(EIEME) Environmental Impact and Economy of the Middle East Module Overview

The Environmental Impact and Economy of the Middle East

Introduction 

To study the environment of the Middle East is to study a world of extremes. For in this one region, you will find the Fertile Crescent, once the birthplace of agriculture, not too far away from the Empty Quarter, which has no agriculture. There are rivers flowing through deserts and deserts next to seas. There are nations with more oil than water neighboring nations completely barren of oil. There is land that is located lower than any other land on Earth and places that get hotter than any other place on Earth. In fact, there are so many "extremes" in this region that it is extremely difficult to list them all here in the introduction. Be aware that in this module, you will be learning how the people of the Middle East have handled their environment and, in some cases, how the environment has handled them.

Module Lessons Preview

 In this module, we will study the following topics:

  • Human Environmental Interaction -

    Southwest Asia also known as the Middle East is considered the birthplace of civilizations. The vast history of the Fertile Crescent gave life to the domestication of agriculture and animals. Today the region is known for its rich oil resources. Today the region faces several environmental problems such as water scarcity, river pollution, and unequal distribution of water resources.

  • Production, Distribution, & Consumption -

    Countries in the Middle East have a variety of economic systems. Numerous countries are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The production of oil has allowed for a variety of economic systems to develop such as Market, Mixed, and Command economies.

Key Terms

  1. Economics- the science of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
  2. Specialization- in economics it is the development of a special or specific good, service, or industry
  3. Economic Growth- An increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared from one period of time to another
  4. Trade Barriers-government-induced restrictions on international trade
  5. Natural Resources- a thing humans use that is found naturally in the environment
  6. OPEC- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; organized in 1960 to coordinate policies of oil-producing countries not in Europe or North America
  7. Price Fixing- an agreement by market participants to buy or sell a product only at a set price
  8. Traditional Economic System- An economic system where resources are allocated by inheritance; strong ties with subsistence farming
  9. Erosion- gradual eating or wearing away caused by glaciers, water, waves, or wind
  10. Desert- a dry barren region that is usually sandy and without trees
  11. Desertification- The transformation of arable or habitable land to desert, as by a change in climate or destructive land use
  12. Deforestation- the act or result of cutting down or burning all the trees in an area
  13. Overgrazing- To permit animals to graze (vegetation cover) excessively, to the detriment of the vegetation.
  14. Pollution- the dirtying of any part of the environment, especially with waste
  15. Arable- land fit for plowing
  16. Potable- fit or suitable for drinking
  17. Subsistence Agriculture- farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families
  18. Commercial Agriculture- large scale production of crops with the intent for sale
  19. Oil- Petroleum
  20. Irrigation- supplying land with water
  21. Revenue- money coming in; income
  22. Dam- a wall built to hold back water of any flowing water
  23. Oasis Village- a settlement that develops near a green, fertile place in the desert that has a water supply
  24. Services- work in the service of others; useful labor
  25. Goods- things for sale; wares
  26. Reservoir- a place where water is collected and stored for use; usually man-made and on the ground's surface
  27. Aquifer- naturally occurring underground water storage
  28. "Empty Quarter"-the largest sand desert in the world, located on the Arabian Peninsula; also known as Rub-al-Khali
  29. Qanat- an underground tunnel with water
  30. Peninsula- a piece of land almost surrounded by water
  31. Strait- narrow channel connecting two larger bodies of water
  32. Gulf- a large bay, an arm of an ocean or sea extending into the land
  33. League of Arab States- also known as the Arab League; a regional organization of Arab countries in North Africa and Southwest Asia (Middle East) formed in 1945 to protect their independence and sovereignty
  34. Embargo- any restriction put on commerce by law
  35. Nationalize- to bring under the control of or ownership of a nation's government (usually about a business)
  36. Hydroelectricity- electricity developed from waterpower
  37. Climate- a type of weather a region experiences over a long period of time
  38. Weather- refers to the day to day conditions and changes in the atmosphere
  39. Precipitation- the depositing of moisture in the form of rain, dew, snow, etc.
  40. Tributaries- streams that flow into a larger stream or body of water
  41. Syrian Desert- a region that combines steppe terrain (semi-desert) and true desert in the northern Arabian peninsula
  42. Commerce- the buying and selling of goods
  43. Anatolia Plateau- plateau located in Turkey
  44. Plateau- plain in the mountains or considerably above sea level
  45. Plain- a flat stretch of land
  46. Steppe-vast treeless plains

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