What Have We Learned?

PBS is airing a series called The Dust Bowl http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/.  It makes the point that part of the reason for the problem were farming practices which largely contributed to the dust bowl, as well as the drought.  It was a confluence of factors that lead to The Dust Bowl.

This is not the only time that man has influenced the world to change the environment.   For example, smog is a contribution from humans that has caused health problems and a loss of quality of life in cities around the world.

Global warming, controversial as it may be, seems to be irrefutable, given the decrease in the glaciers of the world, and the amount of carbon dioxide being released to the atmosphere.

One of the predictions by those who promote the idea that global warming is occurring is that weather extremes will occur. Very cold in the winter, very hot in the summer. Superstorms might occur.  The question after "Superstorm Sandy" http://www.climatewatch.noaa.gov/article/2012/superstorm-sandy-and-sea-level-rise is how frequently will a 100 years storm http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/100yearflood.html occur.

What have we learned from the Dust Bowl Days?  What have we learned about conservation? What have we learned about pollution? 

A coworker today said she wanted to be gone before the South Plains runs out of water.   We are depleting the Ogallala Aquifer http://www.hpwd.com/aquifers/ogallala-aquifer at an alarming rate.  In this respect, I am grateful that I have no children who will have to struggle with the problem of water in the future.  I may still be alive when the water situation becomes more critical than it already is. 

We were in a water conservation mode this past summer: specific days for watering, no home car washing, to name a few restrictions.  Will it get worse with time?  I can only think it will.

What have we learned? What will we do with what we have learned?  Do we want to do the work and make the sacrifices based on what we have learned? 

Hmmmmm.