GREENCulture blog We put the “green” in greenyness!

The penguins, my friends, are on the march, armed with not only samurai-like skills and deceptively innocuous costumes, but also, a malicious agenda aimed towards complete annihilation. As global warming continues to thin out the icecaps, these warrior-like soldiers will gather into brigades to overtake and invade our lands. With natural selection on their side, these furtive creatures will adapt masterfully to our rocky landscapes and ‘democratic’ way of living.

With global warming contributing to the melting of the icecaps, the area in which these lethal creatures have resided thus far, (deceivingly, far from us), is quickly diminishing. Emissions such as carbon dioxide and various other greenhouse gases encourage not only the warming trend of our planet’s climate, but also the rise in sea level (contributed 15% by the melting Antarctic ice caps), and the warming of the sea water. With several pieces of the Antarctic breaking off already, these devious creatures will no longer have a means to exist; the very land in which they inhabit will splinter.

At the risk of becoming extinct, these perfidious creatures will thus seek any means necessary to survive – including invading our lands and toppling our social framework. Their vindictive nature, masked by a strangely attractive yet charismatic veneer, will no doubt, easily defeat and dispose of our species. Thus, my proposal:

In face of this conceivable peril, one must act calmly and proceed accordingly. As such, we must consider the manners in which we are contributing to our own destruction. To prevent the manipulative penguin pack from even reaching our grounds, we must first attempt to slow down the process of global warming (and thus the fracturing of their arctic foundation) by:

1) Reducing our waste electricity;
2) Turning down our hot water heater;
3) Using more efficient light bulbs (fluorescent) and appliances (preferably with the EnergyStar label) and
4) Signing up for renewable energy.

With these four easy steps, the possibility of a vicious attack by one of the most intelligent and stealthy creatures on this planet (one that would indisputably ensure the destruction of the human race), will diminish. By focusing on means of reducing the effects of global warming, we in effect save ourselves from, what could be, the most vicious terrorist attack ever known.

Hand it to the Spanish to always be one step ahead of us in making unique and gorgeous architecture. Treehugger.com reports that Madrid’s Barajas Airport has just received an awesome new roof over one of its terminals and it’s made completely out of bamboo plywood. Aside from the fact that the roof of Terminal 4 is a beautiful work of art, design company Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners took into consideration the environmental benefits of using bamboo as their medium. Being that bamboo is an eco-friendly and sustainable source of wood, the bamboo used in this case also takes full advantage of daylight! How, do you ask? Well, the article reports that the roof itself is “punctuated,” allowing for a controlled amount of natural light in and eliminating the need for any fluorescent fixtures. The result is that of energy saving alternatives and public art at airport terminals.

Brazil is going to provide free satellite internet connections to indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Their hope is that this instant line of communication will lead to a decrease in illegal logging in the rainforest. “It’s a way to open communications between indigenous communities, former slave villages, coconut crackers, river fishermen and the rest of society,” said Environment Minister Marina Silva. Sounds like a good plan, but what in the heck is “coconut cracker”? Read the full story here.