Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, there's a historic drought gripping
Speaker 1: the Western United States. Forecasts for wildfires, water shortages, and
Speaker 1: bone dry riverbeds abound, and it could impact life far
Speaker 1: outside the region where it's happening. So today, let's talk
Speaker 1: about how drought works. Let's start with the basics. What
Speaker 1: is a drought? Though it may seem straightforward, it can
Speaker 1: be difficult to boil down to a simple definition. There's
Speaker 1: no magic number, be it inches of rainfall or water level,
Speaker 1: that signals when a drought begins or ends. For the article,
Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with
Speaker 1: Stephanie McAfee, an applied klimatologist at the University of Nevada Arenow.
Speaker 1: She said, drought can mean different things in different places.
Speaker 1: It can actually even mean different things to different people
Speaker 1: in the same place. But like many in her field,
Speaker 1: McAfee ascribes to a definition coined by the late climate
Speaker 1: researcher Kelly Redmond. Drought is quote insufficient water to meet needs.
Speaker 1: By most accounts, The current drought in the Western United
Speaker 1: States has been ongoing since the early two thousand's. While
Speaker 1: it might not be the longest drought the region has
Speaker 1: ever seen, one in the twelve hundreds lasted more than
Speaker 1: a century, it's one of the most severe. Water levels
Speaker 1: in the Colorado Basin and Lake Mead have hit new loads,
Speaker 1: and Las Vegas didn't see rain for a record breaking
Speaker 1: two hundred and forty days between April and December of
Speaker 1: The drought has gone on long enough that climatologists are
Speaker 1: considering new terminology for it. Some have proposed labeling it
Speaker 1: a mega drought to convey the scope of the situation.
Speaker 1: Others argue that the Mega drought moniker still doesn't do
Speaker 1: this event. Justice McAfee said something that we might be
Speaker 1: looking at is actually more like a ritification. A ritification
Speaker 1: occurs when a region becomes permanently drier. In other words,
Speaker 1: it marks a shift in the baseline for the amount
Speaker 1: of water that's considered normal. As the effects of climate
Speaker 1: change play out, it seems that less rainfall in the
Speaker 1: Western United States might become the standard. So since it's
Speaker 1: becoming increasingly common, what are some of the dangers associated
Speaker 1: with severe drought. One of the most obvious risks is wildfire.
Speaker 1: We saw a series of devastating fires along the West coast,
Speaker 1: in particularly in California. This year. Some areas of the
Speaker 1: Golden State have received as little as eleven percent of
Speaker 1: their typical rainfall to date, which could spark even worse
Speaker 1: burns than last year as the summer progresses. Another concern
Speaker 1: is food production. Agriculture is incredibly important to the economies
Speaker 1: of many Western states, including California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona.
Speaker 1: Common crops in these states, like almonds, wheat, avocados, and apples,
Speaker 1: require lots of water to grow well, which could lead
Speaker 1: to shortages of those crops in times of drought. That's
Speaker 1: devastating to those states economies. And then there's ranching with
Speaker 1: less rainfall in states like New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona.
Speaker 1: Ordinarily lush grazing lands for animals like cattle have suffered.
Speaker 1: It's contributed to a worldwide deficit in livestock feed. But
Speaker 1: it's important to remember that drought isn't just a West
Speaker 1: Coast thing. Other areas are in the midst of their
Speaker 1: own droughts. How Stuff Works also spoke with Curtis Roganti,
Speaker 1: an atmospheric scientist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at
Speaker 1: the University of Nebraska. He said, I've been getting reports
Speaker 1: of crops struggling in parts of the Upper Midwest. Northern Iowa, Minnesota,
Speaker 1: parts of Michigan, and then even up into parts of
Speaker 1: New England are all experiencing various levels of drought right now,
Speaker 1: and that means everyone across the US can expect to
Speaker 1: feel the effects of Western drought as it continues to
Speaker 1: ripple across the rest of the country. For example, last
Speaker 1: year California wildfire smoke made it as far east as
Speaker 1: New York City in Boston and potentially even impacted air
Speaker 1: quality in the Netherlands. On the economic side, smaller crop
Speaker 1: yields out of the West would likely drive up produce
Speaker 1: prices nationwide. Despite our best efforts, human beings can't control
Speaker 1: the weather yet, but there are things we can all
Speaker 1: do to help mitigate the effects of drought. First, don't
Speaker 1: waste water. Water conservation is crucial to easing drought stress
Speaker 1: if you live in a drought prone area. Simple things
Speaker 1: like turning off the water when you brush your teeth,
Speaker 1: taking a shower instead of a bath, or watering your
Speaker 1: plants at night to reduce evaporation. All help save precious
Speaker 1: h Two. Another one of the best ways to save
Speaker 1: water is to save electricity. It takes about fifteen gallons
Speaker 1: that's arounds of water in the form of coolant or
Speaker 1: steam to generate a single kill abott hour of power. Second,
Speaker 1: pay attention to fire safety. Ragante said, if there's a
Speaker 1: campfire band in national forests, don't light a camp fire,
Speaker 1: and if you're not allowed to shoot off fireworks, don't. Third,
Speaker 1: think about switching up your landscaping. Planting drought tolerant species
Speaker 1: like aloe, lavender, or cacti can greatly reduce your lawn's
Speaker 1: water needs. Having a less thirsty lawn means you'll have
Speaker 1: fewer thirsty people and it can look beautiful as well.
Speaker 1: Another trick, mulching and composting, helped keep soil wetter for
Speaker 1: longer and can even produce a cooling effect on the
Speaker 1: surrounding environment. Finally, if you live outside of a drought zone,
Speaker 1: consider buying less water intensive foods. That could mean switching
Speaker 1: to oat milk instead of almond milk, buying watermelon instead
Speaker 1: of apples, or opting for a chicken instead of burgers
Speaker 1: at your next summer cookout. None of this will fix
Speaker 1: the drought, but these measures, taken together, along with holding
Speaker 1: large corporations accountable for the choices that they make too,
Speaker 1: can reduce the risk that drought poses to many people.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article scientists warn Western
Speaker 1: u s drought could be new normal on houstaff works
Speaker 1: dot com, written by Joanna Thompson. Brain Stuff is production
Speaker 1: of Our Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot
Speaker 1: com and is produced by Tyler Playing. Four more podcasts
Speaker 1: by heart Radio. Visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.