1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from House Stuff Works 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: Clark with Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and Jerry the chairs 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,799 Speaker 1: their making copies. Uh, and this is stuff you Should Know. 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: That was a classic skit, wouldn't you say? And one 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: of the only ones I liked by that guy by 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: Rob Schneider. Yeah. I wasn't the biggest fan. Uh. Did 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: you see the one We're stinging? He's like staying stingling 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: ling ding ding making copies. Yeah, I mean I'm not 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: anti Rob Schneider, but I just wasn't like, how could 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: you be anti Rob Schneider honestly nobody. It's like being 12 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: mad at like a friendly horse or something. Yeah, exactly, 13 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: that's stupid friendly horse. Yeah. I hate his gutsy Uh 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: what a weird intro? Yeah, well, part for their course 15 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: pretty much my friend. Well, although his career has dried up. 16 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: Oh that was good and vicious. Man. I hope he 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 1: doesn't listen before we get into the whole drying up reference. Chuck, 18 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: we are long, long, long overdue for giving a huge 19 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: shout out to our Kiva team. Yeah that's right. Uh. 20 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: Several years ago. It feels like many years ago. We 21 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: did a podcast on micro lending and we said, hey, 22 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: let's start a Kiva team. Kiva is a international lending 23 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: organization micro lending where they pair you with people. Actually 24 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: they it's all over the world. Now you need money 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: on a small basis, you loan them the money. You 26 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: can get paid back and pull your money back out, 27 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: or you can reload it. And we have a very 28 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: active team. And let's hear some numbers. Okay, so um, 29 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: our team captain Glenn of Glenn and Sonya team captain 30 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: Fame sent us some stats recently. We have the stuff 31 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: you should know. Team has eight thousand, four hundred and 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: fifty three members great as as of July thirty one. Yeah. Um, 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: how much have we loaned so far? Are you ready 34 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: for this? We need a drum roll, Jerry? Can we 35 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: put in some sort of drum roll effect or at 36 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: Wilhelm scream or something like that? All right, Okay, that's nice, 37 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: that's very good. Here we go three million, two hundred 38 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: and fifty one thousand, twenty five dollars. Dude, that is crazy. 39 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,799 Speaker 1: And that's out of a hundred and seventeen thousand, five 40 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty nine loans, which is a total thirteen 41 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: point nine loans per member. I don't know how people 42 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,399 Speaker 1: are doing like nine tenths of a loan, but that's 43 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: impressive in and of itself. Yeah, so what that means 44 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: is people get repaid and they just kind of do 45 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: what I think we do was just kind of roll 46 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: that into another loan. Yeah, you relan it. They make 47 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: great gifts. I think at least one person sent you 48 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: a Cheva gift card to congratulate you and Emily on 49 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: Ruby Rose. That's right, And that's always a nice thing. 50 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,959 Speaker 1: You can do at holiday times or birthdays whenever. It's 51 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,799 Speaker 1: not too late to join, like we're not like, oh, 52 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: you're new to the team. Like it's a very supportive, 53 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: great team and again, like you said, very active. You 54 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: can go to kiva dot org slash teams I believe 55 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: it's plural slash stuff you should know, or just search 56 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: stuff you should know on kiva dot org and we'll 57 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: bring up our team and you can join and be 58 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: embraced by our teammates. That's right. Yeah, So thanks to 59 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: Glenn Sonia as always for nudging us in the right 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: direction and keeping up with the stats. Big help and 61 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: um and congratulations to a team on getting the three 62 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: point to five million dollars and change and loans. Absolutely okay, 63 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: So droughts, huh, Rob Snyder Kiva droughts the natural progression 64 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: of things. Don't forget sting was in there. Um, all right, 65 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: let's talk droughts their serious thing. Yeah, I mean it's uh, 66 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: it's it's natural disaster is what it is. It is. 67 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: Although so Robert Lamb wrote this article that that forms 68 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: the basis of this in part. Yeah, Robert of us 69 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: to blow your mind award winning stuff, to blow your mind. Yeah, yeah, 70 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: they wanted to work. Congratulations. Um. The heat points out 71 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: that droughts are fairly natural. There's a lot of debate 72 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: over whether climate change exacerbates droughts. Um, but for the 73 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: most part, droughts are natural. They're seasonal, they're temporal. They 74 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: come and go or in some cases they just stay 75 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: and then you got a desert and it's it becomes 76 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: a natural disaster when you apply humanity to it. Kind 77 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: of like do you remember those overhead projectors and they 78 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: would have transparencies, so there could be like different they 79 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: could overlay stuff, so so you have drought transparency, it's 80 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: just whatever. But then you overlay humanity on it and 81 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: then it becomes a natural disaster. Yeah, I thought that 82 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,720 Speaker 1: was a pretty good point actually, when that Robert made 83 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: um in and of itself. If there were no humans, 84 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,159 Speaker 1: that would be a drought. Um. The land would dry 85 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: up in certain regions, Animals would leave because there's no water. 86 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: But it's like who cares not humans, Vegetation would die 87 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: or the few animals that could stay would stay, and 88 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: the few plants that could still grow would grow, and 89 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: then that would just be the new ecosystem, right, and 90 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: then no big potentially, if it wasn't permanent, it would 91 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: shift back and the the the life would come back 92 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: to the area. But again, humans, like you said, wouldn't 93 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: give a big whoop if it wasn't for humans living everywhere, 94 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: growing crops everywhere, and using tons and tons of water 95 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: mostly to grow those crops. So we've talked about this 96 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: again and again, but um, if what I saw the 97 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: most recent stead I came across, of the global supply 98 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: of fresh water is used to irrigate crops, and of 99 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: that only half is reused, is captured and reused, So 100 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: that means we lose a lot of water to agriculture, 101 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: and agriculture is kind of leaky, you could put it 102 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: that way. Um. And the fact that we try to 103 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: grow crops everywhere and use a bunch of the freshwater 104 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: creates this kind of vicious cycle that exacerbates droughts or 105 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: at the very least, UM makes our reliance on climate 106 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: to not be droughty really really, um really important. Yes, 107 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: I just put a lot of words together and their 108 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: sense in there somewhere it makes total sense. Like, just 109 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: go back and listen to that last sense a few 110 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: times everybody. They'll finally come through. Uh. It is serious business, though, 111 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: and very sad and devastating. Between fifty and a hundred 112 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,359 Speaker 1: thousand people uh died in two thousand eleven in East 113 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: Africa with their drought, and right here in the US 114 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: we have suffered through uh some pretty rough drought here 115 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: in the last fifty years, um. And two thousand twelve 116 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,679 Speaker 1: they said it was the worst conditions in fifty years. 117 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: And corn production. Uh, you put a dent in corn production, 118 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: that's gonna put a debt in the world markets. Well, yeah, 119 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: it's a big deal. America runs on corn in the 120 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: worldun con donuts, even dunking donuts have corn in them. 121 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: The world to a certain degree runs on America's corn too, Yep, 122 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Yeah, And when um something 123 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: like corn, as we'll see, agriculture gets hit by drought obviously, 124 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: and when it gets hit by drought, because of the 125 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: globalized marketplace that we live in today, when food prices 126 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: go up, some of the poorer countries get priced out 127 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 1: of the market and they see things like food riots 128 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: and starvation and all sorts of bad stuff. So droughts 129 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: have like terrible effects. It's a snowball effect. And it 130 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,119 Speaker 1: seems like I don't I don't know if it's getting 131 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: worse and if it is getting worse worse, if it's 132 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: anthropogenic or whatever, But there, okay. Texas. In two thousand 133 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: and eleven, Texas had the driest year since, which happened 134 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: to be the year it started recording this kind of stuff, 135 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: so it has it's the driest year on record for Texas. 136 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: Two third California had the driest to your own record 137 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: thanks to the ridiculously resilient ridge UM, and Australia went 138 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: through what's called the Millennium drought from two thousand nine, 139 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: they had a terrible drought. They actually, like some places 140 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: like Melbourne actually um figured out how to live in 141 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: drought conditions to survive and actually keep going pretty well. 142 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: And a lot of people are studying what Melbourne did 143 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: because they did it so well. That's because Australians are 144 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: resourceful and smart people, very resourceful, you know, but not 145 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: smart and smart. Okay, I wasn't saying anything. I'm just kidding, 146 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: rubbing my eye. I got distracted. So uh well, we 147 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: even here in Georgia, we had a pretty wicked drought. 148 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: Remember two or three years ago. Do you remember the 149 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: governor like lead a prayer circle praying for rain and 150 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,319 Speaker 1: it rained? Did it rain? It did rain? And uh 151 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: I don't remember that part now it rained, and there 152 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: was a lot of hullabaloo because they were like, well 153 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: he led the prayer circle on the day where they 154 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:06,559 Speaker 1: call it for like, did it ring? They were praying 155 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: because that would be kind of cool, that would be 156 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: kind of cool. I don't think that's what happened though, um, 157 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 1: but I do remember that. Yeah, man, there's nothing wrong 158 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: with that. Pray for rain, do your rain dance. There 159 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,319 Speaker 1: was talk of war between Georgia and Tennessee, and Tennessee 160 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: said we have guns. Yeah, And Georgia said, we have guns. 161 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: We have guns too, yeah, And there's a tense standoff, 162 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: and we left and went to New York City, where 163 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: there are no guns. We had something on the books already. Uh. 164 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: So let's talk to the basics of drought. UM. Drought 165 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: is obviously when it doesn't rain enough to sustain uh, 166 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: the ecosystem like it should. It's basically you're losing water 167 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: through evaporation, which is when water vaporizes or transporation, when 168 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: water moves, you know, through the soil and through the 169 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: plants and then leaves, and it's not so useful to us, right, 170 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: So you're losing water faster faster than it's being replenished. Yeah, 171 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: that is a drought. And again this is this is 172 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: all viewed through the lens of humanity. Like water isn't 173 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: lost when it goes through the soil. It is to 174 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: us until we get it out of an awkwifer that's 175 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: being replenished. Um. But it's not necessarily lost unless you 176 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: really look at it through the human lens. Uh. And 177 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,959 Speaker 1: there are many many factors that go into whether or 178 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,479 Speaker 1: not a drought occurs and how long it lasts. UM. 179 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: Here are a few immediate causes. One is high pressure zones. UM. 180 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: Sinking air means you get a high pressure zone, which 181 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 1: means you have clear skies and warmer temperatures. And if 182 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: that stalls over a region, then UM more water is 183 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 1: going to evaporate, so that is gonna exacerbate the problem. 184 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: That's like the ridiculously resilient ridge over California. UM. From 185 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: I think two, it was just this high pressure zone 186 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: that just said I'm sticking around here for a while. 187 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: And not only was it did it lead to like 188 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: high temperatures and low humidity because it's a high pressure zone. UM, 189 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: it also blocked tropical cyclones that normally are brought to 190 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: California by the westerlies. It just shot him up toward 191 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: the Arctic or down towards Mexico and California for two 192 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: different reasons, didn't get precipitation, and it's still in a 193 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: pickle as a result. Well, usually when you have a 194 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: prolonged drought, you can point to a number of factors, 195 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: like the ironically a perfect storm that causes no storm. 196 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: Another reason is UM air pollution. UH, there's a decade 197 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: long study completed I think in two thousand thirteen UM 198 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: from the University of Maryland h go terps UH and 199 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: they found that air air particulate, which UH is pollution 200 00:11:55,160 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: dusts at sulfates UM produces more UH intense storms and 201 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 1: wet areas, or it leads to more intense storms and 202 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: wet areas and reduces rain and drier areas. So basically 203 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: just again exacerbates whatever is normally going on there. It 204 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: creates weather extremes, creates weather extremes. That's a great way 205 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: to say it. That's weird though, because so particulate matter. Yeah, 206 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 1: I'm trying to figure this out, so the they don't know, 207 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: the mechanism is uncertain, so there is no answer. If 208 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: that was your question, I'm abandoning figuring it out. Then UH. 209 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: And then here in the southeast one causes wind blowing 210 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 1: inward from the ocean is usually good thing because that 211 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: brings in from the Atlantic on the eastern seaboard, brings 212 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: in warm, humid temperatures and UH in the summertime. And 213 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,719 Speaker 1: if they shift or weaken, then they're going to bring 214 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 1: in less moisture and less rainfall. And I think that 215 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: is what happened was a wind shift, and uh, whenever 216 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: it was we had our drought, wind was it was, 217 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: It may have been something like that around then. Yeah, 218 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: I mean it was fairly severe. Um. I just remember 219 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: all the lakes were way down and they I don't 220 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: think we got to the point where they were had 221 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: forced rationing, but they were advising everyone and asking everyone 222 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: to be better Stewart's It was a big deal. Everybody 223 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: was really nervous. I think the lake where Atlantic gets 224 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: his fresh art was down like twelve feet or something 225 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: like that. There was serious stuff. Um did you you 226 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:40,959 Speaker 1: talked about like like changes in um in different areas 227 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: from did you did you mention Lno? Do you remember 228 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: that Chris Farley when he was El Nino back in 229 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,080 Speaker 1: the nineties. It's like, I am el Nino, which means 230 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: the Nino in Spanish, so you know what that is. 231 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: I sort of remember that. There's a documentary on about 232 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: him now, which I'm eager to see. I haven't checked that. 233 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: I forgot about that. I want to see that as well. Um, 234 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:10,520 Speaker 1: so El Nino is actually um named for little baby Jesus. 235 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: Did you know that? I did not know that. Yeah, 236 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: back in the sixteen hundred Spanish fishermen um off the 237 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 1: coast of Mexico. UM named it El Nino because it 238 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: was this weird arrival of really warm water in December 239 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: in the winter months. They're like, oh, well, obviously it's 240 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: the christ Child, so they named it El Nino. And 241 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: that is when there's warmer than average water temperatures in 242 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: the tropics around like basically off the coast of Mexico, right, 243 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: and those warm the air and create wetter than average 244 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: conditions in some parts of the US and other parts 245 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: of the world, and drier than average conditions in the 246 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: other parts. And then there's the reverse of that, La Nina. 247 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 1: That's right, and that's colder than average temperatures of those 248 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: places that normally get wetter than normal and drier than 249 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: normal are flip flopped. But either way you get extreme 250 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: weather events like floods and droughts from this. And they 251 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: aren't exactly certain what creates this, just that they're pretty 252 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: sure it's natural. Yeah, well, actually they do have a 253 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: decent idea. UM. In two thousand three, something happened, which 254 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: the same thing happened in the nineteen fifties when we 255 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: suffered a pretty bad drought in the US. Uh, there 256 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: were there are two ocean cycles that basically flip flopped, 257 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: the Pacific Decadal oscillation and the Atlantic multi decadal oscillation. 258 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: And these things flip back and forth basically over time, 259 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: and they cause either more rain or less rain. And 260 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: the p d O is what causes the shift in 261 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: those surface ocean temperatures. So what what causes the shift 262 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: the Pacific decatal oscillation? Okay, so but what caused these 263 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: things to flip flop? Well, they just flip flop periodically 264 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: over over time. Basically. Um, I don't buy that though, 265 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: Like something makes those things flip flop. Well, yeah, maybe so, 266 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, that's what I want to answers. 267 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: Some people probably say that's just the cycle of nature. 268 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 1: I guess, so that's a cop out. But they say 269 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: that every twenty to thirty years, Uh, this is gonna happen. 270 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: And when you combine them with with other factors, is 271 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: it basically gives everything a boost? Is and that's what 272 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: creates an Yeah, that's what they think. It's more like 273 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 1: it works in concert with El Nino and Lennia. So 274 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: these things have happened at the same time, which is 275 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: the reason California is in such a droute right now. 276 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: So you have the warrn p d O plus El 277 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: Nino means it's gonna be wetter and cooler. Uh p 278 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: d O plus Lninia equals dryer and uh laninia is 279 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: influenced by the trade winds basically blowing on top of 280 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: the water. I think you already said that. It just 281 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 1: like circulates that water and the deep water comes up 282 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: to the purpose. Yes, chili, yeah, from chili or it's 283 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: chili water, chili water. So um, chuck. There's different categories 284 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 1: or people loved categorize stuff, right and um, there's actually 285 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 1: different categories of the categories for droughts. A little bit 286 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,199 Speaker 1: of a brain buster, but um, you can kind of 287 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: subdivide the categories for droughts into um, geographical or seasonal 288 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: descriptions and then descriptions of drought severity. Right. So with 289 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: the geographical or seasonal description, it's kind of like, here's 290 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 1: an area, and this is the kind of drought conditions 291 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: you can expect. So there is a permanent drout, which 292 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: is basically what you think of with the desert. It's 293 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: a place that gets a minimal amount of precipitation and 294 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: it never catches up to the amount of evaporation or 295 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: Transporation's right, So that's just it's just always dry there, 296 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: permanent drought. It's an arid, climb air climate. Uh. And 297 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 1: then next you have seasonal drought, which is like a 298 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: drought comes dry conditions come on a predictable um calendar. Yeah, 299 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,879 Speaker 1: like the dry season of the wet season in the country. Uh. 300 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 1: Those two are pretty standard. Um, no big surprises there. 301 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: But the next couple, Um, you almost said no big 302 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,400 Speaker 1: whoop again? Almost did you saw that? My mouth went 303 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: Unpredictable drought is when there are irregular dry spells where 304 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: it's usually humid or rainy. Um. And then invisible drought. 305 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: I had never heard of that. I think that's fascinating. 306 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,719 Speaker 1: That's when it is raining and you think, how can 307 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,239 Speaker 1: we be in a drought because it's raining. It just 308 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 1: means it's it's too hot probably and it's not raining 309 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:48,919 Speaker 1: enough because too much evaporation and transporations going on. So 310 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,639 Speaker 1: it's invisible to the naked eye. It's like being skinny 311 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: fat to where you like you're the thin on the outside, 312 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,520 Speaker 1: but your liver's got a ton of fat. All over it. Oh, 313 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: I thought you're gonna talk about the people that have 314 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,239 Speaker 1: like really thin faces but from the neck and they 315 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: have weight. No, I hate those people. Oh, chuck, you're 316 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,880 Speaker 1: going to get some mail for that. No, I hate 317 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: those people. I'm jealous of those people because I have 318 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 1: a big, fat face. Like, there's no picture I can take. 319 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: I could show my legs or my arms, and people say, 320 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:18,640 Speaker 1: what a thin guy. You know, I think you look great, 321 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: but everything from my nose to my waist gives me away. 322 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do that. I canna start posting pictures of 323 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,159 Speaker 1: my legs in my arms like Danny DeVito, he always 324 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 1: does the troll foot that still have a nice, small, 325 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:31,959 Speaker 1: tiny butt too. We've all noticed. I'm gonna take pictures 326 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:36,880 Speaker 1: of that. It's the talk of the office. Um, everyone's 327 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: pictures of yourself. Everyone's body is fine. I'm not body shaming, 328 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:42,359 Speaker 1: all right, that's good. What I'm saying is I'm jealous 329 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: of people with thin faces. All So, we got we 330 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: got one category down, which describes like a region in area, 331 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,639 Speaker 1: although invisible drought doesn't really fit into that. But what 332 00:19:53,760 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: als okay? Um the next group of categories. Um man, 333 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,640 Speaker 1: I sound like we're we're using an overhead projector this 334 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 1: is this dry, it's appropriately dry for the drought episode. Well, 335 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: you have to go through these, you know, it's part 336 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,120 Speaker 1: of it. Okay, So the other these these categories make 337 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: sense to me. They described like the severity of a drought, right, 338 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: and you can pretty much go from one to the 339 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 1: other and it makes sense. So like a meteorological drought, 340 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,920 Speaker 1: it basically says that you know, this week, this this 341 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,639 Speaker 1: time last year, we had about an inch and a 342 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,880 Speaker 1: half more rain than we got this year so far, 343 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 1: no big whoop. Basically, my brother in law also named Josh, 344 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: would notice this kind of thing because he's a little 345 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: bit of a weather bug. Yeah, I like weather bugs. Okay, 346 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,720 Speaker 1: well you would like Josh, and he's one of the 347 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: few things, a few people besides like maybe a meteorologist 348 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 1: who would notice this, which is why it's called the 349 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,640 Speaker 1: meteorological drought. That's right, Like you would have to be 350 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: really paying attention to even notice that. That's right. Okay, 351 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: that's stage one. Yes, Stage two is an agricultural drought, 352 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: and that is when you're talking about crops and agriculture 353 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: is going to be one of the first industries are 354 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 1: parts of the world affected by drought obviously, so this 355 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,880 Speaker 1: is when farmers are starting to notice. You might hear 356 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 1: a news blurb or two if there had been drought 357 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: in the news, but it still hasn't. Like you're not 358 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 1: walking around the streets talking about it yet. No, just 359 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: farmers and Josh are speaking to one another about the drought. 360 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 1: That's right, what's next, Josh, the hydrological drought. This is 361 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 1: when like we start to notice, and that's when you're like, hey, man, 362 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 1: I went to my lake house this weekend and it's 363 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: all ugly. Yeah, like play red muddy junk everywhere. I 364 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: can see the submerged buildings. The underwater cities are visible, 365 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:52,400 Speaker 1: like in Lakelander. You know there's a town down there? 366 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, you didn't know that. I don't think 367 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:58,400 Speaker 1: so there's a town down there. When Lake Lanar gets 368 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: low enough you can see it. You can see a 369 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: Gulf seventies six sign sticking up out of the lake. Yeah, 370 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,920 Speaker 1: like the old like ball one that's orange with the blue. 371 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,400 Speaker 1: What was the town like some part of Buford or something. 372 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: I guess. Interesting, you didn't know there's a town and 373 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: under lake Lin hear I didn't. Didn't that Creepsville about creepy? 374 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:21,719 Speaker 1: It's creepy. I think it's cool. I mean if there 375 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: were people living down there with gills, that was creepy. 376 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,359 Speaker 1: So the point is, Chuck, that we notice the people 377 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: with gills. Notice everybody starts to notice the hydrological drought. 378 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: It's like the talk of town. Um. And then the 379 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: next step is where it gets really really bad socioeconomic drought. 380 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: This is when the government tends to step in and say, 381 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,959 Speaker 1: you who have odd number um addresses can water on 382 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: Tuesday's Thursdays. Those of you with even addresses can water 383 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 1: on Monday Wednesdays. Or it can flip flop. It depends 384 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:01,920 Speaker 1: on your local government. True, isn't that set in stone? Right? 385 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: But the point is is, Um, there are now restrictions 386 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 1: taking place. There are now things being enforced. Their people 387 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,679 Speaker 1: are are being asked to cut back, and and the 388 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: reason why is because there you're we're seeing a real 389 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: effect like through the economy. Yeah, like Robert points out, 390 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: something I've never really thought of. A tourism of course, 391 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: is gonna dry up with the water in some places. 392 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:28,879 Speaker 1: UH food shortages, UM shipping maybe affected, UH imports and exports, 393 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,560 Speaker 1: and in less developed parts of the world, that can 394 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:34,959 Speaker 1: be really bad. Here in the US it may just 395 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,560 Speaker 1: mean socioeconomic annoyance, but in other parts of the world 396 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 1: that could lead to political unrest and armed conflict and 397 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,959 Speaker 1: panic and disease and like really really bad stuff. Right, 398 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: So that's socioeconomic drought. And uh, let's take a break 399 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 1: and let's talk a little bit about other effects of 400 00:23:52,720 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: drought in the dust bowl right after this, So, Chuck, 401 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: we kind of just gave some overview of like how 402 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,760 Speaker 1: drought works or how bad it can get. That's right, 403 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: So what causes this? I mean, we talked about whether 404 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: being a factor. Obviously there's not a lot we can 405 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: do with that. You know, we have we have our 406 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,879 Speaker 1: how weather modification works episode that we did and a 407 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,600 Speaker 1: TV show based on that too, a TV episode. Um, 408 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: but not everybody agrees that, say, like cloud seating works. 409 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 1: Some people say it really really works, other people say 410 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,160 Speaker 1: it doesn't really work. Yeah, we talked about cloud seating 411 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: a couple of times. I think it's been used, um 412 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: to affect during wartime to wash out trails. Supposedly, Yeah, 413 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 1: yea right, that's what they say. But what I don't 414 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: know everyone's not convinced. So when it comes to things 415 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,400 Speaker 1: like El Nino or law Nina, as it stands now 416 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: at our primitive technological place in human history, there's not 417 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: much we can do about that. Um. The most we 418 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,160 Speaker 1: can hope to do is really kind of figure out 419 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,199 Speaker 1: what causes drought in other ways and if see if 420 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,240 Speaker 1: we can do anything about that. And the UM person 421 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:22,880 Speaker 1: in the hot seed or the thing in the hot seat, 422 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: as far as that goes right now, is climate change. 423 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:30,959 Speaker 1: And there's a big debate over um whether we can 424 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: do anything about drought conditions through climate change and all 425 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: that has to do with CEO two supposedly. Yeah, well, 426 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: between the last five decades, between nineteen fifty and two thousand, 427 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,959 Speaker 1: worthy warmest in six hundred years in the United States 428 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 1: temperature wise, and UM, I'm sorry, I think that's globally, 429 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,679 Speaker 1: but in the US and the Southwest they are proticting 430 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: a rise um as much as nine degrees by the 431 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:02,440 Speaker 1: year UM and that as accompanied by the two degree 432 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: two degree one point four degree rise over the past 433 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 1: one years. So what they think is that as more 434 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:15,120 Speaker 1: and more c O two enters the atmosphere, this rise 435 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 1: and temperature that it creates from this greenhouse effect, UM 436 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: will actually create drought like conditions. And one of the 437 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: ways that it will create drought like conditions is by 438 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 1: creating high pressure areas which remember don't have UM a 439 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: lot of humidity, they have high temperatures, they're dry conditions, 440 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: and they also UM simultaneously. UM this denser air and 441 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: dense air above it, right, or warmer air above it 442 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 1: prevents the air below it from rising, right, because that's 443 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:50,680 Speaker 1: how winds and and UM currents air currents are formed. 444 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 1: Warm air near the tropics rises and replaces the cooler 445 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 1: air to create this cycle. Right, that's right. Well, if 446 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,639 Speaker 1: the air above it is equally warm, the air below 447 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: can't rise. And when you have a lot of carbon 448 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: dioxide in the atmosphere, that air in the middle I 449 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:11,400 Speaker 1: think in the mesosphere UM stays warm. So you've got 450 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: a big chunk of the atmosphere just hanging out around 451 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: the earth surface. And when the upwelling doesn't happen, you 452 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: don't have the upwelling action. That also creates thunderstorms and 453 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: generates large amounts of torrential rain, which really helps things 454 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: when you have droughts. So they think and this is 455 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: all just a conjecture at this point. But that's the 456 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: big explanation for how climate change can lead to drought 457 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 1: like conditions, and that if we can reduce the amount 458 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: of C O two in the atmosphere, we can conceivably 459 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: reverse those drought like conditions. Well, and don't they think 460 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: that climate changes in general causes more severe everything like 461 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: your storms and stream flooding and uh so, I mean 462 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:59,159 Speaker 1: it's definitely something to consider. Yeah, sure, try to tiptoe 463 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: around this one. Is there is a debate? Not really No, No, 464 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 1: it's basically fraudulent. Whether there's a debate over whether climate 465 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,120 Speaker 1: change is real. The climate change is real, like almost 466 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: all scientific consensus is that it's a human cost or not, 467 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:15,399 Speaker 1: and whether we can do anything about it. There is 468 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,920 Speaker 1: there no debate about any of that. No, there's debate still, 469 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 1: but it's not real debate, Like the scientific community is 470 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: generally in in agreement that there is climate change and 471 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: that it is a real problem. Um, I don't know 472 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 1: what the consensus is on whether we could do anything 473 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: about it. I think probably most people would say we 474 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: should at least try. It's worth trying. Sure, why wouldn't you, Well, 475 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 1: a lot of people say that you shouldn't because it 476 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: will affect like economics progress, or say, for example, like China, 477 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: UM say the US is like, oh, hey, we're laying 478 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,720 Speaker 1: off of greenhouse gas emitting stuff and we're getting a 479 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 1: little greener. You guys should too, And China would say, well, 480 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: you guys kind of got to this point by spitting 481 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,440 Speaker 1: a ton of C O two into the atmosphere. It's 482 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: China's time. Yeah, ghost it over there and be as 483 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: green as you want, leave us alone. Right. There's a 484 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: lot of political land mines to two trapes around sure, um, 485 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: and in getting everybody on board to reducing the climate 486 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:24,240 Speaker 1: footprint or the carbon footprint of humanity. Yeah. What what 487 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: riles me is when you see, usually in social media, 488 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 1: when someone said, you know, in the wintertime, like the 489 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: coldest winner that's seen in years. You know, so much 490 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: for global warning, warming, warning, warming, a warning? How about that? 491 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: Maybe they should change the name? Is that a Freudian slip? 492 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 1: But there's a great video that Neil de grass Tyson does, um, 493 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 1: you can find it on YouTube, about the difference between 494 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: weather and climate because those are two entirely different things. 495 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: And he does this little thing on the beach with 496 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: a dog. That's great. And that Neil de grass Tyson 497 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 1: way with his shirt mostly on. Well he's on the 498 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,840 Speaker 1: beach of course. Uh, he's got on his clam diggers, 499 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,120 Speaker 1: you know, his Hawaiian shirts unbuttoned. And he is a 500 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: cool cat. He is a cool cat. But he um. Yeah, 501 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: he explains it very simply, the difference between weather and climate. 502 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: So before you go say something dumb like it's super 503 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,120 Speaker 1: cold on in June so there's no global warming, just 504 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: go watch that video. That's my recommendation. And I want 505 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,840 Speaker 1: to recommend a book called Merchants of Doubt right now 506 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 1: I'm reading, and it's about how, um, the tobacco industry, 507 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: climate change, DENI all, all this stuff, um is largely 508 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: the result of pr Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, it is a 509 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 1: very interesting book actually, and I think there's a documentary 510 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: based on it that just came out to If you 511 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: don't like reading, who does do? Um? Robert points out 512 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: to in this article, Uh, predicting drought isn't really something 513 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: you can do necessarily. Um. You can predict seasonal out 514 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: a month or so out, and you can, I guess 515 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: you can predict certain conditions that like right now, they're 516 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: saying that California is probably in trouble for the next 517 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 1: twenty to thirty years. Like, I don't think they see 518 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: an end in sight because of the various climate factors 519 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: going on. It's not like, I mean, any rain would help. 520 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 1: But it's not like a rainy few weeks here and 521 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: there is going to do make much of an impact, right, 522 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 1: It's pretty scary out there. Well, that's one reason why 523 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: they're studying, for example, Melbourne, Australia or Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 524 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: I'm not quite sure how you say it properly. Um, 525 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 1: but under this drought, this millennium drought, Melbourne dropped their 526 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:42,840 Speaker 1: water usage by like under drought conditions, and they did 527 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:47,280 Speaker 1: it through like local recycling programs. Apparently one really effective 528 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: program was electronic billboards that said, like the shared reservoir 529 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: is at likeent of capacity right now, Like here's what 530 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 1: don't forget what's gonna happen if we all run out 531 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: of water, So like recycle your water, use gray water 532 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:06,200 Speaker 1: to water your plants, that kind of stuff, um, And 533 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,720 Speaker 1: it worked really really well. They should just do dumb 534 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: in photographics for Americans as like the water getting lower 535 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,240 Speaker 1: and then like dead people at the bottom. Here's where 536 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: we're headed. Does it make sense to you now, person 537 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: watering your lawn and be like Los Angeles, there's a 538 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 1: lot of dead people in our reservoir, buried at the bottom. 539 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 1: I think I two read a little bit about the 540 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 1: l a drought or Southern California in general, that they're 541 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,960 Speaker 1: they're not making enough headway with their conservation measures right now, 542 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,040 Speaker 1: Like it's not putty much of a dent into it, 543 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:46,840 Speaker 1: like their public campaigns. Yeah, yeah, yeah, selfish people still 544 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: watering their stuff. Well, it's the law of the comments, 545 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: Like supposedly any shared resource people are just like, let 546 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:59,160 Speaker 1: everybody else can serve. I'll be I'll be fine, give 547 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:01,760 Speaker 1: me everything I need. This little bit doesn't make a difference. Yeah, 548 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: And they were this this article, I think it was 549 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: a Scientific American article. I was reading about Melbourne being 550 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,080 Speaker 1: so successful. One of the ways they were being so 551 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: successful was taking this shared resource, this reservoir and saying, 552 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 1: like all of us share this, and it's down to 553 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: this level. So are you going to be the jerk 554 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,400 Speaker 1: who like makes a drop even more by taking more 555 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,320 Speaker 1: than your fair share? Um, the one of the jerk 556 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: that should be their campaign. One of the problems is 557 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: this California isn't just have a just a single shared reservoir. 558 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:36,360 Speaker 1: They get their water from a number of different sources. Yeah. Um, 559 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: so that's kind of that that would be tough to 560 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: like hit that same note with California. Yeah, but as 561 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: goes California, as goes the US economies, I think, uh 562 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: some estimates say California is the eighth largest economy in 563 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 1: the world, the state of California. Oh yeah, so I've 564 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: heard that before. Dire consequences potentially, So let's take one 565 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 1: more break, Chuck, and then when we come back, we're 566 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 1: gonna talk about dire consequence is indeed from the nineteen 567 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: thirties in the United States, that's ka the dust Bowl. 568 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: So I teased the dust Bowl in the beginning, and 569 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,920 Speaker 1: then we didn't get to it. But now we're getting 570 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,000 Speaker 1: to this is just and I became a little uh no, 571 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:32,440 Speaker 1: just keeping people on the hook. I became super interested. 572 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: When I was in Oklahoma recently went to the Woody 573 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 1: Guthrie Museum in Tulsa, which is great, by the way, 574 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,280 Speaker 1: and they had a whole section on the dust Bowl. 575 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: And I didn't know much about it. I mean I 576 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 1: knew generally it was a drought and dusty, but I 577 00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 1: hadn't looked into it too much. And since then I've 578 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,160 Speaker 1: studied on it some and watched the great Ken Burns 579 00:34:53,200 --> 00:34:55,759 Speaker 1: documentary on the dust Bowl. It was very good. You 580 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,719 Speaker 1: know those parts of that um appear in uh Interstellar? 581 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,919 Speaker 1: Oh really with their clips of that, Yeah, I don't remember. 582 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 1: I couldn't. They'd play it like it's people really like Interstellar. No, 583 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:11,879 Speaker 1: not really. I loved that movie. Yeah, I love it. 584 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,719 Speaker 1: I thought that was such a great movie. Yeah, I 585 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: really didn't like it. I had a lot of problems 586 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 1: with it. I loved it. My My biggest problem with 587 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:25,800 Speaker 1: it was just just do the let the viewer figure 588 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,200 Speaker 1: out the movie. Like I felt like every ten minutes 589 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:33,600 Speaker 1: somebody was explaining something, same guy, same problem. I don't 590 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: think so, man, I didn't run into that. You know 591 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,279 Speaker 1: how much I hated that part in an inception. When 592 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: you watch Interstellar again, just make a little note anytime 593 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 1: someone explains what's going on, and you'll have like twenty 594 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: times written down on your little note pad. I guess 595 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: I didn't. It didn't bother me in this one bother me. 596 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,160 Speaker 1: And it's not like I have anything against Ellen Page 597 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,520 Speaker 1: in particular. Oh, sure you do. You you're a juno hater. 598 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,560 Speaker 1: Has nothing to do with Ellen Page. Now, I'm just 599 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,880 Speaker 1: joking anyway, I no, I just for some reason it 600 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: didn't stick out to me in Diristellar. I just thoroughly 601 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:07,640 Speaker 1: enjoyed that movie. Well good, I'm glad you did. I 602 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,600 Speaker 1: want to rain under Parade anyway, that parts of the 603 00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:13,640 Speaker 1: ken Burns documentary show up in Aristellar, But it's great 604 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: just on its own. Um. And the reason we bring 605 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:23,480 Speaker 1: up the dust Bowl is because it's actually it's larger 606 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: than just a drought. People tend to think of it 607 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:29,200 Speaker 1: as a drought, but it's actually, um one of the 608 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,960 Speaker 1: one of the it demonstrates things you can do to 609 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 1: prevent drought from becoming the worst case scenario, which is 610 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:40,520 Speaker 1: exactly what happened with the dust Bowl. Yeah, it was. 611 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: It was one of the worst natural disasters in the 612 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:44,920 Speaker 1: United States history, for sure. Yeah. And it was just 613 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 1: one natural disaster compounding another and another and another. And 614 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: what happened actually starts in the nineteenth century when America 615 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:59,640 Speaker 1: was undergoing its westward expansion, and um, the US government 616 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:05,320 Speaker 1: passed the Homestead acts, and these UM gave land grants 617 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,360 Speaker 1: to Western settlers, UM, who wanted to set up farms 618 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: of between a hundred and sixty and then later on 619 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:15,839 Speaker 1: three twenty acres, which sounds like a lot, but they're 620 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,040 Speaker 1: actually not when you start thinking about these massive states 621 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:23,240 Speaker 1: like Oklahoma and Texas and Kansas and all of US. UM. 622 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:29,960 Speaker 1: And so what happened was eventually these plain states, the 623 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:35,719 Speaker 1: semi arid grassland was carved up into a huge patchwork 624 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:41,279 Speaker 1: of smaller farms, and UM people started farming and things 625 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: started going really well. The land became productive very quickly. Yeah. 626 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 1: And and at first things, UM, they were farming somewhat sustainably. 627 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:52,720 Speaker 1: You know, they still had grasses and still had cattle 628 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 1: grazing on these grasses, which is all good stuff. And 629 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,080 Speaker 1: these are these are native grasses that were driver resistant already. 630 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 1: They were acclama in to this again semiar climate. That's right. 631 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 1: So let's flash forward or fast forward a bit, um 632 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:11,200 Speaker 1: to post World War One in the nineteen twenties. UM, 633 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:14,759 Speaker 1: there was a recession and farmers all of a sudden said, 634 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:18,160 Speaker 1: you know what, we can get these new machines and 635 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:21,759 Speaker 1: use these new mechanized farming techniques to try and make 636 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:25,120 Speaker 1: more money and turn some of this grass into wheat. Yeah, 637 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,040 Speaker 1: Because I mean if you if you have like a 638 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:31,120 Speaker 1: ho right and you're just hacking away at this semi 639 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:35,480 Speaker 1: ara ground, you're gonna be like, I've got acres, but 640 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,200 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna farm twenty of them because this is 641 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,440 Speaker 1: a ton of work, you know. Um, But if you 642 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,640 Speaker 1: can go buy a plow and some oxen and the 643 00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,279 Speaker 1: later on a tractor to drag those plows, um, you 644 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,200 Speaker 1: can turn all three d and twenty acres into productive 645 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:53,839 Speaker 1: crop land. Yeah. And so they overproduce wheat. Yeah, there 646 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:57,160 Speaker 1: was a there was a bumper crop year in nineteen 647 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:04,600 Speaker 1: are so many farmers bought so many plows and used 648 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,960 Speaker 1: these mechanized methods of farming that there was a bumper 649 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,200 Speaker 1: crop of wheat, so much so that the price of 650 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 1: wheat plummeted. And it just so happened that there was 651 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:15,160 Speaker 1: a recession, like you said, at the same time, So 652 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 1: there was an oversupply of wheat and an under demand 653 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:22,839 Speaker 1: for it because everybody's broke, that's right, And so everybody said, 654 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:25,320 Speaker 1: well what do you do. You just slant more wheat, 655 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,080 Speaker 1: plant more wheat. Yeah. Basically expand your farms so to 656 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,760 Speaker 1: try and turn a profit. And so all of a sudden, 657 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:35,200 Speaker 1: all these drought resistant grasses were no more. Uh, there 658 00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:41,320 Speaker 1: was wheat everywhere. And apparently wheat does not jibe. Um, 659 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:45,560 Speaker 1: that quantity of wheat doesn't jibe with the natural landscape. Uh. 660 00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:50,040 Speaker 1: And the soil became dusty and dry, and uh you 661 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,560 Speaker 1: couple that with a drought which hit hard over the 662 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:57,640 Speaker 1: period of like three years and high winds and everything 663 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:01,640 Speaker 1: blew away. Yes, so a hundred billion acres of topsoil 664 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:05,160 Speaker 1: ended up blowing away, like just blew away. It wasn't 665 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:07,440 Speaker 1: there any longer. All that was left was the rocky 666 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,680 Speaker 1: subsoil like blue to the east coast. Yes. Um, some 667 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:14,200 Speaker 1: of it blew to California, depending on where the winds Blue. 668 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:16,879 Speaker 1: Some blew all the way to Washington, d C. Which 669 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:18,880 Speaker 1: actually proved to be for two it is because that 670 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:23,239 Speaker 1: got Congress's attention. And um, these things were called black blizzards. 671 00:40:23,719 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: And there's man, you've seen the footage. It's just amazing 672 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:32,520 Speaker 1: when these huge, towering clouds of black dust were just 673 00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 1: coming towards these what looked like these tiny little miniature houses. Um, 674 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:40,800 Speaker 1: it doesn't look real no, it doesn't. But this really 675 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,440 Speaker 1: happened on the Great Plains in the thirties. Yeah, we're 676 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,839 Speaker 1: talking a hundred and fifty thousand square miles over Oklahoma 677 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:51,400 Speaker 1: are parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. 678 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:54,960 Speaker 1: And the drought itself was from thirty four to thirty 679 00:40:55,000 --> 00:41:01,319 Speaker 1: seven and sixty sixty of the population. Yeah, a lot 680 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:04,120 Speaker 1: of them moved to California. California wasn't very happy. A 681 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:07,280 Speaker 1: lot of them left. Their farms were just broke. Basically, 682 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:10,600 Speaker 1: they were um like the first generation to find themselves 683 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,800 Speaker 1: underwater because a lot of them again remember like there 684 00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:20,520 Speaker 1: was this this drive UM to make more money by 685 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:23,759 Speaker 1: producing more wheat even though there was an over abundance 686 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:28,120 Speaker 1: of wheat UM. So they really over leveraged themselves by 687 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:31,520 Speaker 1: borrowing more for farm equipment and farm hands and farm 688 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,880 Speaker 1: supplies and UM. When the bottom fell out on the 689 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:39,319 Speaker 1: wheat market, they were over extended and their homes and 690 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:42,879 Speaker 1: farms got four closed on. So they are like all 691 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 1: these people who were just at one Like just a 692 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:50,919 Speaker 1: little while back, we're farming middle class people were now 693 00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:55,360 Speaker 1: like UM homeless and on um root sixty six and 694 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,080 Speaker 1: basically doing the grapes of wrath thing. Yeah. I mean, 695 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:00,279 Speaker 1: like you said, a lot of them moved west. Uh 696 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:02,960 Speaker 1: and I think you said that California was not so 697 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,200 Speaker 1: happy with that. About ten percent of them ended up 698 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:08,920 Speaker 1: in California, And um, it was not a great time 699 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,000 Speaker 1: for the country as a whole. So they they didn't 700 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,359 Speaker 1: want all these new people they call them Oakey's even 701 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:17,239 Speaker 1: though about we're from Oklahoma. Uh, they want them coming 702 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:20,560 Speaker 1: in there trying to get their jobs. Uh. And it 703 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:25,239 Speaker 1: was it was bad news all the way around in California. So. Um. 704 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:30,080 Speaker 1: And actually, what's a pretty good, pretty good example of 705 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:34,239 Speaker 1: the federal government doing something really really right. Um, they 706 00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:37,520 Speaker 1: stepped in, Actually FDR stepped in with the New Deal, 707 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:42,440 Speaker 1: um and created a lot of measures that tried to 708 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:45,640 Speaker 1: alleviate the worst effects of the dust Bowl. And one 709 00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:48,160 Speaker 1: of the things that they did really really well was 710 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:51,840 Speaker 1: create the Soil Conservation Service. Yeah. That was a nineteen 711 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:57,040 Speaker 1: thirty five and basically strict instructions to farmers to uh 712 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:01,479 Speaker 1: plant grass, plant trees, how to plow, how terrace, um, 713 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:05,439 Speaker 1: how to hold rain water, how to portion off your farmland, um, 714 00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:08,879 Speaker 1: and not just grow wheat over every square inch of it, right, yeah, 715 00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:12,160 Speaker 1: leaves some land to be fallow and regenerate after UM 716 00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,160 Speaker 1: one year of production or a couple of years of production. 717 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:18,680 Speaker 1: UM And one of the other big pushes that's still 718 00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,360 Speaker 1: going on these days is no till farming. One of 719 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,680 Speaker 1: the big problems that they that they did with with 720 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:28,960 Speaker 1: by knocking out these these grasslands was first they got 721 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:31,080 Speaker 1: rid of the native grasses that were good at holding 722 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:34,280 Speaker 1: the top soil in place, but then they actually killed 723 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:38,320 Speaker 1: the top soil and loosen the whole structure of everything, 724 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:41,480 Speaker 1: so it was easy to blow away when these strong 725 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:45,280 Speaker 1: winds came in. UM. And apparently top soil takes something 726 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:48,800 Speaker 1: like I've seen in a few places five hundred years 727 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:52,600 Speaker 1: to produce one inch of new top soil, So once 728 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:55,799 Speaker 1: it blew away, it wasn't coming back UM And I'm 729 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:58,719 Speaker 1: not quite sure how they've replenished it since then. I mean, 730 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:02,480 Speaker 1: I know that these oil conservation measures are helping, but 731 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:05,879 Speaker 1: I mean, is it just grassland that's growing on subsoils 732 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,600 Speaker 1: still for the next couple of hundred years. I don't know, 733 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:11,600 Speaker 1: you know what, I know that somebody out there knows that, 734 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:14,560 Speaker 1: though some farmer I do know that they said by 735 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:19,440 Speaker 1: the early nineteen forties, much of that land had been rehabilitated. UM. 736 00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:22,080 Speaker 1: And not only did the government step in and still 737 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:26,880 Speaker 1: install install a lot of new laws and measures, but 738 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:30,839 Speaker 1: they also bought a lot of land. Um. Yeah, about 739 00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:34,560 Speaker 1: eleven million acres just to you know, keep it grassy 740 00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:38,520 Speaker 1: and stable. Um. And the new deal brought it wasn't 741 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:42,359 Speaker 1: just the Soil Conservation Service UM. The we won't get 742 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:47,320 Speaker 1: into all these, but the Works Progress Administration was created. Uh. 743 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:50,360 Speaker 1: The I think the SCS is now the Natural Resources 744 00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,879 Speaker 1: Conservation Service. Uh. And they just you know, they really 745 00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:57,080 Speaker 1: stepped in and said, we can't let this happen again, 746 00:44:57,120 --> 00:45:00,000 Speaker 1: even though the nineteen fifties there was another bad draft. 747 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:02,960 Speaker 1: But I think, yeah, the measure that I remember in 748 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:06,719 Speaker 1: the seventies, that's why we have skateboarding. Oh yeah, that's right. 749 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:08,680 Speaker 1: I mean not completely, but it's when they went to 750 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:11,520 Speaker 1: the swimming pools because they were empty in California. But 751 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,680 Speaker 1: thanks to those measures, things in the fifties and seventies 752 00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:17,800 Speaker 1: didn't reach the levels that they did in and UM. 753 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:20,799 Speaker 1: I read this really great article called Rethinking the dust Bowl, 754 00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,880 Speaker 1: and I can't remember where it's from, but it's posted 755 00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:26,440 Speaker 1: on the podcast page for this episode on our site, UM, 756 00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:28,839 Speaker 1: and it was basically saying like this was a really 757 00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:33,480 Speaker 1: good example of the government stepping in taking really good measures, UM, 758 00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:38,480 Speaker 1: because ultimately what created the dust bowl was parceling out 759 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:42,160 Speaker 1: the great planes into these small farms. If you're a 760 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:47,719 Speaker 1: small farmer, taking soil conservation measures is not economically beneficial 761 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:50,960 Speaker 1: to you, You're not gonna see a lot of the benefits, 762 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,719 Speaker 1: and it's going to be very expensive, right, And if 763 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:55,640 Speaker 1: you're just a small farmer, it doesn't matter. Your farm 764 00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:58,360 Speaker 1: doesn't matter. But if you put a bunch of small 765 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:02,279 Speaker 1: farms together and no one taking soil conservation measures, then 766 00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:05,440 Speaker 1: what you have, as far as from an ecological standpoint, 767 00:46:05,719 --> 00:46:09,680 Speaker 1: is one gigantic farm with no soil conservation measures. And 768 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:11,640 Speaker 1: that's what set up the Great Planes for the desk. 769 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,759 Speaker 1: Bol federal government came in and said, you guys are 770 00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,319 Speaker 1: small farmers. You don't have to be big farmers, but 771 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:19,120 Speaker 1: we're gonna put a bunch of you together to form 772 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:22,600 Speaker 1: what's called the soil Conservation District. And we're going to 773 00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:26,600 Speaker 1: say if you plant these trees for wind breaks and 774 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:29,719 Speaker 1: you do these other soil conservation techniques, we're going to 775 00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:32,560 Speaker 1: subsidize your farms, and it worked really well, and a 776 00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:35,239 Speaker 1: lot of small farmers got these subsidies and the great 777 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:38,440 Speaker 1: planes was saved. Hooray. Right, But then the same article 778 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:41,200 Speaker 1: is like, this is also a really good example of 779 00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:44,759 Speaker 1: how the federal government doesn't work because as smaller and 780 00:46:44,800 --> 00:46:47,680 Speaker 1: smaller farms were bought by bigger and bigger farms and 781 00:46:47,719 --> 00:46:52,640 Speaker 1: consolidated into like big Agra, these subsidies are still available 782 00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:56,800 Speaker 1: for these farms and farming companies that would have carried 783 00:46:56,840 --> 00:47:00,040 Speaker 1: out these measures anyway, because they would directly bend of 784 00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:02,839 Speaker 1: fit from the money that they put into it. They're 785 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:05,759 Speaker 1: still getting government subsidies from it. So it was like 786 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:08,560 Speaker 1: it worked really well at first. Now it's not working anymore. 787 00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:10,439 Speaker 1: It's just kind of a waste of money. They should 788 00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:13,320 Speaker 1: have had a stipulation in there though, that like farms 789 00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:15,719 Speaker 1: of certain size or something. I don't know, should have, 790 00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:19,600 Speaker 1: should have, could have, would have. I found that really interesting. 791 00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:23,479 Speaker 1: I can totally get why you suggested this dust Bowl 792 00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:26,719 Speaker 1: Drought episode. Yeah, it's a good stuff. We've had a 793 00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:30,200 Speaker 1: lot of um asks for this one lately. So have 794 00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:32,640 Speaker 1: you got anything else, sir, Well, if you want to 795 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:35,200 Speaker 1: know anything else about the dust Bowl and droughts and 796 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:38,000 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff. Go to how stuff works. Type 797 00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:40,480 Speaker 1: those words into the search bar and it will bring 798 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:42,879 Speaker 1: all this up. Uh. And since I said search bar, 799 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:48,480 Speaker 1: it's time for listener mail. I'm gonna call this batty 800 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:53,279 Speaker 1: email from a bat bat guy. Um. Hey, guys, my 801 00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:56,320 Speaker 1: bat biologist specializing and threatened an endangered species in the 802 00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:58,799 Speaker 1: Eastern US. It's a great episode and you nailed it, 803 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,480 Speaker 1: especially the section on at a location. I'll add that 804 00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:06,839 Speaker 1: while most insect divorous, insectivorous bats do catch their prey 805 00:48:06,880 --> 00:48:10,600 Speaker 1: while on the wing, um some have specialized to flutter 806 00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:14,560 Speaker 1: slowly and their echo locations are so sensitive and high pitched, 807 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:16,959 Speaker 1: and they're hearing so sensitive that the bats can glean 808 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:20,640 Speaker 1: insects from vegetation in the darkness. This could be in 809 00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:23,239 Speaker 1: response to stealthy moss that have learned to sense at 810 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:26,600 Speaker 1: echolocation in evade round and round goes the predator prey 811 00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:31,000 Speaker 1: arms race. One clarification, though, is regarding the effect of 812 00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:34,200 Speaker 1: white nose syndrome. You said in the podcasts that the 813 00:48:34,239 --> 00:48:37,080 Speaker 1: itch is what wakes the bats from hibernation. It's more 814 00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:39,239 Speaker 1: that the bats immune system is ramped up by the 815 00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:44,200 Speaker 1: late stage fungal infection in their metabolic requirements are beyond 816 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:47,560 Speaker 1: what they have prepared for. The damaged wing membranes are 817 00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:51,400 Speaker 1: especially susceptible to evaporate water loss, and most hibernation interrupted 818 00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:54,239 Speaker 1: bats are thought to die of lack of water rather 819 00:48:54,280 --> 00:48:57,960 Speaker 1: than lack of food. Additionally, new studies indicate that the 820 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,680 Speaker 1: clinical signs are in stages of the disease and that 821 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:05,920 Speaker 1: the chemical imbalances caused internal damage before the visible fungal 822 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:10,520 Speaker 1: high fai DO. One mechanism for this is chronic respiratory 823 00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:16,880 Speaker 1: acidosis caused by increased dissolved CEO two levels in the blood. Wow, man, 824 00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:19,920 Speaker 1: I told you it's a bat biologist. Listen to you 825 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:22,480 Speaker 1: guys every day. Uh and have taken s y s 826 00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:25,240 Speaker 1: k onto the woods on bat surveys more than once. 827 00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:27,960 Speaker 1: Thanks for the pot that we've been on a bat survey. 828 00:49:29,600 --> 00:49:32,400 Speaker 1: It's a great balancing act of fact and b s 829 00:49:33,080 --> 00:49:35,960 Speaker 1: of to each their own and holding humanity to a 830 00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:38,759 Speaker 1: higher standard. You guys consistently hit it out of the 831 00:49:38,840 --> 00:49:41,880 Speaker 1: park man. That is nice. That is from Jason Whittle 832 00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:47,760 Speaker 1: and uh my wife's hometown of Akron, Ohio where Lebron 833 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:50,120 Speaker 1: lives to That's right. And you know what, we actually 834 00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:54,799 Speaker 1: got our episode shared by um oh boy, now I 835 00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:58,680 Speaker 1: can't think of it. The Bat Society. It's the best 836 00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:02,000 Speaker 1: society of America, the World Bat Society. There. I can't 837 00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:05,680 Speaker 1: remember get along which one, but one of the larger 838 00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:09,319 Speaker 1: BAT organizations shared our podcast and was said, we did 839 00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:10,799 Speaker 1: a great job. So I thought that was oh man, 840 00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:14,640 Speaker 1: that's awesome. Well, thank you, thanks to the Bat Society, 841 00:50:15,280 --> 00:50:19,200 Speaker 1: thanks to Jason. It was right Jason witt Um. And 842 00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:21,120 Speaker 1: if you want to be cool like Jason and send 843 00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:23,960 Speaker 1: us a really interesting email full of tons of facts, 844 00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:26,799 Speaker 1: you can do that. You can tweet to us too 845 00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:29,520 Speaker 1: at s y s K podcast. You can join us 846 00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:31,840 Speaker 1: on Facebook dot com, slash stuff you Should Know. You 847 00:50:31,880 --> 00:50:34,200 Speaker 1: can send us that email to stuff podcast at how 848 00:50:34,239 --> 00:50:37,080 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. And in the meantime, you can 849 00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:39,279 Speaker 1: hang out at our super cool home on the web, 850 00:50:39,640 --> 00:50:46,840 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know dot com for more on this 851 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,520 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff Works 852 00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:57,399 Speaker 1: dot com.