Money to Burn, Obviously

Just a question to get us started off this morning: What’s up with Dubai?

They’re dredging islands out of the sea, shaping them to look like the world’s continents. They’re working on the tallest buildings in the world. They’re building some “green” city. Now they want to build the world’s largest arch bridge. (Link: http://io9.com/354694/dubai-to-build-the-worlds-largest-arch-bridge-in-2012)

First, I’d say that’s our gasoline dollar at work. Yay for us!

Second, why this obsession with the world’s biggest this or that? Is anyone lining up at Dubai’s borders, saying, uh, hey you guys, you know you could do a lot more with that money than build the world’s biggest thingamajigger. Like help people? Sanitize water? Clean up toxic waste sites? Fund alternative energy research (oh yeah, don’t do that; your money would dry up)? Is there something wrong with this picture? Or is it just me?

It's probably just me. After all, the only thing I've done to wowo the planet was to resist putting a Dixie bowl on my head. Spend those petrodollars, boys. Have fun.