May 27, 2014
By Michael Snyder
...When Kerry Livgren (click here) penned those now famous lyrics, he probably never imagined that Dust Bowl conditions would return to his home state just a few short decades later. Sadly, that is precisely what is happening. When American explorers first traveled through north Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, they referred to it as “the Great American Desert” and they doubted that anyone would ever be able to farm it. But as history has shown, when that area gets plenty of precipitation the farming is actually quite good. Unfortunately, the region is now in the midst of a devastating multi-year drought which never seems to end. Right now, 56 percent of Texas, 64 percent of Oklahoma and 80 percent of Kansas are experiencing “severe drought”, and the long range forecast for this upcoming summer is not good. In fact, some areas in the region are already drier than they were during the worst times of the 1930s. And the relentless high winds that are plaguing that area of the country are kicking up some hellacious dust storms...
I don't want to diminish the impact of the lyrics of the song by "Kansas." They are a great band and I have much of their work still on vinyl. The song lyrics reach beyond the sad reality of the dust bowl or deserts; it is about life and how we live it and what our claim to morality is.
But, the lyrics do bring about some recollection of the physical dust bowl as well as the emotional dust bowl. It was not unusual for American song writers to etch out a deeper meaning while using the natural world in their lyrics. They were right to do it. Nature can be a profound place of common experience in the USA. Still yet another reason to protect the world we physically live in.
This is the most recent US Drought Monitor. Even with the rain in California and the snow in Texas, the drought still hasn't lifted as everyone had hoped. I haven't seen any reports from NOAA or NASA as to why the rain in California. I am assuming it has to do with the stubborn high pressure system in the Pacific. 
