GIRLS ROCK PHILLY - For the second year in a row this nonprofit Philadelphia-based organization is hosting a girls-only, week-long summer day camp for "junior rockers" between the ages of 9 and 17.

The camp will be held from August 4th to the 9th on the campus of Girard College in Philadelphia, and hopes to expand on the success of 2007, which saw girls converging to hone their instrumental prowess, learn how to write songs, form makeshift bands and perform a set at week's end. According to the organizers, last year the camp even "fostered a new band known as Oak Oak Okay, who have continued to perform around the city."

The event's director, Beth Warshaw-Duncan, credits the first camp as being "a tremendous success" with many of last year's participants returning for 2008. She also adds that "the Girls Rock Camp Alliance has 14 sister camps serving over 1500 girls this summer, and we're proud to be part of a movement that has clearly struck a chord."

While most of the girls participating last year were from the area around Philadelphia, the camp is open to girls from anywhere, and Girls Rock Philly also provided scholarships & partial financial assistance for half of last year's campers.

GRP is now accepting camper and volunteer applications for the 2008 summer camp session. For more information and to submit an application, visit the event's website or call 215-789-4879.

CONFRONTING CRUELTY - The last week of April will see a number of leading figures in the campaign for animal rights meeting at the Public Library of Salt Lake City for a three-day conference. The unprecedented gathering of activists, legal experts and scholars is aimed at increasing legal penalties for cruelty to companion animals, addressing the systematic abuse of animals in laboratories and on fur farms, drawing attention to the widespread effects of climate change, confronting pet overpopulation, and the spread of "eco-terrorism" propaganda.

Along with a one-day film festival with screenings of Behind the Mask (a documentary on the Animal Liberation Front and other activists), 45 Days (full title: 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken), Chattel (focuses on animal cruelty at "research" laboratories), and several other films, this year's event features a host of notable speakers, among them Christine Garcia, a longtime vegan and animal rights activist who founded the The Animal Law Office and serves as their lead legal counsel; Peter Young, an activist who after being listed for seven years on the FBI's wanted list was sentenced to a two year federal prison sentence for actions and planning to release thousands of animals from mink fur farms across the Midwest; Luke Glowacki, who does research in the fields of evolutionary biology, environmental ethics, and cognitive science, has also focused his career on human rights theory and "the relationship and obligations humans may have to nonhumans"; Rob Hutton, an activist and animal rights investigator who has extensively documented the plight of animals used for "entertainment" by the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus; Rhonda Kamper, who became an animal rights activist as a result of her own husband's torturing of the family dog, Henry, two years ago and, appalled to find that animal torture was punishable only as a misdemeanor, Kamper co-founded Help Us Help Them and helped pass legislation that would become known as "Henry's Law" and make a first offense felony provision part of Utah state law; Will Potter, founder of GreenIsTheNewRed.com, is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist documenting the "Green Scare" tactic of translating national fears over the War on Terrorism into propaganda against animal rights and environmental activists labeled as "eco-terrorists"; Jeremy Beckham, a student involved with the Primate Freedom Project who previously shamed Baylor University for its use of live bears as mascots.

For those unable to attend the conference, donations to help organize, promote, and effect change for animal rights are accepted any time.

EARTH HOUR - Flip the switch on Saturday!

Begun as a single-city project in 2007 by a group of activists in Australia, this low-sacrifice and high-impact statement by consumers has spread to 24 cities around the globe in the space of a year. This year's project will take place at 8pm on March 29th and will include participation from an estimated 6.6 billion people.

Frustrated with the lack of industry and municipal investment in renewable energy sources, the Australian branch of the World Wildlife Fund partnered with the city of Sydney to organize a massive one-hour action to address the need for electricity conservation and long-term solutions to curbing carbon emissions, a large portion of which come from coal-fired power plants. With a stated goal of reducing carbon emissions by 5% through a reduction in electricity consumption, organizers registered pre-event pledges from more than 68,000 individuals and 2,200 businesses to participate. Afterward, the utility company EnergyAustralia reported a more than 10% decrease in energy consumption during the hour-long event, and a random poll indicated that more than half of the city's population - some 2.2 million people - participated.

With the impact of electricity conservation well documented and the strong public reaction to such an obvious and simple organized effort, the Earth Hour concept has been officially adopted by two dozen cities around the world, including population centers in Australia and Fiji in the Far East, the United Arab Emirates and Israel in the Middle East, Denmark and Romania in Europe, and more than a dozen cities in the United States and Canada.

Earth Hour is a simple project - turn off all non-essential lights for one hour - and participation is by no means limited to residents of the officially listed cities. Individuals are encouraged to register their intended participation online.

PINK PROJECT - Having had his eyes opened to the dire situations of people in places around the globe, Hollywood mega-star Brad Pitt has become an active humanitarian worthy of complimenting his partner, activist, United Nations refugee ambassador, and mega-star in her own right, Angelina Jolie. Although Pitt and Jolie have made highly-publicized trips to some of the world's most shady corners, it was literally their own neighborhood that prompted one of Pitt's latest aid campaigns.

Dumbfounded and disgusted by the lack of meaningful progress in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, where he and Jolie live part-time with their four children, Pitt formed Make It Right, a relief effort aimed at picking up where the United States government failed miserably. While there has been some speculation that Pitt may run for mayor of the "Big Easy," his current focus in NoLa is the volunteer-run and donation-driven project centered on the perpetually unfinished post-Katrina rebuilding efforts.

The Pink Project, which couples the design skills of the Los Angeles-based design firm Graft Laboratories with Pitt's public persona, is a direct response to the continued failures of FEMA, which have now been piling up for several years after Hurricane Katrina. The idea came to Pitt while shooting in his sometimes hometown for the film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with director David Fincher. Representing homes wiped by Katrina and yet to be replaced, the project's pink structures, illuminated at night, were in place for a month this winter as a unique combination of campaign promotion and art installation. But rather than see the bright home-like shapes become an everyday part of the landscape, Make It Right removed them on January 6th and began the next phase of the project - constructing the actual homes that the pinks had been serving as placeholders for. The new houses, which will be mold-free and anchored to sturdy foundations, also have the added benefit of focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency for the residents of the 9th Ward, providing solutions to a number of problems while also satisfying the basic need for simple shelter. The iconic pink boxes may be gone, but its not too late to participate, as the project continues into the construction phase with the houses being built entirely on funding from Make It Right's ongoing donation campaign.

To get a better idea of the scope and inner workings of the Make It Right reconstruction effort, as well as what the pink project looked like on the ground in New Orleans, visit the website and while you're there take a short helicopter flyover tour of the area.

CLIMATE CAMP - Run on renewable energy and built on the principle of Do It Yourself, the Camp for Climate Action is an English activist/retreat centered around "low-impact living, debates, learning skills, and high-impact direct action" aimed at raising awareness of and curbing contributions to climate change. The event is operated by consensus, rather than by a staff or crew, and is set up to provide more than 80 workshops on sustainable living topics ranging from home composting to young people's rights.

Last year the event took place on a field in Yorkshire for 10 days, but the 2007 event, running from August 14th to the 21st, will be held at London's Heathrow Airport. The location of the 2007 camp is a direct response to aviation's direct impact on global warming. Although this year's event will continue to utilize direct action en mass in an attempt to "disrupt the activities of the airport and the aviation industry, in the interests of public safety, there will be no attempt to blockade runways."

Organizers (or, citing their somewhat anarchist bent, perhaps just the person updating the website) recommend bringing the usual camping items - tent, sleeping bag, personal hygiene items, recycled toiletpaper, bottle opener, bug repellent, solar lights - and leaving your vehicle (and, sadly, your dog) at home.

For those North Americans interested in participating but unwilling (it would sort of defeat the purpose, especially this year) to fly to Europe, there will be two camps in the United States during the same dates, one west of Portland, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River, and the other in the progressive Appalachian college town of Asheville, North Carolina.

LIVE EARTH - Simply put, this 24-hour concert series, organized by Live 8 producer Kevin Wall, former US vice-president and climate crusader Al Gore, and the Alliance for Climate Protection, is directed at "inspiring behavioral changes" to combat global warming.

Taking place on 07/07/07, the series is comprised of festivals spread across seven continents that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people in hopes of triggering a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Events will take place at Giants Stadium in New York, USA; Wembley Stadium in London, UK; Aussie Stadium in Sydney, Australia; Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Maropeng at the Cradle of Humankind in Johannesburg, South Africa; Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan; the Steps of the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, China; and HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg, Germany, and will be broadcast live by MSN.

Leading up to the series people anywhere in the world can bid on festival tickets, travel packages, and other special pre-event items at the eBay Live Earth auction. For post-event items like signed memorabilia from the concerts, check back to the eBay auction site after Thursday, July 12. Funds from the eBay auctions will go to benefit The Alliance for Climate Protection, so don't be shy about shelling out some cash!

And before you hop online and make plans to fly to some far-flung location, be sure to calculate your personal carbon footprint and find out how to cut down on your climate-changing habits.

LAW & JUSTICE RALLY - Supporters of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee will join with protesters from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the American chapter of Amnesty International next Tuesday, June 26th, for a "Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice" rally in Washington's Upper Senate Park. For transporation options via bus, visit this website for details of departure times.

RIVERKEEPER - With a mission to safeguard the ecological integrity of the Hudson River system (which feeds the New York City drinking water supply), Riverkeeper has investigated and prosecuted more than 300 environmental lawbreakers in the past quarter century. With a powerful and dedicated staff including Chief Prosecuting Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and board of directors member John McEnroe, Riverkeeper is fighting to keep the Hudson River, its tributaries and its entire watershed area - "from the Adirondack Headwaters to New York Harbor" - free of pollutants. Support Riverkeeper now!

UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE - United for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 750 local and national groups throughout the United States who have joined together to oppose our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building. United for Peace and Justice welcomes the participation of any and all national, regional and local groups who share our goals and wish to work with others. Lost At Sea Magazine is proud to be a Member Group of United for Peace and Justice. Become a Member Group now!

DEFEND DEMOCRACY ON ELECTION DAY - With America's younger generations having grown up with the victories of Women's Suffrage and the Civil Rights movement already won and its older generations sliding into political complacency, the struggle for a true democracy was one not garnernering much attention before the winter of 2000. But in November of that year many of us witnessed the disenfranchisement of millions of voting citizens, primarily and disproportionately minority voters. By January of 2001 it seemed that real change was on the horizon for the national voting system, but shortly thereafter complacency once again set in and the issue seems to have been forgotten by most.

But not everyone has forgotten. Working Assets, in conjunction with numerous other national civil rights organizations, has put together the Election Protection Volunteer program in an effort to ensure a nonpartisan force for democracy on election day, educating voters about their rights, monitoring the polls and ensuring that every vote gets counted. Visit ElectionProtectionVolunteer.org to find out what you can do to help and to sign up to volunteer on November 2.

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS - A private, non-profit international network with sections in 18 countries, Doctors Without Borders delivers emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-made disasters, and to others who lack health care due to social or geographical isolation.

While it is better known as Doctors Without Borders in the United States, the organization's worldwide name is Médecins Sans Frontičres, or MSF. MSF was founded in 1971 by a small group of French doctors who believed that all people have the right to medical care regardless of race,religion, creed or political affiliation, and that the needs of these people supersede respect for national borders. It was the first non-governmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and publicly bear witness to the plight of the populations they served.

The importance of an organization such as MSF has been greatly underscored by the humanitarian disasters that Western military and political actions (or lack thereof) have wrought in isolated areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea and Sudan. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that medical care be proliferated beyond the sphere of Western political and military usefulness. Support Doctors Without Borders.

Oxfam International - Oxfam International is a confederation of 12 organizations working together in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice.

With many of the causes of poverty global in nature, members of Oxfam International believe they can achieve greater impact in addressing issues of poverty by their collective efforts. 

To achieve the maximum impact on poverty, Oxfams link up their work on development programs, humanitarian response, lobbying for policy changes at national and global level. Our popular campaigns and communications work is aimed at mobilizing public opinion for change. Support Oxfam International

Tortured Alive: Vivisection - Animal experimentation intrinsically involves the incarceration of animals (which itself causes intense psychological distress) and subsequent poisoning, mutilation, disease and killing of those individuals. It is arguably the most brutal and most severe form of systematic, genocidal-scale violence in the modern world. IF YOU CANNOT STOMACH THE PICTURES YOU SHOULD NOT BE SUPPORTING VIVISECTION. Educate yourselves about the practices that your daily routines support.

World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) is an annual event designed to expose the plight of animals used for testing and research. WWAIL seeks to arouse concern for animal in laboratories as well as educate the public about the scientific, moral, and economic objections to animal experimentation, also known as vivisection. Participate in WWAIL.

China: Killer State - In 2003 there were 1146 reported state-sanctioned executions around the world. Of those, 726 were carried out in China, more than twice the rest of the world combined. Those numbers only reflect official executions; a government official suggested last month that the Chinese government executes more than 10,000 individuals each year. Learn more from Amnesty International.