Drought Planning in the United States: Status and Future Directions

Abstract

Drought has been a common feature in large portions of the United States during the past decade. To the casual observer, the frequency of recent droughts may signal a change in climate, a possible forewarning of global warming. Viewed in the context of the nation’s climatic history, the pattern of the past decade is not unusual. Recent droughts in the United States have resulted in significant economic, environmental, and social impacts. Many people are well acquainted with the serious impacts of the droughts of the 1930s and 1950s. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s is known worldwide as a classic example of the disharmony that can exist between human activities and nature, a pattern that has been repeated again and again in other areas of the world in the past several decades. The images of the Dust Bowl in the United States are now fading because a large percentage of the populace is too young to remember the hardships and suffering that resulted from this nearly decadal episode of drought. Droughts of the past decade have reminded us of our continuing vulnerability to extended periods of water shortage and the urgent need to prepare for their recurrence. Although technology has reduced our vulnerability to drought to some degree, it has also exposed new sensitivities.