NYT on Masdar 27, September 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in The Emirates.Tags: Abu Dhabi, Masdar, Masdar photos, Renewable energy, UAE carbon dioxide emissions per capita, UAE energy use per capita, UAE masdar
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The New York Times has an article on Abu Dhabi’s ‘renewable city in the desert’ – Masdar.
Am I the only one who is cynical/mean-spirited enough to think that this – the NYT article – is essentially the whole point behind Masdar? I.e. the publicity and the kudos?
I say this in light of many factors, too numerous to mention here…so I’ll just go for this:
Energy use per capita
(UAE – Red; UK – Yellow; World – Blue)
and headlines like
Yes, obviously, Masdar could be their attempt to redress the balance but…I mean honestly…do you really think that they care about the environment whatsoever?
The Gulf blog 
No you’re not alone 😉
And it works right (the PR, not the city)? And it’s marginally more useful, or less wasteful than palm islands anyway.
They’ve had some huge issues in management…foreigners coming in expecting one thing…the usual. I imagine that the tech will work.
What amuses me is the thought of a car-less city in the UAE. Can you imagine the size of the car-park on its outskirts? Can’t want for some cheeky juxtaposing pictures!
Clearly, the residents’ daily commutes into Abu Dhabi for shopping trips will offset the carbon emissions saved by all of these fancy shmancy designs. But it is still cool. Where can I sign up?
Who cares what the reasoning is? This is a good idea, and should naturally lead to useful developments in designing for a reduced carbon footprint.