In summary, Dubai is definitely a city worth visiting, especially if you have hosts to take you around to the major sights. But, in the long run both Nick and I concluded that it would be an environmentalist’s nightmare of a home. There are so many opportunities for Dubai to adopt sustainable building and living practices. In many other locations around the world, money may be a constraint to ecologically governed development. But Dubai is one of the richest cities in the world. The UAE have such a vast amount of natural sunlight, yet where are all of the solar panels? A staggering amount of energy is being used to keep the hundreds of malls, thousands of buildings and homes air-conditioned. Yet the technology exists to have a central cooling system function with water and heat circulation. Why isn’t Dubai striving to not only be the top tourist destination in the Middle East, but also a living example of modern sustainable technology?
Nick made the interesting observation that Dubai is a city not unlike one we humans would build if we occupy another planet. By all means, without the huge amount of money in Dubai, this part of the world would be relatively un-inhabitable unless you were a nomadic Bedouin. Without the oil, there would be nothing here. And soon, the oil is going to run out (hence the huge push to make Dubai a tourist hotspot). It will be interesting to watch this city react to a global decrease in oil.
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