# Dust Bowl effects Depression

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-bowl-effects-depression/642725>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 2, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-bowl-effects-depression/642725 "2012-12-02T02:43:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-bowl-effects-depression/642725/21 "2012-12-06T13:16:57Z")

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> [@etv78](#):
>
> **Col** -They were indeed refering to avoiding the blowing dust, also meant 46 of 48.

I’m guessing maybe Washington and Oregon? The prevailing winds sent most of the dust from the Dust Bowl east and the 30’s actually weren’t too bad, climatically, in the Pacific Northwest.

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-bowl-effects-depression/642725/22 "2012-12-06T13:48:37Z")

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> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> There’s nothing wrong with using _effect_ as a verb here, as the question was if the Dust Bowl was a cause of the Depression.

The actual statement in the OP is:

> [@etv78](#):
>
> How much did the Dust Bowl exacerbate the Depression?

To “exacerbate” is not to cause, but to make worse something already existing. Thus, the OP’s headline is not intended to mean, “Did the Dust Bowl cause the Depression” (impossible since the Depression preceeded the Dust Bowl), but rather “Did the Dust Bowl make the Depression worse than it would have been?” And THAT means that the use of the word “effect” is incorrect.

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