This morning former Vice President, Academy Award winner, Emmy Award winner, and Nobel laureate (whew) Al Gore gave a speech at Constitution Hall in Washington DC  to press Congress and the President to take action on climate change.  In the speech he called for the US to make all of its electricity from carbon-free sources in 10 years, saying that “the survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk.”  Mr. Gore went on to chastise the administration for reliance on foreign oil and plans for Arctic and offshore drilling.

The speech was part of Mr. Gore’s new We Can Solve The Climate Crisis campaign that is brought together countless of celebrities from opposite ends of the spectrum (think Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich) demanding that we work together to fight global warming and carbon emissions.

In addition to supporing We Can Solve The Climate Crisis, there are lots of ways you can step up and takepart to fight climate change:

• Stay current on daily climate change news with our Inconvenient Truth of the Day 
• Check out An Inconvenient Truth to see how it all got started
• Visit Climate Crisis to learn about taking action to cut down on your carbon emissions
• Check out The Onion’s Infographic on how climate change is affecting our security situation

Fast food chain Jack in the Box is giving away free tacos (not one, but two!) all day today if you bring an old gas receipt with you.  Free fast food! The marketing campaign is part of an effort to help consumers deal with high gas prices:

“The rising price of fuel is really putting the pinch on consumers,” said Terri Graham, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Jack in the Box Inc. “Giving away free tacos is our way of letting guests know that Jack’s got their back in these tough economic times.” - from LasVegas’ KVBC News

Gas prices are so high, even corporate America has your back.  We’re all probably guilty of taking a late night fast food run, but are these free tacos really a worthwhile effort to cut down on high gas prices?  Probably not.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hot on the heels of news that the film “An Inconvenient Truth” may be turned into an opera, an Australian comedy show produced a “what-if” segment about the production-to-be. Ecorazzi has the clip

We finally found a video preview of An Inconvenient Truth, the Opera! Well, it’s actually more parody than preview by Australian comedy show “The Mansion” of the anticipated film-turning-musical.  Think tenor polar bears crying their cute little eyes out about losing their families on melting ice:

Read the rest of this entry »

So, it’s come to this: An Inconvenient Truth is going to become an opera.  Like, with singers and orchestras and everything.  There’s not a whole lot of information out there at the moment, but with musicals based on every other piece of media in the world existing right now (Legally Blond as a musical?  Come on!), this seems like a totally rational idea that isn’t really, really, mind-blowingly odd.  From the Associated Press:

[O]fficials say the Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli has been commissioned to produce an opera on the international multiformat hit for the 2011 season at the Milan opera house. The composer is currently artistic director of the Arena in Verona. [ap.google.com]

Read the rest of this entry »

Bill McKibben, noted environmentalist has a great new piece up on TomDispatch called “The World at 350 : A Last Chance for Civilization.” McKibben is a regular contributor to TomDispatch and with his latest piece explores the realities of climate change:

Even for Americans, constitutionally convinced that there will always be a second act, and a third, and a do-over after that, and, if necessary, a little public repentance and forgiveness and a Brand New Start — even for us, the world looks a little Terminal right now.

Read the rest of this entry »

Van Jones, an environmentalist and social activist based in Oakland, is trying to bridge the gap between eco-causes and inner city poverty. His goal is to make environmentalism not just the popular cause of the moment, but a positive force for low-income families, and the economy as a whole. Jones, cofounder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and colorofchange.org, sees an intrinsic link between a sustainable green economy and reversing the plight of the lower class. In the March 2008 edition of The Sun Magazine, Jones spoke about what steps he is taking to achieve these goals.

Having spent time on the firing lines of civil rights activism as well as with the bluebloods at Yale Law, Jones sees both sides of what he calls “eco-apartheid.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Wish you could ask Laurie David, producer of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” your questions about the environment? How about chatting with Newt Gingrich about bipartisan environmentalism? For those unacquainted with Slate.com’s Earth Chats, it’s a great online discussion series featuring leading environmental thinkers, leaders and advocates who answer readers’ questions about environmental issues, and what we can do to improve our earthly habitat. This week being Earth Week, Slate chatted with a slew of heavy-hitting advocates. We’ve provided this week’s schedule below, with accompanying links to chat transcripts:

Read the rest of this entry »

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. In celebration of Earth Day 2008, we made ‘green’ the major theme on the TakePart blog this week - green documentaries and television programs, Earth Day quotes and action activities, as well as some great film reviews. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Top 10 Earth Day Videos From the Hub

Joanne Herring Invites You to “Charlie Wilson’s War” Screening Discussion - Free DVD!

* * *
Nicole Hughes:

Top 10 Documentaries About the Environment

Top 10 Ways to Take Action On Earth Day 2008!

* * *

Andy Kondrat:

Top 10 Quotes About the Environment

Disney Launches DisneyNature to Make Documentaries - I Freak Out

* * *

Jon Popham:

B Corporation Takes the Guesswork Out of Going Green

Sea Level Rise Explorer

* * *

Giulia Rozzi:

Oprah and My Mom Going Green

Green It. Mean It.

* * *

Gina Telaroli:

Taking Part In the Blogsphere With “The Visitor” and “Standard Operating Procedure”

“The Soloist” Explores the Homeless and Mentally Ill With Grace and Music

Celebrate Earth Day 2008 with these top 10 documentaries about the environment. The films below address a variety of ecological issues including climate change, vegetarianism, crude oil, industrial development and our oceans. When you’re properly inspired to green up your eco-behaviors and help preserve Mother Nature for future generations, and check out these top 10 ways to celebrate Earth Day!

1) An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man’s fervent crusade to halt global warming’s deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. [climatecrisis.net]

Read the rest of this entry »