Well, look at us bloggers, all spiffy on the takepart front page, being all important and whatnot. And, if you’ve read us at all in the past, you know it’s times like these I like to lay down a big old buzzkill. You may have noticed gas prices going down recently, which of course is tied to the price of oil, and you’re all thinking, hey, great, I can drive again. Sweet deal.

Not so fast there, speedster. Nobuo Tanaka, the head of the International Energy Agency, has proclaimed that even with this dip in prices, “The low energy price age is over.” The New York Times also reports that Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of a French oil company, has a bleak outlook as well.

Mr. de Margerie said that when oil prices bounce back, they could reach unprecedented levels, making it wise for investors to keep investing in alternatives.

So, on the plus side of all this, though, is that this may lead to more investment in alternative energy. But once again, not so fast there tree hugger.

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I never had a video game console when I was a kid; my parents said something about books or actual sunlight or homework or whatever whatnot they were spewing at the time.   So, of course, I’ve gone overboard since living on my own, and now have a Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Wii, and Sega Genesis.   All of those are ready to go at any time except for the Sega, cause, you know…it’s a Sega.

I feel slightly guilty every time I play video games - which ironically is sadly not as often as I ought to given all the systems I own - because of all the other stuff I could be doing.   But then I get over it pretty quickly.   And now, I’ll have even less a reason to feel guilty about video gaming, because Energy Star, the agency that tells you how efficient all your gadgets are, will start monitoring video game consoles.

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willyoujoinus.com is a website that urges you to save gas and conserve energy coming from a place you might not expect it - Chevron.

The site, which has a counter showing you how many barrels of gas have been consumed around the globe since you arrived at the site (I’m over 770,000 already), has an interactive energy generator calculator that shows you how to “do more with less.”  And, starting tomorrow, there will be an MPG Optimizer to learn how to “drive smarter” to save gas.

Perhaps most interesting is the Energyville game, which is SimCity-styled and puts you in charge of the energy resources of an entire city.   You get to decide how your city reaches full power, and the risks and rewards that go along with it.

Of course, Chevron isn’t only telling you how you can stop buying their gas - they’re telling you what the company is doing to become more efficient, how they’re embracing solar power, and so forth.   They’ve also compiled a section of important energy issues, so you can better educate yourself about the problems facing us going forward, and some viable solutions.

So, shiny graphics and fun games aside, what do we think?

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I’m just going to go out on a limb here, and go ahead and guess you’re reading this post on a computer. I know, I’m pretty quick like that. Not only that, but you may be surprised to know that I wrote this post on a computer, too. Shocking, I know. Now, already, just for this little bit of business we’re dealing with right now, we have two computers going. And the odds are, though maybe not for a site like this, all this is being done on PCs. There are an estimated one billion PCs chugging away on this planet these days, and it turns out that burns a lot of energy.

And now a global corporation, a nonprofit, and a startup company are joining together to reduce that energy burned through PCs, at no cost to you!   Microsoft, Climate Savers Computing Initiative, and Verdiem are distributing a free software tool, right now, to consumers wanting to reduce emissions coming from household PCs.

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Ascending environmental awareness is inspiring a new wave of green technology, with some of the newer incarnations being portable music and video players. What’s so special about these portable players? They’re totally self-powered and completely off the grid - no batteries or cords needed.

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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 these excellent posts on some very engaging and thoughtful topics - from going green at the office to Julian Beever to dystopian film telling us to take action now. Check out our most popular articles of the week on a variety of subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Katoucha’s Body Found: Model Helped African Women Escape Mutiliation

Julian Beever Brings Art to New Orleans Sidewalks

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Nicole:

Heath Ledger Nick Drake Video for “Black Eyed Dog” Hits Web

Top 10 Ways to Go Green in the Office

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Giulia:

Crate & Barrel Goes Green

The Black Comedy Project

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Gina:

Top 10 Dystopian Future Films Telling Us to Take Action Now

Going to “The Edge of Heaven” with Fatih Akin

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Kerry:

Sustainable Songstrees Sue West’s Rural Revival

No Impact Home A Hit At Ecobuild Exhibition

There’s a major spotlight on how to make your home a greener, healthier and happier place to live in, but what about those other places in our lives where we sometimes spend just as much time - if not more? Simple changes in our office habits can help to save energy and inspire our co-workers do their part in saving the earth’s resources. Many times, these eco-friendly alterations can save time and money too. Check out the Sierra Club’s top ten ways to green up the office:

1. Energy-efficient computer use

Unnecessary computer use in the business sector wastes $1 billion in electricity per year. Start making it a habit to turn off your computer and the power strip its plugged into at the end of the workday. Setting your computer to sleep during short breaks can cut back on your energy use by 70 percent. Also, consider investing in energy-saving computers, monitors and printers, and make sure old equipment is recycled properly. Older computers that still work and are less than five years old can be donated, and possibly used as a tax deduction.

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