A new kind of oasis is forming in the middle of the desert.
In one of the harshest environments imaginable, where temperatures regularly rise to 50 degrees and sandstorms can limit visibility to a few metres, construction has begun on what will be the greenest city on Earth.
Abu Dhabi is leading the way in developing the world's first solar-powered, car-free subdivision. Called Masdar City, the initiative is harnessing the region's enormous wealth, along with its zeal for glitzy construction projects, to build an entirely eco-friendly community of 50,000 people right in the heart of the Persian Gulf.
If successful, Masdar City will become a haven for green living in one of the most polluted areas in the world. More importantly, it will serve as a model for what's possible when governments and business leaders work together to combat global warming.
The city's plans are nothing if not ambitious. From futuristic pods that transport residents to work on solar-powered magnetic rails, and state-of-the-art composting and recycling facilities, developers are already billing Masdar City as the world's only zero-carbon, waste-free city.
Produce will be grown in local greenhouses and fresh water will come from a nearby desalinization plant. What's more, buildings will have to adhere to strict energy conservation regulations and air conditioners will be powered by wind towers.
Masdar City is expected to cost more than $20 billion and will take a decade to complete.
While it may seem a little ironic for a place that relies almost exclusively on oil wealth to be building a car-free city, Abu Dhabi's project is an important step toward developing alternative energy technology.
With gas prices soaring, supplies dwindling, and concerns over global warming now front and centre, our reliance on oil has again come under intense scrutiny. But progress on breaking this dependence has been painstakingly slow.
That's why Masdar City is only one element of Abu Dhabi's push toward clean, renewable energy. In 2006 the UAE capital launched its Masdar Initiative (Masdar means "the source" in Arabic), a multi-billion dollar investment into the research and development of environmentally friendly technology, such as solar and wind power.
In the hope of becoming a leading producer of green energy solutions, Abu Dhabi has even partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to build a graduate-level university, dedicated to the study of alternative energy, right in Masdar City.
"For an Arab oil country to start this kind of research, it actually makes a lot of sense," says Lester Brown, founder and president of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute. "Besides oil, the one really abundant resource they have is sunlight."
Abu Dhabi's dedication to alternative energy is to be applauded. Most countries may not have the money for elaborate technology like magnetic pods, but simple environmental measures aimed at greener living are within reach for any government willing to invest in them.
Sweden, for example, has committed to breaking its dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 through a series of eco-incentives, such as tax relief for homes and offices that convert to renewable energy.
This makes North America's continued dismissal of the Kyoto Protocol even more dismaying. We already know how to combat global warming - Masdar City and Sweden are prime examples - but without similar concrete government commitments, action becomes impossible. Canada and the United States are losing out on the economic benefits of being leaders in the development of green technology, something they are certainly capable of.
Back in the desert of Abu Dhabi, only time will tell if Masdar City lives up to its idealistic projections. But by seeing how government and business leaders have gotten on board with the city's green initiatives, it's already clear that their intentions are no mirage.
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