Transcript Natural Resources, Water Distribution, and Oil

7th Grade Social Studies
Mr. Short
Label your paper like this!
Warm-Up
8/19/13
Directions: Answer the following questions on a clean
sheet of paper. Be sure to write the questions.
1. List as many uses for water as you can. You
have 3 minutes!!!
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A
natural resource is any useful material found in
the environment.
 Natural resources can be in the form of raw
materials (a resource or material that is still in its
natural state; example: crude oil).
 There are many different types of resources:
• Recyclable Resource – A resource that cycles through
natural processes in the environment (example: water).
• Renewable Resource – A resource that the environment
continues to supply or replace (example: trees, water).
• Nonrenewable Resource – A resource that cannot be
replaced once it is used (example: fossil fuels, minerals such
as iron, copper, and gold).
 One
of the important types of nonrenewable
resources found in Southwest Asia are fossil fuels.
 Fossil fuels are any one of several nonrenewable
resources created from the remains of plants and
animals.
 Some of the major fossil fuels are:
• Oil
• Coal
• Natural Gas
 Once
good!
fossil fuels are used up, they are gone for
 Consumption
is the act of consuming, or
using up goods and services.
 As the population of an area increases, the
amount of goods consumed also increases.
This can lead to numerous issues:
• Production – More materials have to be produced
(made or refined; example: using oil to create
gasoline).
• Abundance or Scarcity – As materials are used up,
they may become more scarce (not enough of
something). If there is an abundance of the materials
(a lot of something) this is less of an immediate issue,
but still could be an issue in the future.
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One natural resource that is scarce in Southwest Asia (Middle East)
is fresh water.
The areas around fresh water sources, such as rivers, usually are
densely populated ( a lot of people living close together in that
area). People living in areas without access to enough fresh water
have to find other ways to get water. One way, used by Saudi
Arabia for example, is desalinization (process of removing salt
from seawater for drinking), but this process is VERY expensive.
Historically, many people in Southwest Asia (ME) have lived as
desert nomads, or Bedouins, constantly moving to find water and
other resources to survive. This lifestyle is slowly disappearing as
Southwest Asia (ME) continues to become more modern.
Because there is an unequal distribution of water in Southwest
Asia (ME) this can lead to conflicts.
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Because most of the people in Southwest Asia (ME) live
near water (rivers for fresh water or other waterways
for shipping) these areas tend to be very crowded
(have a high population density).
This overpopulation (population has outgrown an area’s
resources) leads to a scarcity of supplies.
Example: So many people in Southwest Asia (ME) live
close to rivers that there is a scarcity of water. Farmers
diverting the river for irrigation (process of bringing
water to land to assist in farming) leads to less water
available to other people. As a result, since many of the
rivers have less water in them, the silt (small particles
of rich soil carried by flooding rivers) which naturally
fertilized the fields when flooding occurred never
reaches the soil. Without the flooding and silt, many
fields are becoming unable to produce crops.
 While
many of the people of Southwest Asia
(ME) live near fresh water, there are still
other areas with high population densities.
One example is areas with large oil
reserves.
 These areas tend to have a large number
of high paying jobs and attract people
from all over Southwest Asia (ME).
 Because there is an uneven distribution of
oil in Southwest Asia (ME), some countries
have become increasingly wealthy, while
others have remained poor.
 The
countries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, United
Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Iraq all
have significant oil reserves and
production, while many of the other
countries in Southwest Asia (ME) do not.
 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental
organization, consisting of 12 oil producing
and exporting countries; it regulates the
supply (amount) and cost of oil in the
world market. Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE,
Kuwait, and Iraq are all members of OPEC.
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Gross Domestic Product – The total market value of all
final goods and services produced in a country in a
year.
Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (GDP per capita) –
The approximate value of goods produced per person
in a country; equal to the country’s GDP divided by the
total population. This is often times used to show the
standard of living in a country.
Standard of Living – The financial health of a individual,
group (population), or nation measured by how much
that individual, group, or nation consumes. Countries
with a high GDP per capita are said to have a higher
standard of living since the country (and individuals
within the country) are making more money.
Governments can provide more, and better services
and people have more money to buy what they need.

Saudi Arabia (large country; lots of oil)
• GDP = $921.7 billion
• Population = 26,939,583
• GDP per capita = $34,213.60
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Afghanistan (large country; little to no oil)
• GDP = $34.29 billion
• Population = 31,108,077
• GDP per capita = $1,102.29
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Qatar (very small country; lots of oil)
• GDP = $191 billion
• Population = 2,042,444
• GDP per capita = $93, 515.42
 United
States
• GDP = $15.94 trillion
• Population = 316,668,567
• GDP per capita = $50,336.54