The ground squirrels prosper, and breed, and have vast numbers of young. Then the hanta virus spreads through the ground squirrels and begins infecting the larger mamals, including man, and entire civilizations collapse in a week with a 95% death rate.
That used to be the history of North America with this type of drought. Now we have housecats killing off those squirrels.
The last major hanta outbreak was 1646. Before that winter the Indian tribes were a power to be reckoned with in New England. After that winter the Indian tribes were a hollow shell of their previous manifestation, and began working as professional meat hunters for white people. The white folks, in fact, needed to be replenished and labor brokers became much more important than the Indians.
So, there are other places without drought ~ look at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/12_week.gif and tell me where the Corn Belt was relocated ~ perhaps ~ that's a 12 month review BTW, so you can see how the drought grew.
You’ve got a point, for sure. But what arable land as exists is not “inside the beltway” anywhere I know.
