The Sociology and Psychology of the Wind
By Marit Ehmke
Hello Radio Readers! This is Marit Ehmke coming to you from west-central Kansas in Lane County. As someone who works on a farm, I’ve come to accept that much of my life’s schedule is determined by what weather the wind brings. It’s a staple of our lives here everywhere, but especially on the High Plains, where the weather determines many people’s livelihoods.
The book “Heaven’s Breath: A Natural History of the Wind” by Lyall Watson is an excellent science-based resource that illuminates this often-overlooked characteristic of our world and how our lives are shaped by it.
One chapter I found especially interesting from this book dealt with the sociology of wind. For part of my life, I lived in western Montana, where having a sky filled with wildfire smoke in the summers is common. I must confess I hadn’t put much thought into the air I breathe regularly, but our connection to air quality is undeniable. Watson writes about how the particulates in the average breaths we take connect us viscerally to our environment. He writes, “We live in and breathe a rich and potent brew. And we share this environment with more than a million macroscopic and highly visible species -- an astonishing number of which take to the air and travel on the wind.”
Watson seamlessly integrates history, culture, and science in the context of wind throughout this book. As someone who loves trees, I was fascinated to learn how different types of tree respond to wind by the sounds they create, which is in line with observations I have made subconsciously. I learned that there is a Japanese summer tradition called ‘matsukaze’ where people make pilgrimages to the woods to hear the wind that knows the song of the pines.
On a more macro level, I really appreciated the chapter about how wind and psychology intertwine. I thought of my ancestors in Lane County who endured the Dust Bowl and how brutally challenging that must have been. The howling, soul-sucking dust storms, I’m sure, could have driven anyone to depression or madness. Wind can be kind, but it can also be incredibly intense.
“People stood in the doorways of their homes and watched their farms blow by, leaving much of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska in a ‘dustbowl,’ at places fifty metres deep.” I can only imagine watching my livelihood be destroyed in front of my eyes, not to mention how terrifying those storms must have been. A man who lives in Dighton and was a baby during the Dust Bowl said his mother would put a wet blanket over his bassinet to prevent him from inhaling all the dust, and he jokes that’s why he remains an introvert to this day.
If you’re curious at all about this powerful feature of our shared landscape, check out “Heaven’s Breath: A Natural History of the Wind.” Lyall Watson is, no doubt, an expert who is a treasure trove of knowledge.
