A new luxury hotel in Dubai plans to offer the world's first refrigerated beach, lowering the risk that its high-paying guests might hurt their feet on the sand.
The beach is part of the Palazzo Versace hotel, and will include a system of heat-absorbing pipes under the sand. And if the sea breeze is not enough to tame the area's typical 40-to-50 degree [Celsius] heat, giant wind blowers will keep things cool.
The Dubai hotel is planned to open either late next year or early 2010. It also will feature a cooled swimming pool.
Environmentalists are infuriated by the plans, saying the hotel will greatly increase the levels of greenhouse gas emissions. But the Palazzo Versace president, Soheil Abedian, said the hotel will be sustainable (have a negligible impact on the environment).
Analysts estimate that each person living in Dubai has a carbon footprint (impact of human activities on the environment) of more than 44 tons of carbon dioxide a year - more than four times what the average American produces. Many environmentalists urge people to try to limit their carbon footprint, which they believe contributes to global warming.
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