Green Daily

When you think, "planned, carbon neutral city" do you see a cartoon scene involving the Simpson's Movie or a scene from "The Jetson's?" Good. Because that's what I picture, too.

I doubt Masdar City, the car-free, zero waste sustainable city to be built in the United Arab Emirates by 2009, will feature glass domes or food pellets. But the Simpson's may get piped in through a solar-powered television.

The environmental group WWF and the government of Abu Dhabi have come together to design this six-square kilometer city. The hope is that it will house 50,000 people.

Remember, this is a country whose wealth is based in natural gas. But the electricity for Masdar will come from photovoltaic panels. If this wasn't state sponsored, I'd wonder if this was anti-establishment.

Water will be gotten through a solar-powered desalination plant. (Think Latin here: mechanisms using the sun to un-salt water.)

President George W. Bush took a tour of Masdar City's plans while he was in the UAE. He told reporters he was pleased with the environmental leadership Abu Dhabi took with this initiative. He did not say he would build his own.

[via WWF and Environmental News Service]