The new trailer for City of Ember is out and since I know how much everyone here at TakePart likes Dystopian Cinema I thought I’d go ahead post it:

The film stars Bill Murray and everyone’s favorite actor/activist Tim Robbins:

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

Katie Halper:

Necklacing Returns to South Africa, Tutu Calls for Peace, and History Repeats Itself

Ted Kennedy’s Malignant Brain Tumor: Sad News, But the Work Goes On

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Nicole Hughes:

Bush’s Food Aid Package Promotes Use of GMOs

Gas Prices Exceed Those of 1973 Oil Crisis

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Andy Kondrat:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Cost US 38 Trillion Annually

USDA Budget Squeeze Forces Agency to Stop Tracking Pesticide Use

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Jon Popham:

Brooklyn Bridge Birthday Celebration!

Smokey the Bear: Environmental Icon

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Giulia Rozzi:

Suicide Tourism in New York City

Kristin Davis and Her Solar Powered Home

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Gina Telaroli:

Media That Matters Film Festival Premieres on May 28th

Top 10 Ways Indiana Jones Saved the World: Part #1

Smokey the Bear perseveres to this day as one of the greatest environmental icons of American popular culture. Remember back when some fool you met at a party in the early 90’s was yammering on about Neil Young being the Godfather of Grunge? Or some other fool (or maybe the same one but this time rolling on ecstasy) in the late 90’s couldn’t stop talking about how Brian Eno was the pioneer of electronic music? Well when it comes to being influential, neither can hold a candle to Smokey the Bear, whose storied career in environmentalism began over 60 years ago - and that ain’t no foolin’!

Created by The Ad Council in 1944, Smokey the Bear stands at the center of the longest running public service campaign in the history of the United States. The furry cartoon character has been educating the young and old alike on forest fire prevention, conservation and environmentalism since the days of WWII in media including posters, magazines, radio spots PSAs, and in his own show, the intro to which can be seen below:

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As we shifted our attention from Burma to China in the past week, I think it’s good to focus our attention back on Burma(but not necessarily away from China). Giulia did a great post about “Burma, It Can’t Wait” last week - so I thought I’d go ahead and post another video from the series so folks don’t forget…

Will Ferrell makes a great point (and even mentions my home state…) about the nature of the problem in Burma and how you can help.

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It’s May 16th, I’m Gina Telaroli and this is TakePart.com’s look at the week in social action…

“Deluxe” is a new exhibit of photographs, video and sculpture by visual artist Stuart Hawkins. The installation presents the stark contrast between the developing world and the elite vacation resorts found along coastlines and elsewhere in many developing countries.

Hawkins worked with local artists in Kolkata, India to create oversized prop sculptures of items typically found at a luxury resort, such as the giant hotel bed seen in the photo, enormous tennis courts and rackets, and a supersized beach umbrella. The props are then placed in less opulent settings indicative of the developing world and photographs are taken of local Kolkata residents doing improvised performances with the items. After the shoot, the materials from the props were taken apart and recycled back into the community in Kolkata as carpets, insulation, tents and tables. According to the press release:

“The realm of the elite is re-contextualized, resituated, and re-built with the hands of many and not a few.”

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Central China was hit with a devastating earthquake today measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. The quake is the worst to strike the world’s most populous country in decades. The state-run Xinhua News Agency currently estimates over 8,500 people have perished as a result of the disaster, tragically including 900 students who were trapped under the rubble of their collapsed school.

The epicenter of the quake was in Sichuan province, in the hilly region of the Middle Kingdom leading up to the Tibetan plateau, but its force caused skyscrapers in Shanghai and Taipei to sway. The shockwaves were felt as far away as Thailand and Vietnam. You can view video of the quake shot by a student in Sichuan province after the jump:

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Harrison Ford waxed his chest a while back to raise awareness of the destruction of the rain forests, and I wrote about it and we were all kind of confused. Well, luckily, youtube is here to set everything straight. Yep, we have the video online now of Harrison Ford being interviewed by a former Spice Girl, and then having his chest waxed. If it weren’t Access Hollywood, I’d swear this was some sort of Warholian art project to see how far the American people can be taken for a ride. But it’s real. Video, after the jump.

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A green puppy was born in New Orleans last week. The puppy is perfectly healthy thus far, just green. Veterinarians say this occasionally occurs when the mother’s amniotic fluid mixes with the placenta during birth, which dyes the coat of the puppy.

Freak occurrences aren’t the only way to get the your dog or cat to go green, however. You can by checking out the blog Great Green Pets, which offers myriad ideas on how to make having a pet more environmentally friendly. Recent posts include information on organic dog biscuits, dog portrait cards on recycled materials and eco-friendly cat toys.

Click here for video of the green puppy—->:

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We Can Solve It, the climate change advocacy group (they’re against it, FYI) that brought us the Al Sharpton/Pat Robertson commerical, are back at it with a new spot pairing Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich.  While this Ungar/Madison idea may sound like the makings for strange bedfellows, I can assure you it’s even more awkward than it sounds.  Check out the video, after the jump.

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