Water turned off in Abu Dhabi desert tree experiment (photo)
Our local photographer takes a look at what happens when trees are cut off from their water source in a “desert experiment” in the United Arab Emirates.
Richard Allenby Pratt
Google Earth reveals 10-year impact of 39 square mile desert mangrove project
The ‘historical imagery’ function on google earth is particularly helpful in tracking changes to landscapes since about the turn of the millennium when satellite imagery became commonly available.
Is this the world’s longest billboard?
It looks like yet another world record may be broken soon with the world’s longest billboard along the side of the Sheikh Zayed Road, just after Jebel Ali Port in Dubai. My car’s odometer tells me it’s about 3 km long.
100 million trees dry, rather than green, the UAE’s western desert
In an attempt to ‘greenify’ the UAE’s Western Region desert, (some claim in the hope of creating a milder micro-climate in the UAE) more than 100 million trees have been planted, often as buffer zones like the one depicted, and irrigated, mostly, with precious groundwater.
Abu Dhabi energy pylons confuse perceptions of “land” use
An awe-inspiring sight, as one departs Abu Dhabi towards Saadiyat and Yas Islands, these pylons seems to disappear into the distant sea. But we are actually looking inland and they are delivering energy to, rather than from, the city center.
Abandoned Dubai Flyover Resembles Easter Island Sculptures
Continuing the theme of mysterious abandoned developments, the identity of this one is better known than the desert lakes I featured in my previous two posts.
Wildlife Thrive at Flooded ‘Arabian Canal’ in Dubai Desert
In my last post I described how I had discovered the remains of a defunct development known as the ‘Arabian Canal’ in the desert some 30km outside Dubai. This time I’m featuring one of these remaining waterways which is still, mysteriously, flooded, despite having been abandoned some 4 years ago.
The “Arabian Canal” is a Defunct Water Conduit in Dubai
In my last post I featured a photograph of an unused structure out in the desert near Dubai, a concrete amphitheatre. It turns out there was more to explore.
Massive Concrete Amphitheater Lies Disused Outside Dubai
A friend tipped me off about this strange structure out in the desert a short drive from Dubai. I tried to figure out what it was on Google Earth before driving out to discover a mysterious, disused, concrete amphitheatre.
Reed Beds: Cleaning Waste Water in the Desert
Earlier this year I decided to visit a strange looking waste management site in Um Al Quwain – one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates. From satellite imagery it looked like raw sewage was being dumped in the desert, just a couple of kilometres from Um Al Quwain’s precious mangrove estuary.
Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates Fuels the Shopping Cult
If consumerism is the predominant modern day religion, then this week’s picture shows one our most monumental cathedrals – Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. According to news reports earlier this year, it is the world’s highest grossing shopping mall.
Landfill: Where Dubai’s Building Rubble Piles Up
My last photo blog on Green Prophet featured one of the many sites in the Hajar Mountains from which construction aggregate is extracted. This time I’m showing a different kind of mountain on the outskirts of Dubai. This is a landfill for building rubble.
Crushers Reduce Emirate Mountaintops to Rubble in the Name of “Progress”
Green Prophet’s resident photographer documents “cut” Hajar Mountains in the United Arab Emirates. Huge swaths of the Hajar Mountains in the UAE’s northern emirates appear ghostly white when viewed on Google Earth. Closer examination of the satellite imagery reveals large chunks of missing hillside and some sort of quarrying operations, and my recent physical visit to […]
Fake Wind Towers “Heat” Homes in Abu Dhabi
On a man-made Abu Dhabi island, fake wind towers heat homes instead of cooling them. I recently photographed a new housing development on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. You can see it on Google Earth. The wind tower design originates from Persia. The earliest examples of wind towers, used for cooling houses, in the United Arab Emirates can […]
Car Consumption: 8,000 Boring White Chevrolets in Dubai
This is a Chevrolet logistics depot in the Jebel Ali Freezone in Dubai. A rough estimate from studying the site on google earth puts the number of cars at about 8000 (on 12 Aug 2012.) Have a look for yourself at 24°55’40.06″N 55° 6’6.28″E. I’ve heard it said that American car manufacturers in the 1950s started […]