Monday 20 December 2010

Just not funny

I buy Private Eye, but less and less for its 'humour', more for its excellent investigative journalism - it first broke the story of the Inland Revenue's decision to let big companies - like Vodafone - off massive chunks of their tax bills.

One major flaw with the magazine is its obsessive anti-environmentalist stance. There isn't a corporate shill or anti-wind activist who's ever been made unwelcome between its covers. Today's issue includes the evergreen 'Funny Old World', which collects hilarious stories of crime and corruption from foreign climes. Three stories grace the feature today: a Barbadian necrophile, a Kenyan panic about phone numbers which can kill you, and one about an advanced Japanese corporation which has reduced temperatures in its factories and offices by 15 degrees C (and reduced emissions) by growing plants all over the buildings' exteriors. They grow cucumbers, peas and gourds, which are then served up in the canteen.

How I laughed. Let's all point and laugh at the silly Japanese for, er, using less power and having good things to eat. Silly foreigners!

Back in the real world - here's Kyocera Corporation's guide to doing this on your own building and some rather beautiful pictures of their plants.

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