James M. Jeffords: “I wish my colleagues a Happy World Day to Combat Desertification. I assume most Senators have never heard of this day…”

“I wish my colleagues a Happy World Day to Combat Desertification. I assume most Senators have never heard of this day, so let me explain. June 17 was established as World Day to Combat Desertification to promote awareness of dryland degradation. Few Americans today have an association with desertification. My parents and their contemporaries did: the great ``Dust Bowl'' that occurred in the western United States in the 1930s. Desertification is defined as land degradation in arid and semi-arid areas resulting from climatic variations and human activities. It can occur to such an extent that affected dryland can no longer sustain vegetation, crops, livestock or the people who depend on them for survival. In the 1930s, desertification forced farmers and their families off their land when topsoil--and their livelihood--blew away. Vermont is not arid. But as an agricultural State, Vermonters were pained by the plight of western farmers. The suffering of these farmers who became penniless migrants is still starkly visible in photos of the era. Hopefully, the U.S. will never experience another ``Dust Bowl.''”