Julian Lennon’s opening statement in this trailer couldn’t be more right on - we are all in desperate need of remembering our past and how we connect to our planet.  Plus, lets admit it, whales are awesome.  I’m not sure how this movie will be, but I’m sure glad someone tried to make a film out of these ideas and issues.

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The hunting ban on whales is beginning to show results with several species having just emerged from endangered status.   The beloved and acrobatic Humpback Whale (seen left) and Southern Right Whale are two of the species to come back from the brink due primarily to most nations adhering to international whaling bans according to a new report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

It’s not all good news in the IUCN report however.   Many species of whales currently on the endangered list, including the Blue Whale and Sei Whale, remain on the endangered species list, pending the gathering of more evidence reagrding their status.   Worse yet, many smaller cetacean species including porpoises and dolphins whose habitat lies in more shallow waters closer to coastlines have declined further toward extinction.  

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

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Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

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Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

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Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

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Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries

Thanks to Care2, a social network website that connect activists from around the world, you can donate to great causes without paying a cent. All you have to do is click on a mouse and you can make a difference. With each click, one of the advertisers on the care2.com website will make a donation towards your cause. (And don’t worry. These advertisers are eco/ human rights/ social justice friendly.) So and support these great causes! It’s easy, effortless, free, and helps the world! What could better?

1) To Stop Global Warming! Carbon, and other greenhouse gases, released into the air by power plants and cars contribute to global warming. Click here and you will be paying for the removal of one pound of CO2 from the atmosphere

2. for the rain forests, which create oxygen and and keep our ecology healthy and in balance. Click here to help the Nature Conservancy save square feet of this dwindling natural habitat!

3. to protect our seals! More than 319,000 harp seals will be clubbed or shot to death this year in Canada. Click here to support the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) TV campaign against this cruel and inhumane hunt.

4. to protect our oceans from pollution, protect whales, dolphins, turtles and otters from slaughter, protect the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and protect yourself from ingesting dangerous levels of mercury? Click here help Oceana save our oceans, our animals and ourselves.
5. for primates. Click here to save chimpanzees, gorillas, and other primates and to support the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife, Research, and Education

Mercury contamination is accomplishing something that animal rights activists have been trying to do for years: persuade Japanese hunters to stop slaughtering dolphins. As MSNBC reports:

A series of scientific studies in recent years in Japan have documented high levels of the toxic heavy metal in dolphin meat”

“A leading regional supermarket chain has pulled dolphin from its shelves over the health concerns, and hunt critics in the town say villagers are shunning it. Meat from pilot whales ” a type of dolphin ” was taken off local school lunch menus in October.

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