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Is Abu Dhabi the World’s First Zero-Emissions City?

dailygalaxy.com — Construction of the new zero-emission city started last week. It will eventually house 50,000 people & 1,500 businesses. The energy efficient buildings and infrastructure will require less energy to start with, and what little energy they do require will be supplied entirely from renewable energy sources.

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  • thepeacemaker, on 05/12/2008, -2/+20With the searing well above 120F during the day and hardly any days of rain, solar power alone can take care of Abu Dhabi's energy requirements. Even the drinking water comes from desalination plants and those too could be run using solar power.
    • cococooky, on 05/12/2008, -2/+11For future reference, the hotter a solar panel gets, the less efficient it becomes.
      • mijelh, on 05/12/2008, -1/+11solar power != solar panel
        • cococooky, on 05/12/2008, -5/+1Solar power can only be created with solar panels... your powers of deduction are incredible.
        • mijelh, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3@cococooky Are you serious? != means "it's not equal to". Solar power can be created by many means, as solar towers, parabolic troughs, etc... wich would in fact improve their efficiency with high ambient temperature. I just wanted to note that fact to people reading your comment not because your claim is false (wich is not) but because it can give the incorrect impression that obtaining solar energy in general is less efficient in colder ambients
        • mijelh, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2*obtaining solar energy is in general MORE efficient in colder ambient.
          Sorry!
        • cococooky, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Parabolic troughs and solar towers concenrate THERMAL solar energy. While this energy can be turned into elecricity, I would argue that this is thermal generated power. Being an electrician, the word power to me, translates as power in Watts.

          On a side note, thanks for explaining what != means.
          • MWeather, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Well, by your definition most forms of power generation, including coal and nuclear don't generate power, they generate mechanical and.or thermal energy.
          • mijelh, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1All of the aforementioned devices convert thermal energy into kinetical energy in order to convert it to electricity (via steam turbines or sterling engines), so following your reasoning we should call them "kinetic" and not "thermal" power generators.
            On the other side, "solar" is not a form of energy, so we should speak about "electromagnetic generated power" to refer to solar panels solely, and use the not so technical term "solar generated power" to refer to devices converting electromagnetic waves from the sun into electricity, directly or not.

            P.S.: I want to apologize to cococooky for thinking he was just trying to troll after my second post.
  • MrViklund, on 05/12/2008, -4/+10There is no such thing as "Zero-Emission"...
    • unladenSparrow, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3Would you be happier with carbon-neutral?
    • warriorscot, on 05/12/2008, -1/+7It usually means Net Zero emission in common usage, in the context they use it the building would have Net Zero emissions, what few if any emissions of harmful gasses or material they balance by capturing or mitigating emission somewhere else.

      Although that is a buzz word attached to the project in that region its more about self sustaining systems and systems that aren't reliant on a single fuel source, ironically being an area with abundant natural resources in the form of oil they don't like to be dependant on it, allot of the conditions they attach to western companies projects in the area to extract/refine petroleum products involve the construction of infrastructure for their cities and towns that will outlast oil production. Say what you like about some of these countries politics but there is no doubt they are smart cookies when it comes to getting the most out of what they have and understanding its finite nature.
    • zantos420, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2i think 'zero-emission' means no harmful pollutants are emitted
    • sponeil, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2You're right. Even the slaves used to build the great pyramids had powerful smelling "emissions".
      • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2That's because of the Egyptian Fava beans.
  • xSTEx, on 05/12/2008, -4/+6Zero-Emission? Won't the cars in the city be giving of emissions...
    • KaiserArny, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5"Driverless vehicles will be powered by batteries that make cars obsolete"
      Just Read The article
  • brendawalsh, on 05/12/2008, -3/+18hooray for abu dhabi, the world's richest city, thanks to petrochemicals. who cares how it's powering municipal facilities? it's a place that wouldn't even exist without oil reserves.
    • warriorscot, on 05/12/2008, -2/+3It would exist just much smaller. The point you miss is the price they demand for those oil reserves is building the infrastructure to ensure that when the oil is gone they don't actually need it, all the petrochemical projects have attached infrastructure projects they need to build/fund, its a smart way to get the most out of the oil companies and makes sure that they themselves are in a secure position after they have used up the oil reserves.
    • DesertDude, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Every time there's a story about the UAE, there's always some jealous idiot showing how low humans can go. The human busts in and types an envious, almost hateful remark, about a nation he knows nothing about, for no reason, except they have more money than he does.

      Keep dispensing your valuable, necessary input. We would not know what to do without your knowledge.

      Pfft. Pathetic? Understatement.
  • peterjmag, on 05/12/2008, -11/+6This is all part of the terrorists' environmentally-friendly plot to TAKE OVER AMERICA!!
    • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5Very few if any of the UAE residents take a direct role in Terrorist activities. With the huge ammounts of money pouring in there, they live a very western and modern life. The terrorists threaten their way of life no less then they threaten the American way of life. It's not places like Abu Dhabi or Dubai that should be scaring us, it's Iran, Syria, Hamas controlled Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Extreme Islamists rising up in nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
      • mike17032, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2I agree to a point, but a lot of these rich places need to step up their efforts and lower their tolerance.
      • peterjmag, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1That was meant to be a joke, but obviously the Digg collective either took it too seriously or didn't think it was funny. I've been to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so I'm somewhat aware of the situation in the UAE. I was merely poking fun at the stereotypical American assumption that everything in the Middle East is somehow linked to terrorism.
    • MasteRR, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1*Facepalm*
  • Rhendal, on 05/12/2008, -3/+3For some reason when I glanced over the title I saw "F-Zero Emissions" and was like "Hover cars! Sweet!"
  • OrangeBubble, on 05/12/2008, -3/+10"Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island"
    Abu Dhabi is not an island.

    And there is no such thing as zero-emission.
  • CatalunyaBob, on 05/12/2008, -4/+6Abu Dhabi might be thinking of a post-oil world, but its future in that world is not a bright one. It's ruled by a shiekh, who you can be sure has kept a majority of the wealth created by its oil, and once that oil is gone, it's a barren patch of sand. It will be a ghost town.
  • 9bpm9, on 05/12/2008, -11/+7I can't wait until oil becomes useless and the Middle East turns to crap. Because with all of the money their blowing, in about 50 or 100 years, these cities will be ghost towns. Albeit, ghost towns with huge ass hotels.
    • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -1/+4When the Middle East turns to crap, they'll set their eyes on what you have.
      • dynelol, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1They'll crash planes into things over here, but you know they aren't coming in for war on these lands. They're scared.
      • dynelol, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Wait a minute...WHEN the Middle East turns to *****? It did that forever ago.
    • MariaEspanol, on 05/12/2008, -0/+4i had an economics class where the professor used abu dhabi as the example of probably the first domino to fall in the middle east as oil dries up, given how small it is, and he suspected that it has dramatically overstated reserves, and the wealth is so concentrated that he predicted complete political instability within the next 30 years...
  • OliverTaco, on 05/12/2008, -1/+4It might even make "zero emissions" if you count offsets, but that certainly won't include the external infrastructure required to create and maintain the city. And since it's 100% built by foreign constructions companies, don't forget the 20 year effort requiring heavy airlift, etc...
  • timalmond, on 05/12/2008, -0/+10If someone created a self-sufficient city then it might be called that.

    In the end, though, if someone buys an iPod, it doesn't matter whether it's made within the walls of the city or outside - there's still the same amount of energy going into its production process. You haven't come up with a zero-emissions model, you've just moved the problem elsewhere.

    Abu Dhabi also has to have it's food transported in. How much energy does that use?
    • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2It's a shame they don't invest the money in Sea water desalination plants. Start turning those deserts into green lands.
      • 4square, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2that's where all their fresh water comes from, i believe. the article mentions seeking to power those using renewable energy too.
        • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Fresh water for drinking is one thing. Fresh water for agriculture is something else.
  • yawnstretch, on 05/12/2008, -2/+11So much hate for something so wonderful. Would you prefer if they squandered their oil money on something else? Personally I think this is genius.
    • mike17032, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2Its a marketing trick, nothing more.
  • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2The UAE has long been planning for the days when the world will wake up and realize we can't keep on living off of fuel. Once that happens, they can either perish, or they can find alternative sources for income. It seems like they are trying to place themselves high up in the list of tourist destinations, and "going green" is just another step towards making the city more attractive. Obviously they aren't big environmentalists. They still export oil to the world, where it is burned or made into plastic - and that causes more damage to the environment that they could ever create themselves.
  • bubbakja, on 05/12/2008, -0/+8Isn't this where Garfield would mail Odie?
    • troycott, on 05/12/2008, -0/+6nermal
    • dynelol, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2I wasn't even sure if this was a real place until today. I figured it was something middle-eastern sounding that Garfield thought up.
  • DrNemo, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5Do all these projects of modern cities and buildings in the Arabian peninsula remotely attract people and entrepreneurs or are they just ways for the government to blindly spend billions hoping it will pay the day when oil runs out?
    • zadadka, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1The former.
      People don't go to holiday next to nodding-donkeys.
    • 4square, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2it's not the modern buildings, it's the friendliness to corruption. just like swiss banks, businesses incorporated in the cayman islands, gambling in vegas. and to be fair, they need to have some plan for when the oil runs out. they have an unfortunate piece of real estate with an insanely valuable, finite mineral resource.
  • KLowD9x, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2"The early cars suffered from bad battery technology, this car goes 120 miles between charges!"

    WTF! The EV-1 went 120 miles between charges with the NiMH battery packs!

    Also, why is everyone "shocked" when an EV can actually accelerate? It's electric FFS! Torque is instant!
    • mike17032, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Because most of them gimp that power so you dont drain the battery in 20 minutes.
      • KLowD9x, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1I have never driven an EV where the power was "gimped".

        Hell, the fun of driving an EV is to beat it so the batteries DO die in 20 minutes, but also being able to take it out on the highway and drive like a sane person and go 150 miles to a charge when needed.
  • edebolt, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3most the money UAE has comes from selling oil in ME countries. How the heck is that zero emissions? Am I the only sane person who understands this?
    • seemenomore, on 05/12/2008, -3/+1Think of a better argument please.
  • ahuxley, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2This zero-emission city is just another 'city', like many projects.
    A huge complex rising out of the sand to be sold off to investors who hope "rent" or short term holding will equal a quick profit.
    You do not want to be the last person holding a few rooms in a big box sitting on the sand a long way from the 'fun'.
    So far its all holing - build, sell, hold, sell - profit.
  • mrynit, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3it would be funy if UAE became the world leader in nonfossil fuel technologies.
    • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2Perhaps in implementing them, but not in developing them. You don't hear of too many inventions or patents coming out of arab countries nowadays, do you?
      (And no, suicide bombers are not something you can patent).
      • namar777, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Ur right, but after seeing ur account... ur one racist mofo... digged DOWN...
  • swings1940, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Maybe thats why Garfield always tried send Nermal there. Deep down he thought, hey I want to send my annoying friend to a cleaner place.
  • saturnx8, on 05/12/2008, -4/+3abu dhabi and dubai need to burn to the ground
    • dkapuchino, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Just because you don't agree with the people there, doesn't mean mother earth should have to suffer.
  • innerpenguin, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Pfft. How about some news articles on the real Dubai. A city is not the buildings within it.
  • QsheiK, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2To clarify:
    Abu Dhabi and Dubai are two completely different cities, both in United Arab Emirates.
    Abu Dhabi is on an island, but it is so close to the mainland that it can be mistaken to be part of the mainland.
    The UAE's source of revenue is mainly stemming from tourism and production. Look up Sharjah to find out more.
  • namar777, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Loads of arguments on something that should be positive, but totally understandable... "Zero Emissions" could be a tourist attraction slogan.... never know... Some of the irresponsible spending there is just disgusting... oh well the future will tell...
  • bincoder, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1With all that vehicle traffic that makes downtown LA look like a relaxing drive through the countryside? No. It is not anywhere near zero emissions.
  •  

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