Two things we have now that we didn't have back in the original dustbowl: Hydroponics and genetics
I would rather die of global warming than to have only hydroponics to eat. They taste like ---Cleveland steamer---. Hydroponic tomatoes are not even tomatoes, they are a near tasteless fruit/vegetable with a striking visual resemblance to tomatoes, but little other similarity.
Also, Utah pipes water to a lot of places. I believe California uses more Utah water than Utah does, and California has an enormous agriculture industry.