Sticking one's head in the sand smog?

I started a reply to John Chilton's post on the UAE Community Blogsite, but by the time I had finished, my response was longer than John's post, so I decided to put it here!

I had to shake my head in disbelief when I read this the other day which starts by stating: Experts from various universities, including a professor from the American University of Sharjah, have launched an international research paper, saying the dangerous levels of ozone in the UAE come from Western Europe.

The report goes on: The purpose of the research was to explore the inherent characteristics of the photochemical and dynamic structures of the lower atmosphere (up to 15km above the earth's surface) of UAE urban areas, according to Dr. Majeed, assistant professor (at American University of Sharjah) of physics.

Before they went into the costly exercises of launching ballooons (carrying expensive testing and monitoring equipment) towards the stratosphere, I would have suggested that they take a helicopter ride and sample the air a bit closer to the ground - in the troposphere. I know how this is done. I've been in a helicopter in New Zealand gathering samples of air and water with a friend who worked for the Auckland Regional Authority's monitoring department.

Take a look at this diagram which I found on the Environmental Protection Agency's website.

It shows that most smog happens closer to the earth's surface, with the higher ozone layer being mostly affected by CFCs and halons caused by things like air conditioners - and I doubt that we will see the day when this region will turn those off!

The UAE smog isn't happening 15km above the ground - it's sometimes no more than 15 storeys up. On some days I can't go out onto our balcony without my eyes stinging and my sinuses getting blocked up.

Click onto this image taken from our 21st storey office in December 2005. The top of the smog, that layer of brown crud above the natural horizon, is parallel with our office. Look how it bisects the Burj Al Arab!

It's not caused by the European smog - the air above is clear. This is a local cause, and it's mostly from all the construction traffic which spits out copious amounts of muck 24/7.

When the construction traffic wasn't around for 3 days during the mourning period for Sheikh Maktoum, (and also for Sheikh Zayed), the air was beautifully clear, like this:

Conjuring up international research papers and concentrating on Balloon-Borne Electochemial concentration cell (ECC) Soundings will be subversive to identifying the real issues. As John Chilton points out, smog from Europe would not make its way down here to just hang around urban areas, as the Gulf News article would suggest!

The authorities should be clamping down on the actual majority cause - the vehicles which emit fumes that are way above the safe levels for roadworthy vehicles.

It's the same in the sea too. There's this little gem about the yachts at the Dubai Marina with 2-stroke engines causing fouling in the water. We're talking about 50+ mostly small sailboats whose engines are rarely used for more than getting them on and off their moorings/berths. The true sailors who own these smaller vessels like to do just that - sail!

Talk about detract from the real issues!

We have greater problems caused by people with their own agendas spurting on about how the turtles aren't affected by the Palm construction, because they only come ashore on remote islands, however they are planning to build an island for the natural habitat where turtles will return to the area. So can we deduce from this statement that there were turtles here before and now there aren't any, because of the disturbance to their environment?

Longtime members of the Emirates Diving Association will tell you of protected green turtles coming ashore between Dubai and Jebel Ali to lay eggs. It's not happening now. Once while walking around the breakwater at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, I saw a green turtle as it was eating algae from the rocks about 15' down. But that was over 2 years ago when the water was still clear enough for me to see 30' away. A turtle could now be 2' away from me and I wouldn't be able to see through the muck in the water and by now, any self-respecting turtle should have high-tailed it out of the area and gone to Oman.

A ship discharging its ballast water into the gulf can cause far more damage to the environment than 50+ 2 stroke engines ever will. If the ballast is taken onto the ship in foreign waters, it may contain marine organisms that are not present in the gulf waters and which could potentially do a lot of damage in this area if they are predatory or toxic to the native flora and fauna.

The beach area in front of the Royal Mirage Hotel used to be beautiful - little waves crashing onto the beach and sparkling water. Since the Palm development, the area looks more like a stagnant pond - there is very little flow of water now.

The smog in the UAE is now comparable to what I've seen in more developed cities such as Los Angeles. It will only get worse here if nothing is done.

I was in LA during and after 9/11 - unable to return to New Zealand due to the airports closing down. The prevailing Marine Layer, (which hovers over LA, traps the smog and blocks out a lot of the sun's heat), disappeared within a day of LAX airport being closed. Astronomers in the US reported the best viewing conditions of the celestial heavens in the 3 days after 9/11 - there were no planes in the air spewing out their toxic waste.

The new Jebel Ali Airport will swing into life in the next few years. It's going to move more people and freight than DXB, and will eventually be the combined size of London's Heathrow and Chicago's O'Hare Airports. That's HUGE! It will also mean even more pollutants added to the air over the UAE.

It's about time that the authorities stopped playing games and addressed the real issues.

The water quality and marine environment is being affected by the artificial islands.

The air quality is being affected by local conditions and not Europe.

We need comprehensive studies on the cause and effect process which will be undertaken by independent agencies that do not have existing business affiliations with the UAE - although the monitoring should have started about 6 years ago if we're to get a true representation of the changes. Only then can the real issues be identified and, she writes hopefully, addressed.