By Noah Dawson
Few traits better describe the human race than arrogance. While many of Earth’s creatures confine themselves to single ecosystems, humankind not only has a permanent presence across nearly the entire globe, but, since 2000, has had a permanent presence in space.
And, while there are of course more extreme examples, it seems almost absurd that humans have chosen to live here in the great plains.
It never seems to rain enough, but when there is precipitation, it’s often thunderstorms with the threat of tornadoes, but that’s only when it’s warm enough to not be a blizzard. The summers are too hot, the winters are too cold. The winds are constant, bringing dust storms (and knocking down trash carts). Even if you’re acclimated to the weather, you also have to deal with our relatively acidic soil and geographic remoteness, and hundreds of other little factors that make seem like, on paper, nobody should live in this region.
But, people do live here. Not only do people live here, but, despite the relative lack of rainfall and relatively acidic soil, the people who live here have transformed it into one of the most important agricultural regions in the world.
Again, this isn’t the only part of the world where one could make a list of reasons it’s improbable humans would live. But, the ways people of every part of the world have adapted to their ecosystem should be remembered and respected. When we lose sight of the things that make our region unique, we lose the soul of this region.
