Casting a critical eye on the way popular culture deals with National Geographic’s interests, from global warming to mayfly swarming.

halloween

Posted Oct 30,2008

Halloween is here. That's bad news for people who want a creative costume but so far have come up with nothin'. Or who have a limited imagination. Take me. I was going to go as climate change: rain hat, sunglasses, an umbrella, and snow boots. Then I thought, I work with the most creative minds in the Greenosphere at National Geographic. Why not ask them for ideas?

Miss World A.D. 300,000

Msworldcostume

Over many millennia, scientists genetically engineered the human race to survive and repair a planet ravaged by global warming. By A.D. 300,000, the species has been artificially evolved to perfection.

To cleanse the atmosphere, humans made themselves into carbon sinks: Miss World breathes in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen through her photosynthetic skin and leafy tresses. (Green body paint, about $12 for 16 ounces; find faux greenery at your local craft store.)

Miss World's eyes have thick black membranes to protect her from blinding ultraviolet rays. (Black sclera contacts, about $140 per lens.)

Humans in 300,000 are amphibious— necessary to travel in a world that's mostly water. Find green gloves (about $22), slit the fingers, and sew them back together for webbed hands. Sadly, you can't actually buy these high-heeled flippers to accommodate Miss World's long, webbed feet. But regular flippers would work, too.

Roses are so 200,000. After ages of forest fires and flooding, wood is the most valuable commodity on Earth, so Miss World is awarded a small bouquet of scarce sticks.

Concept by Holly Morris
Illustration by Winona Dimeo-Ediger

Melting Ice Shelf

Meltingiceshelf

Sandbagged Diego

Sandbaggeddiego

Chupa Carbon (an homage to Chupacabra, the legendary creature said to suck the life out of other animals)

Chupacarbon

Concepts and styling by Ruben Rodriguez

Posted by Marc Silver | Comments (3)
Filed Under: halloween
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