Conversion of the Countryside in the USA from a Bread Basket to a Dust Bowl (19th Century)

Conversion of the Countryside in the USA from a Bread Basket to a Dust Bowl (19th Century)

In early 19th century farmers in USA had uprooted all vegetation and used tractors to break the sod into dust. When in early 1930’s when rains failed year after year and temperatures soared; winds blew with ferocious speed. Dust storms became black blizzards because the entire land had been ploughed over and stripped of grass. The lessons we can draw from USA’s conversion of the countryside from a bread basket to a dust bowl are:

(i) Man must respect the ecological conditions of each region.

(ii) Man’s uncontrolled ambitions, greed and desire to conquer nature can lead to ecological disbalance and nature’s wrath.

(iii) Technology and development should be nature friendly otherwise the very livelihood of mankind could be at stake.