WEBVTT - Is Drought the New Normal for the Western U.S.?

0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.400
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:11.680
<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, there's a historic drought gripping

0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:16.800
<v Speaker 1>the Western United States. Forecasts for wildfires, water shortages, and

0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:21.320
<v Speaker 1>bone dry riverbeds abound, and it could impact life far

0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:25.640
<v Speaker 1>outside the region where it's happening. So today, let's talk

0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:30.200
<v Speaker 1>about how drought works. Let's start with the basics. What

0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.080
<v Speaker 1>is a drought? Though it may seem straightforward, it can

0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:37.480
<v Speaker 1>be difficult to boil down to a simple definition. There's

0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.760
<v Speaker 1>no magic number, be it inches of rainfall or water level,

0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:45.160
<v Speaker 1>that signals when a drought begins or ends. For the article,

0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:47.560
<v Speaker 1>this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with

0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.600
<v Speaker 1>Stephanie McAfee, an applied klimatologist at the University of Nevada Arenow.

0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.880
<v Speaker 1>She said, drought can mean different things in different places.

0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:58.760
<v Speaker 1>It can actually even mean different things to different people

0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:02.640
<v Speaker 1>in the same place. But like many in her field,

0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:06.400
<v Speaker 1>McAfee ascribes to a definition coined by the late climate

0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:12.360
<v Speaker 1>researcher Kelly Redmond. Drought is quote insufficient water to meet needs.

0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.000
<v Speaker 1>By most accounts, The current drought in the Western United

0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.720
<v Speaker 1>States has been ongoing since the early two thousand's. While

0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:22.960
<v Speaker 1>it might not be the longest drought the region has

0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:26.400
<v Speaker 1>ever seen, one in the twelve hundreds lasted more than

0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:30.480
<v Speaker 1>a century, it's one of the most severe. Water levels

0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:33.440
<v Speaker 1>in the Colorado Basin and Lake Mead have hit new loads,

0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:36.959
<v Speaker 1>and Las Vegas didn't see rain for a record breaking

0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.840
<v Speaker 1>two hundred and forty days between April and December of

0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:44.440
<v Speaker 1>The drought has gone on long enough that climatologists are

0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.160
<v Speaker 1>considering new terminology for it. Some have proposed labeling it

0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.160
<v Speaker 1>a mega drought to convey the scope of the situation.

0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:55.040
<v Speaker 1>Others argue that the Mega drought moniker still doesn't do

0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:59.080
<v Speaker 1>this event. Justice McAfee said something that we might be

0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:03.919
<v Speaker 1>looking at is actually more like a ritification. A ritification

0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:08.280
<v Speaker 1>occurs when a region becomes permanently drier. In other words,

0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.040
<v Speaker 1>it marks a shift in the baseline for the amount

0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.959
<v Speaker 1>of water that's considered normal. As the effects of climate

0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:17.800
<v Speaker 1>change play out, it seems that less rainfall in the

0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:23.160
<v Speaker 1>Western United States might become the standard. So since it's

0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:27.200
<v Speaker 1>becoming increasingly common, what are some of the dangers associated

0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:31.840
<v Speaker 1>with severe drought. One of the most obvious risks is wildfire.

0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.800
<v Speaker 1>We saw a series of devastating fires along the West coast,

0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:40.440
<v Speaker 1>in particularly in California. This year. Some areas of the

0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.280
<v Speaker 1>Golden State have received as little as eleven percent of

0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.560
<v Speaker 1>their typical rainfall to date, which could spark even worse

0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:51.040
<v Speaker 1>burns than last year as the summer progresses. Another concern

0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:55.600
<v Speaker 1>is food production. Agriculture is incredibly important to the economies

0:02:55.600 --> 0:03:00.000
<v Speaker 1>of many Western states, including California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona.

0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:05.240
<v Speaker 1>Common crops in these states, like almonds, wheat, avocados, and apples,

0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.320
<v Speaker 1>require lots of water to grow well, which could lead

0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:12.120
<v Speaker 1>to shortages of those crops in times of drought. That's

0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:17.160
<v Speaker 1>devastating to those states economies. And then there's ranching with

0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:20.400
<v Speaker 1>less rainfall in states like New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona.

0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.800
<v Speaker 1>Ordinarily lush grazing lands for animals like cattle have suffered.

0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:30.040
<v Speaker 1>It's contributed to a worldwide deficit in livestock feed. But

0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.080
<v Speaker 1>it's important to remember that drought isn't just a West

0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:36.160
<v Speaker 1>Coast thing. Other areas are in the midst of their

0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:40.160
<v Speaker 1>own droughts. How Stuff Works also spoke with Curtis Roganti,

0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.680
<v Speaker 1>an atmospheric scientist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at

0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:47.800
<v Speaker 1>the University of Nebraska. He said, I've been getting reports

0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:52.320
<v Speaker 1>of crops struggling in parts of the Upper Midwest. Northern Iowa, Minnesota,

0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.800
<v Speaker 1>parts of Michigan, and then even up into parts of

0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:58.520
<v Speaker 1>New England are all experiencing various levels of drought right now,

0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:01.880
<v Speaker 1>and that means everyone across the US can expect to

0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:04.760
<v Speaker 1>feel the effects of Western drought as it continues to

0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.840
<v Speaker 1>ripple across the rest of the country. For example, last

0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.960
<v Speaker 1>year California wildfire smoke made it as far east as

0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.240
<v Speaker 1>New York City in Boston and potentially even impacted air

0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:19.480
<v Speaker 1>quality in the Netherlands. On the economic side, smaller crop

0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:21.880
<v Speaker 1>yields out of the West would likely drive up produce

0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:27.880
<v Speaker 1>prices nationwide. Despite our best efforts, human beings can't control

0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:31.320
<v Speaker 1>the weather yet, but there are things we can all

0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.559
<v Speaker 1>do to help mitigate the effects of drought. First, don't

0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.880
<v Speaker 1>waste water. Water conservation is crucial to easing drought stress

0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:43.320
<v Speaker 1>if you live in a drought prone area. Simple things

0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.320
<v Speaker 1>like turning off the water when you brush your teeth,

0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.000
<v Speaker 1>taking a shower instead of a bath, or watering your

0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:51.520
<v Speaker 1>plants at night to reduce evaporation. All help save precious

0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:55.039
<v Speaker 1>h Two. Another one of the best ways to save

0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.480
<v Speaker 1>water is to save electricity. It takes about fifteen gallons

0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:01.479
<v Speaker 1>that's arounds of water in the form of coolant or

0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:07.279
<v Speaker 1>steam to generate a single kill abott hour of power. Second,

0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:11.160
<v Speaker 1>pay attention to fire safety. Ragante said, if there's a

0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.200
<v Speaker 1>campfire band in national forests, don't light a camp fire,

0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:19.919
<v Speaker 1>and if you're not allowed to shoot off fireworks, don't. Third,

0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:24.400
<v Speaker 1>think about switching up your landscaping. Planting drought tolerant species

0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:27.719
<v Speaker 1>like aloe, lavender, or cacti can greatly reduce your lawn's

0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.120
<v Speaker 1>water needs. Having a less thirsty lawn means you'll have

0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.040
<v Speaker 1>fewer thirsty people and it can look beautiful as well.

0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:38.560
<v Speaker 1>Another trick, mulching and composting, helped keep soil wetter for

0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.039
<v Speaker 1>longer and can even produce a cooling effect on the

0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:46.240
<v Speaker 1>surrounding environment. Finally, if you live outside of a drought zone,

0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:51.279
<v Speaker 1>consider buying less water intensive foods. That could mean switching

0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:54.719
<v Speaker 1>to oat milk instead of almond milk, buying watermelon instead

0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.680
<v Speaker 1>of apples, or opting for a chicken instead of burgers

0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:01.880
<v Speaker 1>at your next summer cookout. None of this will fix

0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:05.720
<v Speaker 1>the drought, but these measures, taken together, along with holding

0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:09.000
<v Speaker 1>large corporations accountable for the choices that they make too,

0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:12.520
<v Speaker 1>can reduce the risk that drought poses to many people.

0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.840
<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article scientists warn Western

0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:23.480
<v Speaker 1>u s drought could be new normal on houstaff works

0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.880
<v Speaker 1>dot com, written by Joanna Thompson. Brain Stuff is production

0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.000
<v Speaker 1>of Our Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot

0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:32.080
<v Speaker 1>com and is produced by Tyler Playing. Four more podcasts

0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:35.200
<v Speaker 1>by heart Radio. Visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.080
<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.