1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, there's a historic drought gripping 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: the Western United States. Forecasts for wildfires, water shortages, and 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: bone dry riverbeds abound, and it could impact life far 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 1: outside the region where it's happening. So today, let's talk 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: about how drought works. Let's start with the basics. What 7 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: is a drought? Though it may seem straightforward, it can 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: be difficult to boil down to a simple definition. There's 9 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: no magic number, be it inches of rainfall or water level, 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: that signals when a drought begins or ends. For the article, 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: Stephanie McAfee, an applied klimatologist at the University of Nevada Arenow. 13 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: She said, drought can mean different things in different places. 14 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: It can actually even mean different things to different people 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: in the same place. But like many in her field, 16 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: McAfee ascribes to a definition coined by the late climate 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: researcher Kelly Redmond. Drought is quote insufficient water to meet needs. 18 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: By most accounts, The current drought in the Western United 19 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: States has been ongoing since the early two thousand's. While 20 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: it might not be the longest drought the region has 21 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: ever seen, one in the twelve hundreds lasted more than 22 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: a century, it's one of the most severe. Water levels 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: in the Colorado Basin and Lake Mead have hit new loads, 24 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: and Las Vegas didn't see rain for a record breaking 25 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: two hundred and forty days between April and December of 26 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: The drought has gone on long enough that climatologists are 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: considering new terminology for it. Some have proposed labeling it 28 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: a mega drought to convey the scope of the situation. 29 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: Others argue that the Mega drought moniker still doesn't do 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: this event. Justice McAfee said something that we might be 31 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,919 Speaker 1: looking at is actually more like a ritification. A ritification 32 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: occurs when a region becomes permanently drier. In other words, 33 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: it marks a shift in the baseline for the amount 34 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,959 Speaker 1: of water that's considered normal. As the effects of climate 35 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: change play out, it seems that less rainfall in the 36 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: Western United States might become the standard. So since it's 37 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: becoming increasingly common, what are some of the dangers associated 38 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: with severe drought. One of the most obvious risks is wildfire. 39 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: We saw a series of devastating fires along the West coast, 40 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: in particularly in California. This year. Some areas of the 41 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: Golden State have received as little as eleven percent of 42 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: their typical rainfall to date, which could spark even worse 43 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: burns than last year as the summer progresses. Another concern 44 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: is food production. Agriculture is incredibly important to the economies 45 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: of many Western states, including California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. 46 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: Common crops in these states, like almonds, wheat, avocados, and apples, 47 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: require lots of water to grow well, which could lead 48 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: to shortages of those crops in times of drought. That's 49 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: devastating to those states economies. And then there's ranching with 50 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: less rainfall in states like New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. 51 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 1: Ordinarily lush grazing lands for animals like cattle have suffered. 52 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: It's contributed to a worldwide deficit in livestock feed. But 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: it's important to remember that drought isn't just a West 54 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: Coast thing. Other areas are in the midst of their 55 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: own droughts. How Stuff Works also spoke with Curtis Roganti, 56 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: an atmospheric scientist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at 57 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: the University of Nebraska. He said, I've been getting reports 58 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: of crops struggling in parts of the Upper Midwest. Northern Iowa, Minnesota, 59 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: parts of Michigan, and then even up into parts of 60 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: New England are all experiencing various levels of drought right now, 61 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: and that means everyone across the US can expect to 62 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: feel the effects of Western drought as it continues to 63 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: ripple across the rest of the country. For example, last 64 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: year California wildfire smoke made it as far east as 65 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: New York City in Boston and potentially even impacted air 66 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,480 Speaker 1: quality in the Netherlands. On the economic side, smaller crop 67 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: yields out of the West would likely drive up produce 68 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: prices nationwide. Despite our best efforts, human beings can't control 69 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: the weather yet, but there are things we can all 70 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,559 Speaker 1: do to help mitigate the effects of drought. First, don't 71 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: waste water. Water conservation is crucial to easing drought stress 72 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: if you live in a drought prone area. Simple things 73 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: like turning off the water when you brush your teeth, 74 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: taking a shower instead of a bath, or watering your 75 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: plants at night to reduce evaporation. All help save precious 76 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: h Two. Another one of the best ways to save 77 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: water is to save electricity. It takes about fifteen gallons 78 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: that's arounds of water in the form of coolant or 79 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: steam to generate a single kill abott hour of power. Second, 80 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: pay attention to fire safety. Ragante said, if there's a 81 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: campfire band in national forests, don't light a camp fire, 82 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:19,919 Speaker 1: and if you're not allowed to shoot off fireworks, don't. Third, 83 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: think about switching up your landscaping. Planting drought tolerant species 84 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: like aloe, lavender, or cacti can greatly reduce your lawn's 85 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: water needs. Having a less thirsty lawn means you'll have 86 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: fewer thirsty people and it can look beautiful as well. 87 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: Another trick, mulching and composting, helped keep soil wetter for 88 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: longer and can even produce a cooling effect on the 89 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: surrounding environment. Finally, if you live outside of a drought zone, 90 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,279 Speaker 1: consider buying less water intensive foods. That could mean switching 91 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: to oat milk instead of almond milk, buying watermelon instead 92 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: of apples, or opting for a chicken instead of burgers 93 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: at your next summer cookout. None of this will fix 94 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: the drought, but these measures, taken together, along with holding 95 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: large corporations accountable for the choices that they make too, 96 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: can reduce the risk that drought poses to many people. 97 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article scientists warn Western 98 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: u s drought could be new normal on houstaff works 99 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: dot com, written by Joanna Thompson. Brain Stuff is production 100 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: of Our Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot 101 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: com and is produced by Tyler Playing. Four more podcasts 102 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: by heart Radio. Visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 103 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.