The World (Dubai)

What I remember most about primary school was the constant assemblies that seemed to go on for hours. We were taught about ‘working together’, ‘not talking to strangers’ and ‘not throwing balls of wet toilet paper at each other’ – all important life skills. All we could really think about was playtime and wondering why the headmistress had such strange hair.

One day we were read a story about a miniature globe that was created with tiny humans and animals living on it. The globe was so wonderful that people traveled from far and wide to marvel at it and everyone was very protective of it – if only we cared as much about our own planet etc etc. It turns out that if a miniature world was created, in Dubai for example, rich people would buy up the various nations and holiday on them.

Each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet (5.74 to 20.66 acres; 23 226m² to 83′613m²) in size, with 50 to 100 metres of water between each island. The development will cover an area of 9 kilometers in length and 6 kilometers in width, surrounded by an oval breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by boat and helicopter. Each island will cost an estimated average of $25 million.

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An archipelago of man made islands are being built (work has currently stopped, apparently people don’t have enough money to buy islands at the moment) off the coast of Dubai. Tommy Lee has bought Greece for ex-wife Pamela Anderson so they have somewhere to vacation together. David Beckham and Rod Stewart have also been rumored to have bought an island. Richard Branson has said that if global warming is allowed to continue the islands may be underwater in 50 years time (never mind that I’m more concerned about the fate of the Maldives). To me this seems like graffiti on a massive scale, it’s amazing how little taste some rich people have. The only positive thing I can think of for those of us not rich enough to buy an island is that if you catch a flight to Dubai you may be able to pass over the whole world in seconds. Other than that it seems like a giant folly to me.