Since I was a bit lazy in writing last week, I guess you could call this post “Week-in-Review.”
Let’s see, first there was an explosion in an industrial zone called Al Quoz, then there was Earth Hour. And get this, the UAE now has its first ever female judge. Hurray!
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Last Wednesday, while driving Scotch to work at about 7:30am, we saw a plume of smoke (see photo) that seemed kind of close to us. Later that morning, we found out that there had been an explosion in a fireworks warehouse in Al Quoz, which is about a 5 minute drive from Scotch’s office. Over 80 warehouses were consumed by the fire, three people were killed, and two are still reported missing.
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This past Saturday was Earth Hour which started last year in Sydney:
“Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.
On March 31 2007, for one hour, Sydney made a powerful statement about the greatest contributor to global warming – coal-fired electricity – by turning off its lights. Over 2.2 million Sydney residents and over 2,100 businesses switched off, leading to a 10.2% energy reduction across the city. What began as one city taking a stand against global warming caught the attention of the world.
In 2008, 24 global cities participated in Earth Hour at 8pm on March 29. Earth Hour is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions on an ongoing basis. It is about simple changes that will collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.”
This year, Dubai was one of the cities that participated in Earth Hour:
“Dubai residents showed they cared about the environment and saving energy by switching off lights at their residences as well.
Some major landmarks in the city which marked Earth Hour by switching off their exterior lights included Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Emirates Towers and Madinat Jumeirah.”
However, the lights that can probably power a small country at Nad al Sheba racecourse where the Dubai World Cup was taking place, could not go dark. For my part, I am ashamed to say that we didn’t exactly participate. Although we did turn off all the lights and computers in our apartment, it was only because we weren’t home. We spent the evening at a friend’s apartment playing Nintedo Wii and completely forgot about the whole event.
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In other news, Abu Dhabi appoints the first ever female judge in the history of the UAE:
The appointment of Khuloud Ahmad Al Dhaheri as a judge in the court of first instance was announced in a decree issued by His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.
