Population Distribution & Environmental Issues

 Desalination- The removal of salt or other chemicals from something, such as seawater or soil. Desalinization can be achieved by means of evaporation, freezing, or reverse osmosis.  Water Pollution-the addition of harmful chemicals to natural water

 Water Supply  Very limited in Middle East  Many countries must use desalination to get drinking water  Process of removing salt from salt water to make it okay for drinking and farming  Few rivers in the area  Tigris, Euphrates and Nile rivers  Used for drinking water and generate power alternate  If you don’t have a river in your region, you must find alternate methods for drinking water and power.

 Rights to Water Supply  Disputes over rights to water supply and other natural resources in the region  Water rights  Agreements about how countries can use the water in a region.

 Israel, Jordan and Palestinians  Rely on the same scarce water supply on the West Bank  Israel has the most power – so they have the ability to claim more water.  What happens if they build a dam?  Recycle the water so many people have access to water without a major shortage

 Water Pollution  Port cities  Ports make it easier to ship things  Water is often polluted by the shipping industry  Oil is the main export Persian  Oil spills are one of the main causes for water pollution in the Persian Gulf

 World’s largest source of oil - Persian Gulf  Pollution issues – air and water  Damage to refineries during war  Not repairing damages  Pollution was a strategy used during war  Dumped oil into Persian Gulf  Burned oil wells to prevent USA from gaining control  Lack of water supply makes the pollution issue even bigger.

 How does a limited supply of water affect how nations treat each other?  Does the Middle East suffer from a small amount of water supply, unequal distribution of water, or both? Why???  How has water rights caused conflict in the Middle East?

 How does oil distribution impact the development of countries with and without oil?  Standard of Living - GDP  Literacy Rate

 If a country does not have oil fields, what type of economy do they have?  If a country is poor, what type of literacy rate do they have? Why???

 Most economies were once based on farming  Discovery oil – main source of income  Governments with large oil deposits stopped investing in other parts of their economies.  Countries without oil are poorer.

 How do rivers and deserts impact where people live, where they work and how they travel?  People settle around the limited fresh water supply.  Civilizations concentrate around fertile soil.  People aren’t going to settle in a hot desert.... Why?  Crops are grown within these areas.  Subsistence Farming – Grow enough only for their families.  Most people within the Middle East are nomads (wander) within the desert regions.

 How do deserts and rivers impact transportation in the Middle East?  Rivers provide transportation routes  Remember... There are few rivers in the region.  Deserts and mountains are transportation barriers  Difficult to produce goods and transport

 How has the development of the oil industry in the Middle East impacted other industries within those countries?