This seems like a winner in the category of most environmentally destructive innovation since someone decided to market HUMVEEs to civilians:
The idea of constructing an artificially cooled beach may sound a bit like an anachronistic excess in a world that is struggling to be more energy efficient. But a luxury hotel and condominium complex being constructed in Dubai by Gianni Versace, the Italian fashion house, will include a beach allowing guests to frolic on the sands — without becoming uncomfortably hot.
I had a joke all ready about how it would probably be easier to attract visitors by means of legalizing beachy cocktails, but of course the UAE has the Gulf’s most liberal alcohol laws already. But this is a reminder that a lot of our energy use in rich societies is a bit on the frivolous side. There’s nothing really wrong with that — a big part of the point of becoming a prosperous society is enable people to do frivolous (read: fun) stuff. But by the same token, this means that if we recognize the environmental imperative to start using energy in a less profligate way a lot of the reduction can come out of frivolous uses with consumers simply shifting their whimsies in less energy-intensive directions.
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