Remember that book How Much is a Million?  Well, nowadays, we think bigger, and one group wants you to think about how much a billion is.   That is to say: If you were to plant a billion trees, it would cover 2.5 million acres of Atlantic forest.   This, by the way, is not a thought experiment - it’s a real goal from the people at The Nature Conservancy.

The target date is 2015 - only seven years to plant a billion trees in Brazil.   At this point, only seven percent of what once were the Brazilian tropical forests remain.   As each tree disappears, more carbon is released into the environment and the global climate becomes slightly more unstable.

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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

By now, most of us have gotten the memo that we need to “use less.” This might be a more effective message if we only knew how much energy we were using in the first place, according to The New York Times.

A yearlong study from the Energy Department, released on Wednesday, shows that giving people the tools to monitor their energy usage turns out to be a powerful way to encourage conservation. After providing 112 households in Seattle with digital thermometers and computer controlled, Internet-based ways to adjust their energy usage, the researchers found that homeowners were inspired to reduce their consumption significantly.

Giving consumers these tools could reduce peak loads on utility grids by as much as 15 percent a year, which, over time, “could save $70 billion on spending for power plants and infrastructure, and avoid the need to build the equivalent of 30 large coal-fired plants” scientists at the federal laboratory told the Times.

To get a handle on your own household’s energy usage, check out the Nature Conservancy’s carbon footprint calculator.