I am so sad to report that Oprah has confirmed that in 2011 she will end her daytime talk show.

A spokesman for the CBS Television Studios, which distributes her show, said “We have the greatest respect for Oprah and we wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors, we do know anything she turns her hand to will be a great success.”

But Oprah can’t retire until I’m one of her guests! I adore Oprah, her shows are insightful, compassionate and smart. I always dreamed of being onstage with her and answering her thought-provoking questions and discussing our new collaborative charity project. The show would of course end with us giving her audience free autographed copies of my latest book and dvds of the first season of my sitcom, to which they would howl and cheer with overly enthusiastic joy!

Aside from Oprah’s always fantastic shows, she is well-known for her generosity and amazing amounts of charity work. Oprah’s Angel Network was established to “encourage people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others. Oprah’s vision is to inspire people to help others rise to their potential.” To date, Oprah’s Angel Network has received more than $80 million in donations from the public and has used those funds to help build more than 55 schools in 12 countries, provided education for thousands of children in rural areas throughout the world, helped victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, given life-changing assistance for women and girls, and so much more. I know once the Oprah Show goes off the air, Ms. Winfrey herself will continue her wonderful charity work, but I (and all of her fans) will still miss her daily does of on-air goodness.

As I pointed out yesterday, last night Al Gore was on a special green episode of 30 Rock!  His cameo comes late in the show but as usual the entire show is funny and it is totally worth it to wait a little while to see Al Gore interact with Kenneth.

Beyond the Gore cameo the show showcased (and admittedly made fun of) the various ways people can reduce their carbon footprint. I can’t think of a better way to brainstorm ways to change your life then by laughing along with the gang at 30 Rock.

Give a watch and then visit the “act” section of this post to see how you can help in the fight against global warming.

Editor’s Note: This post is by Erich Rettstadt, a student at New York University who attended The People Speak College Tour event on his campus last week.

A rainy mid-November day in Manhattan did not deter the NYU masses from attending the latest stop on The People Speak college tour. Lines of students buzzing with anticipation wrapped around The Cooper Union’s historic Great Hall hours before the 2PM event began, braving the wet and windy weather to see the headlining mega-celebrity. Matt Damon, you ask? Oh no. None other than Mr. Howard Zinn himself. After Damon’s passionate reading of an excerpt from Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the crowd’s cheers were overwhelmed by the standing ovation Mr. Zinn received upon entering the stage moments later. Handling himself with grace, dignity and unmatched wit, Mr. Zinn encouraged the largely college-aged audience to push and prod our government until we get the change that we wanted to see. And to never give up.

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Photo: Getty Images

More little resonant treats from the disastrous Bush administration: a ruling was just made by Judge Stanwood Duval which accuses the Army Corps of Engineers of neglicence for its shameful mismanagement of the Hurricane Katrina flooding.

It’s a well-supported idea that much of the damage and lives lost in New Orleans could have been prevented by timely acting from the Corps. The Judge ruled after an examination of three cases of families whose livelihoods were crushed by the hurricane. The ruling opens the possibility of a potential 100,000 victims seeking settlements that could amount to an estimated 100 billion dollars. Read the rest of this entry >>

It sounds like science fiction, or fodder for a TV comedy sketch, any many may question if it’s real or fake. But this is real. In Kokonogi, Japan, jellyfish weighing up to 450 pounds are invading fisherman’s catches. The Nomuras are the world’s largest of the jellyfish species and can measure up to six feet in diameter. They are also a menace to fisheries in parts of Japan, where they get caught in nets and poison or kill fish stung by their tentacles–not to mention they are heavy. Earlier this month, a trawl boat capsized when a three-man fishing crew tried to haul in a net that contained dozens of the jellyfish.

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wild turkey by stevevoght, Flickr Creative Commons

Since I wrote last year about tips for a sustainable thanksgiving meal, much has transpired in the food movement. We now have a First Family that regularly toils in their backyard to grow and harvest organic produce. The hit documentary, Food, Inc. was released this past year and is now in the running for an Academy Award. I had the pleasure of working on the Social Action campaign for the film which has given me the privilege of learning much from amazing food activists who are working daily in fields, offices, schools and boardrooms daily to help to build a more just and sustainable food system. Read the rest of this entry >>

This week is National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week. As TakePart’s Danny Jensen wrote back in July, the number of homeless families has been steadily increasing in the U.S. this year. Today, approximately 700,000 people in the U.S. are homeless. And as we discussed here on TakePart in June, something as unpredictable as an injury or illness can bring a person to homelessness.

Beth’s Story, which we released in conjunction with the release of The Soloist, is a case in point.

Everybody has a story. Here is Beth’s.

Beth’s Story from TakePart on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and while many of us envision a table overflowing with a delicious feast, unfortunately the dinner table won’t look the same for the one billion people around the world who suffer from hunger.  So, this holiday season SocialVibe is inviting you to help fight hunger and provide meals for those in need with their new Thanksgiving Feast application on Facebook.

For each virtual food item that you and your friends bring to the online table, real meals will be provided to real people by the UN World Food Programme.

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Hopenhagen and Huffington Post have launched the Hopenhagen Ambassador contest, and the first round of entries are rolling in. Take a look at the entries after the jump, then head over to HuffPost to vote for your favorite. Want to enter the competition? You can find the official rules here. Read the rest of this entry >>