Dubai plans to build refrigerated beach.
Dubai plans to build refrigerated beach.
Dubai is planning to construct the world’s first refrigerated beach. A system of heat-absorbing pipes and giant wind blowers will “keep tourists cool in the searing 40-50C heat.” Soheil Abedian, president of Palazzo Versace hotel that will be home to the refrigerated beach, said: “We will suck the heat out of the sand to keep it cool enough to lie on. This is the kind of luxury that top people want.” Critics have argued that Dubai’s design lacks regard for the environment:
Rachel Noble, of Tourism Concern, said: “Dubai is like a bubble world where the things that are worrying the rest of the world, like climate change, are simply ignored so people can continue destructive lifestyles.” […]
The city’s continued expansion will also add to its huge carbon footprint. Each person living in Dubai has a carbon footprint of more than 44 tons of CO2 a year.
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Good grief. This is greed gone wild. Conspicuous consumption on steroids.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pmThank god! Someone is finally thinking of the desperate needs of top people!
December 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pmHoly #%^#&%#^ $&%$%%& &^%^&& ^&&%%#@)(*^%%^**!!!!!!!!!
Unadulterated decadence, thy name is Dubai.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:04 pmLeftside Annie Says:
Good grief. This is greed gone wild. Conspicuous consumption on steroids.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
What is WRONG with you?
These people DESERVE their polluting paradise. They have MONEY, lots of it. If you have MONEY, nothing is denied you.
Me?
I wouldn’t mind seeing Dubai bombed right back to the 19th Century (when it was still the stone age there)…Just level the phuquer…
December 15th, 2008 at 1:04 pmCool!
Thanks to everyone who drives a lousy gas-guzzling American SUV (or the import ones that also get shitty gas mileage) we’ve given them the ability to build ice castles in the desert.
Again, I issue the patented:
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:05 pmThe thing to remember is that they wouldn’t build something so extravagent and expensive without knowing that they’d have the customers to pay for it. And these customers will be coming from all over the world, including the United States.
Perhaps a peek at the guest register might be entertaining in the future….
December 15th, 2008 at 1:08 pmEvery beachgoer will be carried to and from their cool resting spot in the sand by a dozen pre-teen attendants (please indicate your preference), who will then lavish the bodies with oil and cool them with palm fans. Since most attendees will be fat, greedy corporate types the oil will be purchased by the tanker and stored in converted gas pumps.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:08 pmThis is what happens when you have too much oil, too much money, western technology at your disposal and the brains of a camel.
Look closely at the beach: it is littered with Wall Street bankers, brokers, hedge fund managers and ponzi scheme administrators. The air mattreses are stuffed with Chinese currency.
Merry Christmas.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:09 pmit must be nice…
December 15th, 2008 at 1:09 pmplease tell me the sharks will have freakin’ laser beams for the asswipes that go to this place
December 15th, 2008 at 1:11 pmWell, they are doing this in Dubai, because there is demand for it. All of these filthy rich Americans and Europeans demand it, so Dubai supplies it.
Dubai is the Vegas of the Arab world.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm“Dubai is like a bubble world where the things that are worrying the rest of the world, like climate change, are simply ignored…”
____________
To all of you who have been wondering where Botch will be spending his retirement years… the question has been answered.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:17 pmI suppose when I am done at the beach I can look forward to a nice blackened orangutan steak with in a nice panda urine reduction.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:21 pmDon’t worry too much about this.
Anyone remember the “Desert Palm” or whatever the phuck they called it? The big peninsula/island formation the UAE built off their own coast and built huge luxury homes on? Well, it was a bust. They LOST money on it because no one wanted to live there since it was too much of a pain in the arse to get there, supply it, etc.
Dubai is doing all this crap because they know their days are number. Their oil is running out. Some day, it will happen. What they are banking on now is the almighty tourist dollar. If all your tourists are filthy freakin’ rich…all the better for you right?
All that being said, this sh!te is nothing short of disgusting.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:25 pm44 tons of CO2 per person is 10 times the world average 40 times Indias carbon footprint and two times the US carbon footprint.
But hey as long as the wants of “top people” are satisfied, who cares about the needs of the people at the bottom
December 15th, 2008 at 1:26 pmIn a way, these shmucks are ahead of their time. We’ll need to need to cool down the whole planet before too long.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:27 pmAnd Dick (future Dubai resident)Cheney says, “So?”
December 15th, 2008 at 1:30 pmhelp.me.jebus Says: Well, they are doing this in Dubai, because there is demand for it. All of these filthy rich Americans and Europeans demand it, so Dubai supplies it.
Not necessarily so. Demand can be driven by the supplier (see SUVs, Pet Rocks, Singing Bass).
December 15th, 2008 at 1:39 pm5th Estate Says:
Hey I need my pet rocks. All of ‘em. They are my friends…. my sweet friends……
December 15th, 2008 at 1:46 pmIs it bad to hope that they and their patrons get pneumonia?
December 15th, 2008 at 1:49 pmPerry logan Says:
We’ll need to need to cool down the whole planet before too long.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
No.
See, that myth of global warming has already been debunked. It snowed somewhere last night. So, myth busted. No global warming.
We have snow. No warming.
snark/
December 15th, 2008 at 1:49 pmZooey Says:
Is it bad to hope that they and their patrons get pneumonia?
Not at all. It is not ‘bad’ to want to kill of viruses or parasites in your body, right? Generally I dn’t see too many people unhappy that they has to do so. These patrons will, in the main, be the social equivalent of strongly established chronic viral strains and parasites.
I’m with dbadass: I want sharks with friggin’ laser beams attatched to their foreheads.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:53 pmSorryy for the typos above. Not correcting them.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pmYou’re right, Cagey. It’s 10 degrees here — what global warming!? :-D
I like the sharks with frickin’ laser beams better than pneumonia. That dbadass has style. ;)
December 15th, 2008 at 1:56 pmThis should finally disprove the old adage “you can never have too much money”.
Reminds of the heating sidewalks of Reykjavik, but at least that’s providing a service to all the citizens.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:02 pmDubai was a struggling country until Bush/Cheney took office. Yes the Middle East countries knew they found two suckers and used them for everything they were worth. In 8 short years Dubai was able to grow into one of the richest nations of the World. Very wise were these Leaders as they studied both Bush and Cheney. Now Bush was easy but Cheney could only be used when money was the topic. In come Halliburton with it’s CEO/VP Dick Cheney. As US Leaders look down on the Middle East the Dudai Leaders played the role. Oil and more Oil was the trick. Cheney knew how to get profit by taking shares. Slowly other rich greedy Americans brought into the deals thinking they got over on the Dubai Leaders. We see the out come today Dubai is rich and the US is in a recession. Now don’t be surprised at what’s coming for Dick Cheney as his future. Yes it’s old as time and greedy people never learn. Obama will have to make nice because Dubai rules in the Economic department.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:04 pmIn Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree…
December 15th, 2008 at 2:04 pmYeah? And then what happens to your beach when sea levels rise 10 feet? It’s kinda 10 feet under water, then, huh?
December 15th, 2008 at 2:08 pmHey Zooey! Ten degrees? Sorry to hear that. It’s 53 here. :)
December 15th, 2008 at 2:12 pmTo make you feel better, it was minus 43 in Fargo (with wind chill).
Is Olivia Newton John still in Xanadu? Was that the worst film ever made or what? She was a hottie for her day though…
December 15th, 2008 at 2:22 pmAnd the sad thing is that this project, like most of the other recent construction projects in Dubai, will be built by migrant workers from Pakistan, India, Syria, and other places. The workers, lured to UAE with promises of work and a good life, are underpaid, live on the streets or in labor camps, and can’t afford to get home.
Enjoy it while it lasts, Dubai — your oil won’t last forever.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:26 pm“Top people want” and the bottom people are forced to serve. Will they be slave labor from Bangladesh?
When the world flips, i.e. the last become first, will the top people use their cold conditions training to resist stress interrogation techniques?
December 15th, 2008 at 2:32 pmH
December 15th, 2008 at 2:49 pmThe rest of the message was
Jeebutz …. Kreist! How much is too much money?
December 15th, 2008 at 2:50 pmand this air conditioned beach is brought to you by the emirate that financed 9-11. go figure
December 15th, 2008 at 3:29 pmWell, I don’t know about these “top dogs” and their needs, but me, if I’m on a beach where it’s extremely hot, I go for an ice cold beer and/or golden margarita on the rocks (or 2 or 3…).
December 15th, 2008 at 3:32 pmUsually a lot less cheaper, and much more fun!
That’s just me, tho!
And in about 20 years, all of Dubai will be under water.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:34 pm@ Jackie @26
Dubai was a struggling country until Bush etc.
Of all the countries in the Gulf, Dubai was the one ( well actually its part of a country not a full one)that had a vision that went beyond oil, and now only a very small percentage of its revenues are derived from petrol.
As some one up thread points out Dubai is the Vegas (Monte Carlo) of the middle East. However it is also the New York, with the largest financial sector, and with the ports of Port Rachid and Jebel Ali, the major seahub for the whole gulf, and also for transit to India and the Far East.
Also, their airline – Emirates – has so many passengers that I believe it has something like 30 million passengers per yer already for a country (sorry emirate) with a population of less than 4 million. Compare this to Heathrow, London with =/- 40 million passengers for a population of 60 million.
Having said that, if you want to see conspicuous consumption in eveidence, then Dubai is the place to go.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:39 pmOh, Dubai. Why oh why can’t you be more like your cousin Masdar?
December 15th, 2008 at 3:44 pmI think Daryll’s god intends to destroy Masdar if it ever rises from the sands just because it is a petty and vengeful god.
In all seriousness what is the current status of this project and is it or is it not a colossal Biosphere?
December 15th, 2008 at 4:04 pmdbadass Says:
In all seriousness what is the current status of this project and is it or is it not a colossal Biosphere?
December 15th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
_________
The status appears to be the planning and fundraising stage, with some ongoing work in developing some of the technologies the city will eventually need. But as far as I know, they haven’t begun construction or even broken ground on the actual city.
Still, whether it ends up being an actual, viable city, or an incubator project that invests several billion dollars in improving renewable energy and carbon-capture technology, it’s nice to see one of the Emirates making some concrete efforts to combat climate change.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:13 pmThis rivals Ski Dubai!
December 15th, 2008 at 4:44 pmNow we know where the trillion dollars when.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:47 pm*went
December 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pmI agree as to Masdar. It has real potential to showcase future possibilities even if some are still in need of tuning… Segways are not the future…
December 15th, 2008 at 4:51 pmAll new movie releases will be acted out by the actual actors on ten football fields.
December 15th, 2008 at 5:56 pmWhy is this even a topic for discussion?
ThinkProgress is starting to look like ThinkMadness to me…
December 15th, 2008 at 10:29 pmIt’s a topic for discussion because of reasons you wouldn’t understand, Vacuous.
Run along…
December 15th, 2008 at 11:47 pmTim Vaculik Says:
No one cares what a moronic loaf like you thinks. If you dont LIKE this site there are several million others out there but what this site posts isnt UP TO YOU.
December 16th, 2008 at 5:10 amSo then, if one of the refrigerators just happens to go blewy, then the people presently ON the beach get scorchted to death. Yeah!!!!
As a system is made more and more complicated, it becomes easier to topple. The shear ridiculousness of Dubai will be its downfall.
Next they will think about an indoor Ski slope down there.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:40 amHoly Sh…. http://www.skidubai.com/
Zooey and Keith,
WHat makes you think that the temp would not be 10 degrees colder no matter what it is at any given time if not for global climate change. “Warming” is relative. Just because you think it is cold at -43, does not mean anything, because it would have been -53 if not for global climate change.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:49 amThe view from your window changes, but not everyone enjoys the same view.
5th Estate Says:
help.me.jebus Says: Well, they are doing this in Dubai, because there is demand for it. All of these filthy rich Americans and Europeans demand it, so Dubai supplies it.
Not necessarily so. Demand can be driven by the supplier (see SUVs, Pet Rocks, Singing Bass).
Correct 5th,
It is called SUPPLY SIDE ECONOMICS and it is bullshit. Walmart got their leg up by going out and strangling the manufacturer into cutting costs even more. In effect they became the dictator in the market place. But it is free enterprise right? HAHAHAHAHA
Walmart is the ultimate scumsucking company. Sam Walton KILLED free enterprise.
REAGONOMICS ARE DEAD. 30 years of stupid, stupid Trickle down economics have given us this urine soaked shitstorm of an economy we have raining down on our heads now.
KILL THE BANKS and the BANKERS.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:56 amWhere is a monster tsunami when you need one?!
December 16th, 2008 at 9:23 amAlecto Says:
Zooey and Keith,
WHat makes you think that the temp would not be 10 degrees colder no matter what it is at any given time if not for global climate change. “Warming” is relative. Just because you think it is cold at -43, does not mean anything, because it would have been -53 if not for global climate change.
The view from your window changes, but not everyone enjoys the same view.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Lighten, ok? We were joking.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:47 am