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The Dust Bowl
2012 · TV series · documentary · 118 min episodes · 1 season
Chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the Great Plow-Up, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.
4 positive1 neutralfrom 5 commenters
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5 comments on Hacker News
I’m watching Ken Burns Documentary on the Dust Bowl, and interesting that one of the causes of the dust bowl was a wheat hype cycle in western Oklahoma with all sorts of folks theorizing that because they were able to re-form the grassland to wheat land and grow wheat it would somehow cause more rains to come (to an area that is known for droughts) and it was thought the growth would go on forever. Turns out the grasses they replaced had roots like 6 feet deep that kept the soil in place and prevented events like the dust bowl during dry spells.
Basically the hype cycle is as American as Apple Pie.
I often have a pessimistic outlook of the future myself and I'm trying to change that.
>Some of my coworkers over the years have been very consistent at believing that the world is on the brink of The End Times ... at all times.
I've had similar thoughts too. They began in my teens. It's been decades now and it's exhausting.
>What about living here during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
I recently watched Ken Burns "The Dust Bowl" documentary[1]. If one thinks living now is bad, imagine living during that period and in that place (watch it to better understand)! Seeing pictures of the dust storms coming reminds me the The Nothing from "The Neverending Story" [2]. The Nothing rolls along annihilating everything it covers. It's terrifying to think about.
Here's an interesting excerpt from the movie: https://poorvillains.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-nothing-and-its-servant-gmork-in-the-never-ending-story-1984/
[1] https://kenburns.com/films/dust-bowl/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NeverEnding_Story_(film)
> I wonder how much the dust bowl played a part in making California the agricultural powerhouse it is today
Definitely this played a massive factor, the documentary of Ken Burns is fascinating and insightful
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/11/ken-burns-dust-bowl-the-greatest-man-made-eco-disaster-in-us-history/265249/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYOmjQO_UMw
"The Dust Bowl" by Ken Burns is a fantastic documentary. Hopefully we don't repeat that experience.
I watched the Ken Burns documentary about the dust bowl, it covers the science and farming practices that led to it - VERY interesting and well done, if a bit dry.
My main takeaway was that they "solved" the dust bowl by pumping water up from the aquifers, which are now like 70% depleted - scary.