Introduction
SS7G6 The student will discuss environmental issues across Southwest Asia (Middle East).
a. Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation and drinking water.
a. Explain how water pollution and the unequal distribution of water impacts irrigation and drinking water.
http://maps101.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/water-middle-east.gif
The desert nations of the Arabian Peninsula and Libya, as well as arid Israel and Palestine, outgrew their internal water resources for sustainable food self-sufficiency in the 1950s. Jordan ran out of water in the 1960s, Egypt in the 1970s, and other regions more recently (Solomon, 2010). It has been predicted that the next major world war will be over this precious resource. Middle Eastern countries have been able to import many of the food items that they need because of the vast deposits of oil in the region. But what happens when the oil runs out, another vast deposit comes on the market or another source of energy becomes more popular?