Question

Describe two technologies that humans have used to overcome environmental challenges in Dubai.

Answer 1

Humans face two major environmental challenges in Dubai. The first is the lack of freshwater resources. The second is the warm and dry climate, which exacerbates pressure on scarce freshwater resources. Rapid population growth due to the discovery of petroleum in the 1960s has dramatically increased the demand for freshwater. Two technologies have helped humans survive in Dubai despite these significant environmental challenges. The invention of climate control technologies like evaporative cooling and air conditioning have allowed humans to survive in a climate with an average daily temperature of 90 degrees. The technology of desalination, which transforms saltwater into freshwater resources through the process of reverse osmosis (the heating and filtering of saltwater), has provided Dubai with 90 percent of its freshwater needs.