A Beach Chilled in 2010 in Dubai

The beach is to be part of the $609 million, 12-story luxury hotel and residence complex, designed by the Milan-based fashion house that developers say is to be finished in 2010 Palazzo Versace's public relations office has been vague about the mechanism that will cool its Dubai beach.However, officials have suggested that it could include forcing air-conditioned exhaust air from the hotel and residential building that will house 169 apartments and 213 hotel rooms.

"Everything being developed in Dubai is over the top," observed Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Research Center & Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University in Miami. But he added that the notion of cooling beach sand through "piped-in AC is ridiculous." He said natural approaches such as spraying water from the sea or planting trees would be better if hot sand "is really that big of a problem."

Dubai's runaway development has long been criticized by environmental activists, who say the construction of artificial islands is destroying coral reefs and altering natural water currents. They also point to growing water and electricity consumption in Dubai, one of seven city-states that make up the United Arab Emirates.