Another Oh Noooes warming story with the truth concealed

I had written last month about how natural beach erosion was being "battled" and that the cause was Global Warming. Today's story comes from Dubai and it is a combination of shoddy engineering, bad financials and putting the blame on Climate Change. From the UK Telegraph:

The World is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea'
But the World, the ambitiously-constructed archipelago of islands shaped like the countries of the globe, is sinking back into the sea, according to evidence cited before a property tribunal.

The islands were intended to be developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires. They are off the coast of Dubai and accessible by yacht or motor boat.

Now their sands are eroding and the navigational channels between them are silting up, the British lawyer for a company bringing a case against the state-run developer, Nakheel, has told judges.

"The islands are gradually falling back into the sea," Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, for Penguin Marine, said. The evidence showed "erosion and deterioration of The World islands", he added.

With all but one of the islands still uninhabited � Greenland � and that one a showpiece owned by the ruler of Dubai, most of the development plans have been brought to a crashing halt by the financial crisis.

Dubai is trying to position itself as the new Switzerland and not doing that well...