When it comes to global warming, some people just don’t get it. This can be frustrating enough when dealing with a misguided friend or acquaintance. But when the denier happens to be a United States Senator, one of a mere 100 voices charged with protecting the vital interests of the country, frustration can give way to sheer astonishment.

Enter Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), one of the most outspoken and passionate deniers of Global Warming in all of American politics - and given the utter lack of action on the urgent issue by the Federal government until just recently this is no small feat. Things have begun to change for the better though, with or without Senator Inhofe, in the recent passage of legislation upping the required mileage on automobiles sold in the United States and with the 2007 ruling by the Supreme Court that the EPA must do more to enforce the Clean Air Act which has slowly prodded the Bush Administration into talking about doing something (which sadly represents progress since it’s more than they had been doing).

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Don’t miss some of our most popular articles of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Autism Awareness Day

Dolly Parton & American Idol: 9 to 5 and Women’s Rights

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Nicole:

Top 10 Garbloggers Talkin’ Trash

‘Garbage Warrior’ Turns Trash Into Green Homes

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Giulia:

Low US Grad Rates & ‘The First Year’

‘The Greatest Silence’ & More Ways to Take Action

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Gina:

Top 10 Dystopian Film Heros & Heroines

Empire Or Humanity? Howard Zinn & Viggo Mortensen Spread the Word On YouTube

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Kerry:

Eco-action blogger Kerry Trueman has moved onto greener pastures, but you can still find her at eatingliberally.com. Good luck, Kerry. We’ll miss you!

If cinema has anything to say about it the future is a scary scary place. Filled with oppressive governments and dark and dirty landscapes, dystopian cinema provides lessons of what might lie ahead if we don’t get our act together today. One of the ways we can work to make sure our future is bright, emotion filled and without oppression is to look at the examples the heroes and heroines of these films provide.

Below are the Top 10 Dystopian Film Heroes & Heroines. For some movies I’ve included not only the obvious male hero but also the woman that is often connected to him. It isn’t right that only the men should be honored for their efforts!

So take a look and let me know if I’ve missed your favorite.

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1. THX 1138 : THX 1138

The end of this film is why THX tops my list. The boldness and fearlessness he exhibits as he moves towards the unknown exemplifies what it means to be a hero. After his girlfriend is found pregnant and he is arrested THX doesn’t give in to authority. More than that he never gives up the search for his love and his freedom in the tightly controlled underground world he finds himself in. Plus, who doesn’t love Robert Duvall!?

and learn how THX could have avoided (and young girls can avoid ) pregnancy with Planned Parenthood.

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