What was the 1930s dust bowl

However, even with government help, many farmers could not maintain their operations and were forced to leave their land. Some voluntarily deeded their farms to creditors, others faced foreclosure by banks, and still others had to leave temporarily to search for work to provide for their families.

In fact, at the peak of farm transfers in —34, nearly 1 in 10 farms changed possession, with half of those being involuntary from a combination of the depression and drought.

Farm family, Sargent, Nebraska, Photograph by Solomon D. A number of poor land management practices in the Great Plains region increased the vulnerability of the area before the s drought. Some of the land use patterns and methods of cultivation in the region can be traced back to the settlement of the Great Plains nearly years earlier. Several expeditions had explored the region, but they were not studying the region for its agricultural potential, and, furthermore, their findings went into government reports that were not readily available to the general public Fite, Misleading information, however, was plentiful.

In addition to this inaccurate information, most settlers had little money and few other assets, and their farming experience was based on conditions in the more humid eastern United States, so the crops and cultivation practices they chose often were not suitable for the Great Plains. But the earliest settlements occurred during a wet cycle, and the first crops flourished, so settlers were encouraged to continue practices that would later have to be abandoned.

When droughts and harsh winters inevitably occurred, there was widespread economic hardship and human suffering, but the early settlers put these episodes behind them once the rains returned. Although adverse conditions forced many settlers to return to the eastern United States, even more continued to come west.

The idea that the climate of the Great Plains was changing, particularly in response to human settlement, was popularly accepted in the last half of the 19th century. It was reflected in legislative acts such as the Timber Culture Act of , which was based on the belief that if settlers planted trees they would be encouraging rainfall, and it was not until the s that this idea was finally abandoned White, Low crop prices and high machinery costs discussed in the previous section meant that farmers needed to cultivate more land to produce enough to meet their required payments.

Since most of the best farming areas were already being used, poorer farmlands were increasingly used. Farming submarginal lands often had negative results, such as soil erosion and nutrient leaching.

By using these areas, farmers were increasing the likelihood of crop failures, which increased their vulnerability to drought. These economic conditions also created pressure on farmers to abandon soil conservation practices to reduce expenditures. Furthermore, during the s, many farmers switched from the lister to the more efficient one-way disc plow, which also greatly increased the risk of blowing soil.

Basically, reductions in soil conservation measures and the encroachment onto poorer lands made the farming community more vulnerable to wind erosion, soil moisture depletion, depleted soil nutrients, and drought.

Many of these measures were initiated by the federal government, a relatively new practice. Before the s drought, federal aid had generally been withheld in emergency situations in favor of individual and self-reliant approaches. This began to change with the development of the Great Depression in the late s and the inauguration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The programs had a variety of goals, all of which were aimed at the reduction of drought impacts and vulnerability:. President Roosevelt visiting a farmer who received a drought relief grant, Mandan, North Dakota, Photo by Arthur Rothstein.

As important as these programs may have been, the survival of a majority of the families and enterprises undoubtedly rested solely with their perseverance and integrity. Whether they stayed or moved into the drought regions or migrated to other areas in hopes of a better life, families encountered new hardships and obstacles that would require ingenuity, resilience, and humility.

Those who remained in the drought regions were forced to endure severe dust storms and their health effects, diminished incomes, animal infestations, and the physical and emotional stress over their uncertain futures. Humor helped; tales about birds flying backward to keep from getting sand in their eyes, housewives scouring pots and pans by holding them up to keyholes for a sandblasting, and children who had never seen rain were among the favorite stories of Dust Bowl inhabitants.

In the end, it was a combination of willpower, stamina, humor, pride, and, above all, optimism that enabled many to survive the Dust Bowl. The s drought and its associated impacts finally began to abate during spring By , most areas of the country were receiving near-normal rainfalls. These rains, along with the outbreak of World War II, alleviated many of the domestic economic problems associated with the s.

In fact, the new production demands and positive climatic conditions brought the United States into a rapid economic boom. Even though short-term conditions seemed to be relatively stable, this production growth had some drawbacks. One drawback described by Hurt, was that the start of World War II shifted remaining funds and priorities away from drought-related programs. Men were taken off work programs to enter the armed forces and to produce for the war effort. Moreover, items such as gasoline and replacement parts were redirected from federal drought and conservation programs to the war efforts.

This meant that conservation programs and research were significantly reduced during this period. Another drawback was that with the return of the rains, many people soon forgot about conservation programs and measures implemented during the s droughts.

This led to a return to some of the inappropriate farming and grazing practices that made many regions so vulnerable to drought in the s. Although the —89 drought was the most economically devastating natural disaster in the history of the United States Riebsame et al. However, broad calculations and estimates can provide valuable generalizations of the economic impact of the s drought.

In , the Works Progress Administration WPA reported that drought was the principal reason for economic relief assistance in the Great Plains region during the s Link et al. Besides its considerable carbon footprint, industrial farming also has a significant impact on biodiversity loss , nutrient pollution and groundwater depletion.

Big Agriculture has made some gestures toward sustainability , but it has often applied pressure on politicians to limit regulation and ensure that profits and production are maximized, just as they were leading into the Dust Bowl.

Environmental costs, including climate impacts, are too often left out of the equation. Ignoring those costs impedes the implementation of strong policy measures and makes it more probable that a warming climate will continue to bring about dry conditions like the West is now experiencing.

New research says that a drought like that of the s is now twice as likely due to climate change. As droughts become megadroughts, the possibility of a new Dust Bowl looms, and modeling suggests its effects would be devastating.

The Biden infrastructure and climate plan would right many wrongs by putting ecology and economy in balance. This story is part of Covering Climate Now , a global journalism collaboration of more than news outlets committed to better coverage of the climate crisis. This year's theme is "living through the climate crisis.

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