My Opinion And Research On Droughts / Q@A On A Heart- Stopping Documentary
Key Idea
The Western United States has been suffering from a drought for approximately 15 years, which has particularly impacted California’s groundwater and reservoirs. Communities and farmers in California are facing a future with less water.
Background
The Western United States has been facing a long-term, “mega-drought” for approximately 15 years. Some farmers in the California’s Central Valley, the country’s most productive agricultural region, have responded by selling land or cutting back on farmed acreage, while others dig deeper wells to maintain crop yields. Groundwater in the area has significantly diminished due to overuse. According to National Geographic, scientists warn that this drought will likely worsen in time, transitioning to a “35-year or longer” mega-drought impacting much of the West.
The last mega-drought to hit the United States began in 1934 and lasted ten years. Now referred to as “the dust bowl,” that drought impacted three-quarters of the Western United States. Caused by weather patterns, its impacts were exacerbated by farmers who removed the native grasses, which are known for their long and thick roots, to plant crops that were not drought resistant.* These thinly rooted crops failed with the lack of rainfall, leaving dusty fields behind. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), approximately 50,000,000 acres of land were affected by that drought. The human and socio-political impacts were significant, creating the largest migration event in U.S. history, as people fled the area. By 1940, 2.5 million people had left the plains states, 200,000 of those went to California.**
The short film, When a Town Runs Dry, by Joris Debeij, explores the current drought through the eyes of three residents — a farmer, shopkeeper, and a high school football coach — living in the small farming town of Stratford, California. All three men lament the loss of a way of life dependent on a consistent supply of water, and prepare for an uncertain future.
- In the film, the high school football coach says, “Any time someone puts a little more effort in the community, the community stands stronger.” What do you think he means by this? Include some examples from the film. Describe a situation in your life where a community you are part of (family, school, town, etc.) has grown stronger due to a group effort. In a paragraph, describe the situation, the efforts that were taken, and the outcome. (CCSS.ELA.SL.11–12.1.c) I think he means when everyone helps each other and work as a team, they feel more confident and optimistic that rain will come back. The example of people helping each other is when the farmer and his father tried keeping the farm going. But because of no water, the farmer is worried that the farm will be gone. Another example of people helping each other is when the high school football coach and his team work together to keep it strong. The last example of people working as a community is when the shopkeeper tries to give money to his customers and the customers give money to him. They are trying to help each other.
Answer: Three years ago, a janitor from the James Monroe Elementary School left a loose cigarette in the garbage can. That caused a huge fire to spread around the school. Many of my neighborhood friends used to attend that school and now it is burned down. The community stayed strong and everyone raised money to rebuild the school. After two years, they raised enough money to rebuild the school. During winter of 2017, the school reopened with a new look and has got more students than ever before. I think the community has grown stronger due to that fire.
2. Question: Visit the EPA’s website and pick two actions that are listed to conserve water and lessen the impacts of a drought. Identify why you have chosen these actions. Do you think you and your family could commit to these two actions for one week? Why or why not? What might be some challenges? (NGSS.HS-LS2–7)
Answer: The actions I chose from the website is ‘’Grass doesn’t need to be green year round- you can cut back on watering and the green will return when it rains.’’ and ‘’ Switch off your irrigation system in the winter to save water’’. I chose these actions because most people think about ways to save water inside their home. Most water is actually used outside for the grass and plants than inside. I agree on both these statements and maybe we can try to commit on them for one week. Though, it will be quite a challenge because without the irrigation system on, we’ll have to go outside no matter what the weather is and water the plants. But if we try to do it for just one week, it will feel like a huge accomplishment.
