1. Unit 2 Oil, Water Rights, and Literacy Rate Notes

2. OIL. Oil is a resource that is abundant in the Middle East
OIL! *Oil is a resource that is abundant in the Middle East. *It is non-renewable so when it is gone it is gone. *Saudi Arabia & other countries living on the Persian Gulf coast have a lot of oil. They are all wealthy countries. *OPEC: is a group that controls and sets the price of oil. Most members are from the Middle East

3. WATER RIGHTS. Fresh water is a SCARCE resource in the M
WATER RIGHTS! *Fresh water is a SCARCE resource in the M.East (meaning there is not a lot of it) because it mostly a desert & has a lot of salt water seas. *Desalinization: is the process of taking salt out of salt water to make it fresh water to drink and water crops. *People fight over who get the rights to rivers, they need them to survive. *The Arabs, Jews (in Israel), and people living in Jordan fight about who should have the rights to the Jordan River.

4. LITERACY RATES! *Countries with out oil in the Middle East have a LOW literacy rate & LOW standard of living. *Countries with OIL have a HIGH literacy rate & HIGH standard of living. *War & fighting keeps some kids from going to school *Literacy Rates: Iran=79%, Saudi Arabia=79%, Iraq=85%, and Israel=95% *Israel has the highest literacy rate in the M.East because it is the most developed nation!