Today I spent my morning traveling from New York City to Ohio for a little summer getaway. I’ll still be writing here at TakePart, but from the tree filled backyard of my childhood instead of my Brooklyn apartment. Don’t get me wrong, I love Brooklyn, but nothing compares to spending some quality time outside amidst trees, plants, birds and insects.

Beyond enjoying the outdoors more I’ve also decided to be vegan (something we often write about here at TakePart) during my month in Ohio. I’ve always been vegan on and off but haven’t done it in quite some time so I’m excited to give it another go.

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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. Mother’s Day is this Sunday (don’t forget!), so be sure to take a look at some of the great posts we’ve put together in celebration of moms everywhere! Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Top 10 Mother’s Day E-Cards

Hillary Andrews Will Not Lick Bob Stokes’ Swizzle Stick

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Nicole Hughes:

Top 10 Green Gift Wrap Ideas For Mothers Day

Peak Oil Strip Tease

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Andy Kondrat:

Tornado Devestated Town Rebuilds As Green Model Community

Radiohead Attempts An Eco-Friendly World Tour

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Jon Popham:

Nepalese Art Photography: Rubin Museum of Art

America’s First Wind-Powered City

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Giulia Rozzi:

Women For Women International Celebrates Mothers Day

Even More on the Kentucky Derby

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Gina Telaroli:

Video Blog: The Week In Social Action

The War Now Tomorrow and Forever

We all know sex sells - bikini car washes for cancer, vegan strip clubs, and of course PETA loves throwing around a little (human) flesh for a good cause. Now peak oil is getting some sultry attention from Oily Cassandra, who is pretty confident that her oil-conservation-inspired strip tease will get you worked up and ready to take action:

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Our second installation of the TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is here give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! More blogs means more to love this Valentine’s Day week, and more social action means a healthier and happier world for everyone. Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

5 Ways to Take Action and Get Action On Valentine’s Day

Top 10 Guilt-Free Valentine’s Day Jewelry Gifts: Show Your Valentine You Have a Heart

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Nicole:

Kiva: Microlending to Change Lives

Top 10 New Releases to Inspire Social Change

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Giulia:

Alicia Keys Uses Grammys to Help Keep a Child Alive

V-Day Celebrates Its 10 Year Anniversary!

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Gina:

Top 10 Movie Characters That Make A Difference

Art As Politics In “The Silence Before Bach”

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Kerry:

Tap Project Gets Donations Flowing For Safe Global Water

Levon Helms’ “Dirt Farmer” Wins Grammy Gold

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream”including Britney Spears, apparently. Who wouldn’t want to scarf down a pint of Ben & Jerry’s after having your private hell turned into a media circus? But with her every move scrutinized, meltdown-mode Britney can’t even self-medicate and chill out with a scoop of Chunky Monkey in the psych ward without getting picked on by PETA, whose founder, Ingrid Newkirk, felt compelled to send a “friendly” letter to Britney’s parents:

Dear James and Lynne: On behalf of everyone at PETA, please accept our best wishes for Britney, and I hope you’ll allow me to share some information that could be helpful to you in your admirable efforts to look after her mental and emotional health. The media have speculated that Britney might be suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. I certainly realize that the media’s reports might have no basis in fact, but I’d rather send this information than not”just in case it could help.

We also have heard that Britney asked for ice cream while she was in the hospital. There could, in fact, be a connection between her diet and her mental-health problems. Numerous reports indicate that in bipolar patients who have hidden dairy sensitivities (a fairly common condition), the disorder can worsen if the patient consumes dairy products.

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This Valentine’s Day, if you’re hoping to find that special someone who will “take actions” with you to make the world, and your love life, a better happier place, I have just the list for you. So here are the 5 best free on-line dating sites for finding that special someone to drink organic free trade hot cocoa with, to make a hemp necklace for, and to send action alerts to. Because, you know what they say: the personals is political.

1. Act For Love is a personals site where you can find the activist– and the cause– of your dreams. After you’re done searching through profiles, you can search through the action center where you will find things like “Less Pink, More Research” take action link, which urges Congress to pass the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. Their motto, which I say after coming up with the title for this post, is “Take Action. Get Action.”

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Nudity for no meat campaigns have become a popular means of advocating for a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle. From Maxim-esque PETA ads depicting celebs shedding their threads, to the Vegan Vixens program, and now a vegan strip club in Portland, Oregon, the message is the same. It’s meant to indoctrinate males into the lifestyle and turn the “real men eat red meat” stereotype on its head.

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Q. What do tree huggers, animal lovers, nutrition experts, and Michael Pollan have in common?

A. They all want YOU to eat more plants and fewer animals.

This may be a tall order in our “where’s the beef” culture, but with meat consumption fingered as a major factor in climate change, more and more carnivores have been cowed into cutting back on factory farmed flesh.

OK, so you’re not ready to become a Seitan worshipper, but you’d like to try to steer clear of steer-based cuisine. Looking for some inspiration on how to minimize the meat in your meals? You can’t do better than Veganomicon, a witty compendium which brashly”and accurately”declares itself to be “the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.”

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