You like going green and all that, right?  Of course you do.   That’s why you’re an avid reader of our little blog site here.   And you also like learning all about business and fiscal policy, right?  What?  Not really?  Hmmm.   Well, now more than ever the role of money in, well, anything is a very important factor to consider.   You may have noticed there have been some fiscal issues over the past few months that haven’t quite been resolved yet.

Which is why the new blog from The New York Times is so useful.   It’s called Green Inc., and though is housed under the Business section, deals with “Energy, the Environment, and the Bottom Line.”  Scanning over the posts from yesterday, we got one about cities dimming street lights to save money, the EU attempting to green the auto industry much to the chagrin of said industry, the practical difficulties of the solar tax credits, and a handful more.

Read the rest of this entry »

So yes, apparently Christian Bale has been arrested… Let’s all let his family and the authorities work out what they need to work out and leave them alone while they do it. If you want some Christian Bale action, why not watch one of his many amazing performances or the clips below:

And if you want to read about assault on women, why not actually takepart and get involved with the National Organization for Women - it’ll do the world more good than reading about Christian Bale’s arrest…

There are more clips after the jump so watch on…

Read the rest of this entry »

News of Legally Blonde The Musical and the MTV contest winner is taking over the internet this morning - blah!

Here are 5 awesome brunettes you should watch instead of reading about (or going to see) Legally Blonde The Musical:

1) Elizabeth Taylor - She may have gotten a little kooky with age, but back in the day she could steal every scene:

______

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. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Sudan Leader Charged with Genocide: What Are the Reactions? by Wendy Cohen

Inconvenient Truth of the Day: Al Gore Speaks on Climate Change by Joshua Tremblay

* * *

Nicole Hughes:

“Farms in the Sky” a Solution to Global Food Crisis?

Wal-Mart Launches Eco-Bling Project

* * *

Andy Kondrat:

NYC To Bring in 300 Hybrid Taxis Per Month

Coolio To Educate Students On Climate Change

* * *

Jon Popham:

Pickens’ Plan for Energy Independence

On “Rent” Closing, the East Village, and Gentrification

* * *

Gina Telaroli:

Batman Morals: Top 5 Lessons from the Capped Crusader’s Films

Emmy Nominations Kick “The Wire” to the Curb

The Emmy Nominations for the 2008 season are here. I’m not a big TV watcher, with the exception of The Wire and Lost, but it’s always interesting to consider the nominations and this year is no exception. The complete nomination list can be found here but after looking at it, it has become obvious to me that I should focus on a glaring omission:

1) THE WIRE

I’m sorry, but it is unacceptable that this show not be nominated and even more unacceptable that none of it’s actors be nominated. I mean really, does William Shatner really deserve another nomination for Boston Legal? Not when Andre Royo, Michael K Williams and Lance Reddick are without one.

I’m not sure how anyone who spent 5 minutes with Royo’s Bubbles could NOT nominate him… He is the definition of best supporting actor and did more work in one episode than William Shatner has done in his entire Boston Legal career. And as much as I love Lost and love Michael Emerson’s Ben, I would easily chop his name of the nomination list for Royo, Williams, Reddick or any number of their co-stars.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but summer sit NYC like a ton of bricks this past weekend. With temperatures in the mid 90’s many of us were thrown off guard. But that’s OK, it just means time for new activities - like going to the beach and riding bikes. Here’s a video I made about a year ago in Mentor OH in and around Lake Erie (to one of my favorite songs, Antony and the Johnsons Bird Gerhl) that deals with both and is I think, a good welcome mat for summer:

On a serious note though, bikes are a great travel alternative that help the environment and also yourself (get in shape!)

Read the rest of this entry »

Elizabeth Pisani’s new book The Wisdom of Whores examines AIDS research and treatment and how bureaucracy plays a role in both. More than that though, she offers an alternative to a system she sees as broken:

“It would mean spending lots more of the available money on prostitutes, addicts, and gay guys, and lots less on school kids, pregnant women, and church groups,” Pisani writes. “It would mean making fun things (sex, drugs) safe, instead of trying to make safe things (abstinence, monogamy) fun.” [NPR]

Sounds good to me…

takepart to learn more from Pisani in her NPR Fresh Air interview and also
takepart to read her blog, a funny yet serious series of posts about AIDS, sexuality, sex and reality - this opening was perhaps one of the best things I have read in some time

Read the rest of this entry »

Only watch this video if you actually have time to watch the entire thing.. And beleive me it is sooo worth it to watch the entire video. It is maybe the BEST internet video I have ever seen. I was a little bored at first but as it picks up my mouth didn’t close.

The video takes place at Kruger and was captured by a group on a safari (who also couldn’t believe what was happening)

WOAH! The pan and the reveal..

Read the rest of this entry »

Adweek reports sudies conducted by The Harris Poll and TNS claim that while consumers hold companies to a high environmental standard, they themselves are less prone to be environmentally proactive. It seems that while many people will stop buying a product due to negative press regarding the company’s environmental record, these same people tend not to work hard to cut down wasteful consumption.

[C]onsumers are more demanding of the corporate sector than of themselves. Think of it as a case of individuals outsourcing environmental responsibility to big business.

Read the rest of this entry »

In yesterday’s Morning Edition radio program, National Public Radio shared a story concerning the business of carbon trading, and another in which a company is developing a plug-in hybrid that gets crazy good gas mileage. Of course, it’s nothing new that National Public Radio is airing stories about progressive causes, but two in one day seems impressive (or, I suppose, excessive, depending with whom you speak). My, that was a lot of “essives.” We move on.

The first story profiles “three young business school grads who are carbon entrepreneurs,” which is a fancy way of saying they are all thirty-ish and work in the carbon trading industry. The story briefly touches on the ethics of carbon trading, an issue oft-overlooked issue, especially in the age in which some countries (no one in particular, of course) claim environmental treaties are biased against countries that already developed industry, say, a hundred plus years ago. You can here by listening to the piece, and perhaps think about the long-term ethical ramifications of creating a carbon trading market in which the end result, by these peoples’ very definitions, ought to be the eradication of their own industry. Or, listen to it, and just be glad someone’s doing something.

The second piece is for those of us that would rather not risk life and limb in order to get great gas mileage. A company has modified a Prius to be a plug-in hybrid which can average 100 miles a gallon, and in one five-mile trip got 340 mpg. It remains to be seen, however, if it’s still impossible to see well out the back window of that thing. You can here and listen to the story.