal also included education programs which aimed to teach farmers about soil conservation, plowing and planting methods. Farmers were provided the incentive of a $1 an acre to use the improved farmer techniques.22 According to some estimates, these measures reduced the intensity of dust storms by 65%. 23 With failing farms unable to produce any profits, thousands of homes were seized by banks in the foreclosure process or were simply abandoned due to the severity of the black blizzards and drought. In total, more than 2.5 million fled the Great Plains to neighboring states of which half a million of the migrants were homeless.24 This exodus led to the largest migration to the agriculture producing state of California with nearly 100,000 new arrivals termed “Okies” although most did not come from Oklahoma.25 Work on farms, however, was scarce and large agricultural companies took advantage of the desperation of these displaced laborers. Moreover, dust inhalation caused severe health problems such as coughing spasms, asthma, bronchitis, influenza and a dust induced form of pneumonia called the “brown plague.”26 This desolation is the background to John Steinbeck’s famous works such as “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath” which typified the lives of thousands of Okies suffering during this period. The Dust Bowl is remembered as a critical component of the Great Depression and the era known as the Dirty Thirties. Indeed, nothing good can be said to have come out of the suffering of millions of people. The Dust Bowl, however, does provide us with an important lesson about humanity and its potential effects on nature. The importance of sustainable development is paramount. Had the farmers of the Great Plains considered the long-term consequences of their actions, it would have been evident that there continued course was unsustainable and doomed to fail. The farmer’s attraction to property ownership and growing profits, however, overshadowed environmental concerns until they, ironically, overshadowed them. As the dust has settled from the 1930’s, it is integral that we revisit the Dust Bowl as the new millennium now faces its own climate challenges. The issue of sustainability is no longer one of the issues at hand, but maybe the only issue as we continue to transform unchartered terrain into farmland. After all, what can be a taste of the good life for one generation, can force the next to bite the dust. at can be a taste for an ed strailzise wiits, however, overshadowed other concerns untille onsidered the long-term consequence
Works Cited
"10 Things You May Not Know About the Dust Bowl." History.com.
A&E Television Networks, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
Allen, John L. "New World Encounters: Exploring The Great Plains of North America." Great Plains Quarterly (1993): 69-123. Http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1749&context=greatplainsquarterly. University of Nebraska. Web.
"DUST BOWL." DUST BOWL. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
"DUST BOWL." DUST BOWL. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
"The Dust Bowl of the 1930s." The Dust Bowl of the 1930s. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
Farris, John, and Maurie Manning. The Dust Bowl. San Diego: Lucent, 1989. Print.
Hansen, Zeynep K., and Gary D. Libecap. "Small Farms, Externalities, and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s." Journal of Political Economy 112.3 (2004): 665-94. Print.
Middleton, N. "Book Review: Regions at Risk: Comparisons of Threatened Environments." Progress in Human Geography 22.1 (1998): 145-46. Print.
"NASA - Top Story - SOURCE OF 1930s 'DUST BOWL ' DROUGHT IN TROPICAL WATERS, NASA FINDS - March 18, 2004." NASA - Top Story - SOURCE OF 1930s 'DUST BOWL ' DROUGHT IN TROPICAL WATERS, NASA FINDS - March 18, 2004. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb.
2013.
Rousseau, D., P. Antoine, S. Kunesch, C. Hatte, J. Rossignol, S. Packman, A. Lang, and C. Gauthier. "Evidence of Cyclic Dust Deposition in the US Great Plains during the Last Deglaciation from the High-resolution Analysis of the Peoria Loess in the Eustis Sequence (Nebraska, USA)." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 262.1-2 (2007): 159-74. Print.