News Roundup: Hands Across the Sand goes international

This Saturday, people across the world will join hands in solidarity against increased offshore drilling operations. What began as a small event in Florida, taking place last February, has now become an international phenomenon in light of the ongoing Gulf oil disaster. 

“It’s an opportunity for individuals and organizations and people of all walks of life to draw a line in the sand and say no” to more offshore oil drilling,” Dave Rauschkolb, founder of event, told New York Times. “Now is the time to start taking control of our energy future and not leaving it to the oil industry to decide it for us.”

CNN reports that back in February, the event drew 10,000 Floridians to join hands on clean beaches to protest offshore oil drilling—and that was BEFORE the Deepwater Horizon exploded.

“Hands” events have now been organized in all 50 states and at least 20 countries across the globe. Each event takes place on Saturday, June 26, at noon in their local time zones. Defenders’ Shannon Miller tells Florida News Service that the oil spewing into the Gulf has created a new sense of urgency for these gatherings, “and unfortunately, it had to be this spill that created such a buzz about it, but I think people now are really concerned.”

“The message is simple. The images are powerful. We are drawing a line in the sand against offshore oil drilling along America’s beaches and in solidarity events across this great land,” Rauschkolb told the Naples Daily News.

As of this morning, supporters had organized 742 events in places that include Australia, India, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Greenland, Brazil, several spots in Europe and 678 places in the United States. Many events are on beaches.

To learn more about the event, and to find a participating location by you, visit www.handsacrossthesand.org.