<Dl> <Dd> Capital - intensive agribusiness had transformed the scene; deep wells into the aquifer, intensive irrigation, the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, and giant harvesters were creating immense crops year after year whether it rained or not . According to the farmers he interviewed, technology had provided the perfect answer to old troubles, such of the bad days would not return . In Worster's view, by contrast, the scene demonstrated that America's capitalist high - tech farmers had learned nothing . They were continuing to work in an unsustainable way, devoting far cheaper subsidized energy to growing food than the energy could give back to its ultimate consumers . </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> Capital - intensive agribusiness had transformed the scene; deep wells into the aquifer, intensive irrigation, the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, and giant harvesters were creating immense crops year after year whether it rained or not . According to the farmers he interviewed, technology had provided the perfect answer to old troubles, such of the bad days would not return . In Worster's view, by contrast, the scene demonstrated that America's capitalist high - tech farmers had learned nothing . They were continuing to work in an unsustainable way, devoting far cheaper subsidized energy to growing food than the energy could give back to its ultimate consumers . </Dd> <P> In contrast with Worster's pessimism, historian Mathew Bonnifield argued that the long - term significance of the Dust Bowl was "the triumph of the human spirit in its capacity to endure and overcome hardships and reverses ." </P> <P> The crisis was documented by photographers, musicians, and authors, many hired during the Great Depression by the federal government . For instance, the Farm Security Administration hired numerous photographers to document the crisis . Artists such as Dorothea Lange were aided by having salaried work during the Depression . She captured what have become classic images of the dust storms and migrant families . Among her most well - known photographs is Destitute Pea Pickers in California . Mother of Seven Children, which depicted a gaunt - looking woman, Florence Owens Thompson, holding three of her children . This picture expressed the struggles of people caught by the Dust Bowl and raised awareness in other parts of the country of its reach and human cost . Decades later, Thompson disliked the boundless circulation of the photo and resented the fact she did not receive any money from its broadcast . Thompson felt it gave her the perception as a Dust Bowl "Okie ." </P>

Describe the characteristics of the dust bowl. where was it centered