Can we really expect ...

... emerging countries to give a crud about global stewardship?

If this is any indication, the answer is a resounding: No.

"If you look at it, it's a really bad idea. It uses as much electricity as an entire city. And every time the toilet is flushed they've got to pump water half a mile into the sky," he said.

The telescopic shape is also presents problems of a more practical nature Krane says.

"The upper 30 or 40 floors are so tiny that they're useless, so they can't use them for anything else apart from storage. They've built a small, not so useful storage warehouse half a mile in the sky," he said.

Of course, having built their country on the back of oil (with the industrialized worlds help, of course) I doubt they want to see a push towards greener industry.

A small way to go green ...

... use a reel mower. If you think about it, if you have (or are considering) a gas push mower, or even a electric (charge or plug-in) push mower, getting a reel mower uses the same exact amount of effort to get around your yard. The benefit? No use of fossil fuels (directly or indirectly) to power it.

I'm buying the one linked to above in a couple of weeks.