Environmental Issues of Middle East

____________  ____________  happens when trash, toxic waste, and sewage is spilled into rivers and other bodies of water.

• air pollution
• water pollution
• fossil water
• rain water

Which country is the MOST water scarce country in the Middle East?

• Iraq
• Saudi Arabia
• Jordan
• Turkey

This country is mostly desert and has no rivers.

• Jordan
• Saudi Arabia
• Iraq
• Israel

__________________ means there is not enough of something people need.

• scarcity
• desalination
• groundwater
• pollution

___________________ is the process of removing salt from the sea.

• desalination
• desert
• despite
• deface

How has the building of dams created problems for countries sharing rivers in Southwest Asia (Middle East)?

• Dams are too expensive to build to be practical.

• Dams limit the water available to countries further downstream.

• Few countries have the technology needed to be able to build dams.

• Countries in Southwest Asia are not allowed to build dams along shared rivers.

How has the use of chemical fertilizers affected water supplies in many countries in Southwest Asia (Middle East)?

• The use of chemical fertilizers means crops must be watered constantly

• Water supplies have been contaminated by the chemicals through runoff from the fields

• Chemical fertilizers help take the salt out of water supplies in Southwest Asia (Middle East)

• Enormous amounts of water must be used to produce chemical fertilizers

Why aren’t desalination and drip irrigation used more in Southwest Asia (Middle East)?

• These technologies are very expensive for countries to use

• Few countries in Southwest Asia have access to seawater

• Drip irrigation is not very effective in the hot, dry climate

• Ancient methods of irrigation are much more effective and helpful

Which statement best describes the problem of water in Southwest Asia (Middle East)?

• Local fresh water supplies cannot support the area’s drinking and farming needs

• Runoff from desalination plants is polluting fresh water supplies

• Hydroelectric power is using most of the fresh water.

• Underground aquifers are overflowing and flooding towns

The Middle East has a big problem with ____________  ____________ to water. Not every country has the same opportunity to get to a water source.

• air pollution
• water pollution
• acid rain
• unequal access