Your article in The Review (Urban fabric: brisk cycle of construction and demolition in Abu Dhabi a threat to capital's history, February 15), poses the question: is the future erasing our past?
Some of the early buildings are ugly – as the writer suggests – but maybe with regard to area names, there is not enough history recorded to know why some areas are called what they are called?
Nicola Jane Ablett, Abu Dhabi
You ask whether older buildings should be preserved. What’s so historic about buildings that were constructed in the 1990s?
Most of them are confusing and lack vision and philosophy. They aren’t homogenous in any way, and do not retain any of the Arabian or modern Islamic architecture, like the beautiful Sheikh Zayed Mosque or some of the Reem towers with balconies and such.
Antoine Salloum, Abu Dhabi
I believe it is a good thing that such dirty or ugly buildings – such as the bus station – are being renovated rather than destroyed.
The Tourist Club is surely not a tourist spot, so a name change doesn’t affect it.
That neighbourhood needs renovations.
What needs to be kept intact are old Arabic architecture buildings such as Qasr Al Hosn.
Name withheld by request
It’s OK to remove the old buildings and also to change the street names, but I believe we should ensure the street names reflect the history of the UAE.
Jhoe Quitalib, Dubai
I believe this demolition of old buildings is bad – both for Abu Dhabi’s history and for its landmarks.
Don Roberts, Abu Dhabi
Kejriwal’s stance the principled one
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's decision to quit office was very apt (Kejriwal quits as Delhi leader, February 15).
He has maintained a clear position and does not want to compromise on his party’s thinking and values. Since he failed to get enough support to pass the bill, he has taken a decision to quit rather than going for a negotiation with either Congress or BJP. Unlike many of his opposition party men, he does not want to stay in power.
In fact, his earlier decision to accept the Congress party support to form a government itself did not reflect well on the thought processes of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) party, but with no other options he had to reluctantly go for such an alliance.
Notwithstanding, I am strongly of the opinion that people in Delhi would be more comfortable and confident now to bring him back to office.
Unless his party enjoys a clear majority, it is extremely difficult for him to implement what he had promised in the party’s election manifesto.
Ramachandran Nair, Oman
Road-death stats are incomplete
Dana Moukhallati's article about the nationalities of the most accident prone drivers (Pakistani drivers account for nearly a fifth of fatal road accidents in Dubai, February 13) makes little sense to me.
We need to know the percentage of these nationalities who are driving. If there are one million Pakistani drivers who have ten accidents are they more dangerous than 100 British drivers who have nine accidents? I don’t think so.
Donnie Willis, Abu Dhabi
Biofuel offers huge potential for future
I read your recent article, Big plans to power the future with microscopic algae (February 10) with interest. Algae biofuel can be produced at a competitive cost.
Algenol Biofuels’ patented technology enables the production of the four most important fuels (ethanol, gasoline, jet, and diesel fuel) for around $1.27 per gallon each by using proprietary algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and saltwater at production levels of approximately 8,000 total gallons of liquid fuel per acre per year. A yield that far exceeds the approximately 420 gallons of ethanol, per acre/per year produced by corn. Algenol’s novel, low-cost techniques have the added benefit of consuming carbon dioxide from industrial sources, not using farmland or food crops and being able to provide freshwater. As a result, the fertile farmland currently used to grow corn for fuel can be used to grow food, instead.
Name withheld by request
Preparation vital to avoid stress
With regard to your story, Preparation and asking for help: how pupils can beat exam stress (February 8), this kind of stress, if not managed well, can lead students to become depressed and make bad decisions.
This can be avoided if parents ensure their children adopt good strategies like creating study timetables and studying accordingly.
Name withheld by request
