Slashdot Log In
Dubai Is Building a Refrigerated Beach
Posted by
samzenpus
on Fri Dec 19, 2008 05:47 PM
from the building-ice-castles dept.
from the building-ice-castles dept.
dataxtream writes "The world's first refrigerated beach is to be built at a luxury hotel in Dubai, located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. The beach will include heat-absorbing pipes under the sand along with large wind blowers, which will keep tourists cool and guard their feet against the hot sand. Half of me says these guys need a reality check, the other half wants to go there." I believe I've just thought of a way we could solve this whole global warming thing I've been hearing about.
Related Stories
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Informative)
Well, I'd guess that this is a man made beach with strict engineering and erosion control.
Also, I've lived in Victoria BC Canada for most of my life and our beaches barely change at all. So all beaches are not like Daytona.
Parent
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Funny)
"all beaches are not like Daytona."
I've been to Daytona, and all I can say to that is: Thank Fucking God.
Parent
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Insightful)
much of the beaches in Dubai are artificial. More in the sense that they have dredgers which constantly infuse new sand on the beaches to stop beach erosion. My main concern with Dubai desire to be the playground of the rich and famous is what they plan to do when terrorist realize there are infidels partying in their neck of the woods.
I've never heard Dubai speak of how they plan to handle potential hostility from extremists. It wont be long before what happened in India finds its way to Dubai
Parent
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Insightful)
Given that there are more foreign workers in Dubai than there are citizens, and that most of those foreign workers get by on little better than slave wages and with few rights, I'm amazed something nasty hasn't happened already.
Dubai is building their playground for the rich on the backs of exploited foreign laborers. That sort of arrangement is rarely successful over the long term. Eventually the scattered civil unrest gets larger and more organized, and then the real trouble starts.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Just a note, didn't really have anything to say but thought the "slave wages" was a bit of a stretch. At least for my set of foreign workers.
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:4, Informative)
He's not talking about white collar professionals...he's talking about people from the Indian subcontinent and other poor regions that are used for manual labor (e.g. construction). I lived in the region for almost a decade, and it was shameful to see the way those people were treated, as if they were subhuman. Granted they make more than they would in their home country, but their quality of life is so low, especially in contrast with the insane amount of wealth and waste there. Even worse than their standard of living was the way they were treated by the indigenous Arab people. To give you a better context, if you've seen the movie "Syriana", the way migrant workers are treated is extremely realistic.
Parent
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Insightful)
What do the people in your office do? Are they out there building and maintaining the wonders of Dubai's skyline? Working the dredgers that build up the artificial islands? Serving the meals, cleaning the sheets, polishing the brass, driving the trucks?
Yeah. Of course the office workers aren't getting the slave wages. They're the rich people the slaves are building Dubai for.
Jeez man, think a little. Just because you need a job doesn't mean you're poor.
Parent
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Insightful)
No, I don't expect you would hear them speak about it. Better to have it just be a surprise to the bad guys, but I'd be very surprised if there isn't a plan. Also, in a small country like Dubai, it's easy to both know and control who goes in and out, and how they do so. Additionally, I expect that in Dubai, their laws probably give them rather broad authority in that are. Finally, Dubai is at least somewhat less of a target simply by virtue of the fact that it is an Islamic nation. That isn't to say that the terrorists have any qualms about killing other Muslims with whom they disagree - they most certainly have none - but it would make them look bad to attack an Islamic nation, and while they care not a whit for human lives, they do care about image and PR. Marketing, in fact, is probably the thing they are better at than anything else.
Parent
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The UAE doesn't have to deal with pesky problems such as "human rights". They can just post armed guard and snipers all around with orders to shoot first and ask questions later, if it really comes to that. And sink all unidentified approaching boats on sight.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The terrorists in Mumbai arrived in an identified boat. They hijacked a fishing vessel, killed the crew, and kept the captain alive long enough to come into port safely without arousing suspicion. Unless UAE intends to station troops on all fishing boats that leave its ports, it would also be vulnerable to such an attack. Of course, they really don't have to worry, since the "religion of peace" followers wouldn't dare attack an Islamic country, as that would be bad PR.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Lots of bad guys in the UAE and more specifically in Dubai. Lots of good guys too. However the area (both Dubai and Abu Dabi) is a financial centre for the bad guys. They will not do anything to jeopardize that as they know the instant they raise trouble they will lose that privilege.
So, in the end everyone is looking at each other in the white of the eyes, restraining themselves (and just collecting Int).
Actually quite safe for a middle eastern country as long as you do not try to stick out like a sore th
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't care what the media says, I doubt we'll ever know the true motivations of the scumbags who committed mass murder in India recently
What? Do people just decide to organize a dozen people for months or years with detailed plans just for no reason, on a whim?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The only suicide bomber ever caught alive was in Bombay, where the brave police of DB Marg police station simply lunged at them [rediff.com]:
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Interpretation? It's written in black-and-white in those holy books. I don't know how much clearer it could get.
Here's some select quotes from the Bible, for instance:
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB) - apparently the Bible condones murdering homosexuals, even though they were created that way by God. Many Christians now still believe this, or at least believe in treating them
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You demonstrate exactly how the extremists think. They cherry pick and then they come back and say things like "how much clearer could it get?" But they and you ignore contradictions and chose the worst possible interpretation as it suits you.
Don't be ridiculous. Contradictions? I thought this book is supposed to be the infallible word of God, without error. If it has no error, then how can there be contradictions? If there's contradictions, then obviously the religion is false.
If it's so easy to misint
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Which is why, say, Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia hasn't had any terrorist attacks [wikipedia.org]. There have been no attacks on foreign workers [wikipedia.org], nor on resident families [wikipedia.org].
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, because all those imperialists in Darfur, Bali, the Philippines, etc., etc., really had it coming to them.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Well, yes and no. I grew on an island off of the coast of North Carolina which was basically one giant beach that has to deal with erosion of not only it's beaches but the entire island. Their response to it was to replace the beach.
I am not an environmental engineer, but I do recall that they would dredge for sand that had naturally eroded off and pump it back onto the beach. They could just put the pipes down and pump the eroded sand back onto the beach every so often.
Now I'm sure it's not cheap, but Duba
Re: (Score:2)
Funny how oil seems to be a common theme among places building climate controlled beaches [pbase.com]. But they've had an air conditioned beach for quite some time now.
Re:beach erosion/movement (Score:5, Insightful)
The funny thing is though, that if you go back a generation you'd see a role reversal in the jealousy with regards fancy Americans with their indoor plumbing and other technological innovations.
Comes around. Goes around. Etc. Get off the merry go round or keep cycling in what amounts to self hatred.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The funny thing is though, that if you go back a generation you'd see a role reversal in the jealousy with regards fancy Americans with their indoor plumbing and other technological innovations.
Comes around. Goes around. Etc. Get off the merry go round or keep cycling in what amounts to self hatred.
Or just, you know, push for alternative fuels, and cut dependence on foreign oil. Whining solves nothing.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Idle this shit (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Idle this shit (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you implying that this audience isn't interested in domes cities and artificial living environments??
Read some science fiction man! I grew up on this stuff.
Parent
Re:Idle this shit (Score:5, Insightful)
not all nerds collect hard drive platters for a living .... I have an architectural background and think it quite interesting when fringe type ideas make it unto slashdot. Nerd =! Computers there are many other types of Tech out there besides C++
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
I'm sorry, but if this is true, this is definitely something to get aroused over. How can we expect any leading entity to take global warming and the (upcoming, in 30 years time) oil crises a priority unless we make it one. These idiots are ruining the world on their friggin' Alice in Wonderland trip. And it is not over there. In the Netherlands, there was this idea to put down a skating round *outside*. I don't know how much electricity would go into that but it must be horrible.
How can you expect a third
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
A kneejerk defense of a theme park for the richest 1% of the world is not a reasonable perspective.
I never said anything about the beach thing. Perhaps your reading comprehension needs some work.
Oh, you're a dedicated science denialist, that makes much more sense
Oh, so you're saying all the data showing a cooling trend in the last decade is wrong? And all the politically and financially motivated "findings" are all correct? Or did the killer bees really sweep the county and reduce cows to mere skeletons?
The laws of thermodynamics are still on the books (Score:5, Funny)
I believe I've just thought of a way we could solve this whole global warming thing I've been hearing about.
You mean, power the giant beach refrigerator by attaching a generator to the spinning corpse of old Sadi Carnot [wikipedia.org]?
Re: (Score:2)
No thanks... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, but if Dubai keeps building cool shit like this, it won't be long until we get a new Dubai-themed Vegas hotel with miniature versions of everything they dream up in the actual Dubai. I'm sure making people feel like oil sheiks would also work as a "math-challenged people come give us your money" theme as well.
So this is less an advertisement for you than it is a preview of what you can expect to see in the places you're more interested in.
Why bother going? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why bother going to Dubai anyhow? It is too hot, they only have sand and some fake islands [theemiratesnetwork.com] that no-one wants to buy and no culture (unless you are into modern, megalomaniac architecture). And in terms of population, there are just overwhelmingly rich locals, western expats designing toy projects for said locals and Indian immigrants actually building those toy projects. If you are choosing a holiday destination, I could not thing of anything less interesting.
Re:Why bother going? (Score:5, Informative)
shhhh. You'll pop their bubble. Ooops. Too late [bloomberg.com].
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed. Without an interesting local culture to go along with it, playing on the beach tends to turn into a snooze-fest real fast. I prefer visiting areas with rich history.
An outdoor Alpine ski mountain would be cooler (Score:2)
And if they could make it levitate that would be awesome. I hope they spend their next 100 billion dollars on that one.
Sounds like just the place... (Score:2)
...to relax after a hard day on the ski slopes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4491210.stm [bbc.co.uk]
http://www.skidubai.com/ [skidubai.com]
sand blasting? (Score:2)
Every little bit of solar helps... (Score:5, Interesting)
Easier solution (Score:4, Insightful)
Go to Bermuda for your next vacation, a place where the sand isn't scorching hot.
It's about location, location, location. And Dubai isn't the location.
Awesome (Score:5, Funny)
Somebody needed to deflect attention from America's excesses and take the spotlight for needless waste and overspending. Go Dubai!
Re:Patent Pending (Score:5, Interesting)
The world is in a global economic depression because everyone's too worried about the global economic depression to spend enough money to pick the economy back up. If you've got the money to spend on something that takes an enormous amount of labour it will be a great thing for the economy as the extra cash circulating will boost everyone's confidence to spend their own. Plus, if you ever wanted to have something like this built, now is the time.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Keep on driving those SUVs - that's what's ruining your economy and feeding theirs.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The world is in a global economic depression because everyone's too worried about the global economic depression to spend enough money to pick the economy back up. If you've got the money to spend on something that takes an enormous amount of labour it will be a great thing for the economy as the extra cash circulating will boost everyone's confidence to spend their own. Plus, if you ever wanted to have something like this built, now is the time.
The world is in a global economic depression because the wealthiest nations have all adopted a centralized banking system like the USA's Federal Reserve. This system, inherently and by design, has more debt than currency in circulation to pay that debt because interest (the "prime rate") is attached to money the moment it is created.
Let's say that the Federal Reserve has just been set up. There is currently no money in circulation so the first money is created. The prime rate (to make up a nice workab
Re:Patent Pending (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh, no.
That was all true for a long time without an global economic depression.
There is a recession in the US and some other places which may become a global economic depression because of a massive credit seize-up in the wake of, among other things, the bursting of the housing bubble in the US, and because of other factors (including the decline in income in the bottom four quintiles even during the most recent expansion in the US) reducing both industrial and consumer demand. The global reach of the crisis is due to the effect that the world economy is massively integrated through investment and trade.
The independent central banks that have become a near-universal norm have only marginal relevance; they aren't a significant cause of the problem (government policies in the US, like Gramm-Leach-Bliley, probably a significant role, but that's not central bank action.) Nor, for that matter, are they capable of doing much about the problem; they are mostly capable of short-term stabilization of minor disruptions, big crises render monetary responses mostly meaningless except as slight mitigation at best.
Um, there was money in circulation when the Federal Reserve was set up.
"the Founding Fathers" did no such thing. Certain of the Founding Fathers opposed a central bank (Jefferson and those that went on to form the nucleus of the Democratic-Republicans), OTOH, certain of the Founding Fathers (e.g., Alexandar Hamilton and the rest of those that went on to form the nucleus of the Federalists) certainly favored a central bank as a desirable thing.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
This system, inherently and by design, has more debt than currency in circulation to pay that debt because interest (the "prime rate") is attached to money the moment it is created...
Let's say the Fed creates ten billion dollars. The Fed gives the USA Government ten billion dollars. In exchange, the USA Government gives the Fed government bonds (a promise to pay back) worth $10,500,000,000 (the original ten billion plus the 5% interest). Now you have money in circulation. Except now you have a problem because there is only ten billion dollars in your entire economy
You don't understand the terms you are using.
First, the prime rate is the interbank lending rate, and not directly related to treasury bonds.
Second, you can't say "there's only 10 billion in the entire economy" as though that means something. Nobody (except for conspiracy nuts) measures an economy by the amount of available paper money! That's insane!
A simple exercise of your limited imagination would have revealed that, one, there's far more "money" than there is cash (about 8 times more if you count time
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
> It is the only way to continuously grow an economy indefinitely
And this belief is exactly why people continue to fall for these Ponzi schemes time after time, and why we inevitably have busts. Because you CANNOT grow an economy indefinitely.
> Fixed asset (gold-standard, etc...) systems will eventually become systems in which a select few will possess all the money in the world while the rest grovel at their feet, or revolt and take it back.
As opposed to what we have now. Oh, wait...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
...and there's definitely no heated football fields [grounds-mag.com] in the "developed" world, right?
Re:Has this solution been considered? (Score:4, Funny)
No engineer would ever think of that - the water is miles away!
Parent