Millions of people around the world joined hands at noon and created a human line in protest against offshore drilling and in favor of clean, renewable energy policies this past Saturday, June 26.
The Hands Across the Sand movement, created by Dave Rauschkolb in October 2009, spread from America to 21 other countries, reaching as far as Japan, Malaysia, Australia and India.
Over 700 Hands Across the Sand rallies occurred worldwide this past Saturday, making it the largest anti-offshore drilling gathering in history.
While most Hands Across the Sand rallies were held along the coast, the Tallahassee event was held at Lake Ella in compensation for the lack of beach.
IT Contract Manager for the Department of Environmental Protection, Kim Ross, who is also a volunteer environmental activist, calculated that she would need 1,000 people to completely surround the lake.
“I’m trying to provide an opportunity for people to both impact the long-term direction our society goes toward in terms of energy use, but I’m also trying to get people informed about what they can do to help right now,” said Ross. “I think it’s great that people are coming together and realizing that the impact of oil drilling and our energy usage has led us to where we are.”
The event began at 11:30 a.m. as everyone surrounded the lake and held hands for 15 minutes at noon to express Hands Across the Sand’s message: No to offshore oil drilling, yes to clean energy.
The rally also provided an opportunity to drop supplies off for the Florida Wild Mammal Association, who was collecting items for future Gulf wildlife rescue and medical care.
The event was followed by an optional trip to the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, where people could take a tour of the lab’s aquarium and learn about Gulf Specimen Marine Lab’s latest venture, called “Operation Noah’s Ark.”
The main plan behind “Operation Noah’s Ark,” created by Jack and Anne Rudloe, who run the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab together and are two of America’s foremost nature writers, is to portion off a section of the Gulf and raise shrimp, crabs and oysters to then be released into the water once the pollution has detruded.
The Hands Across the Sand movement first began in Florida, where its founder Dave Rauschkolb surfs and owns three restaurants along the beach.
On Feb. 13, thousands of Floridians convened in a statewide gathering, covering over 90 beaches in protest of the efforts of the Florida Legislature and U.S. Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off-shores of Florida.
Now, because anyone can go to the Hands Across the Sand website and create an event in their town or city, the movement was able to go international.
“America could be, should be the world leader in expanding cleaner energy sources, yet our political process is paralyzed by oil money,” said Rauschkolb. “It is time for our leaders to take bold, courageous steps and open the door to clean energy and renewables, and free our country from its addiction to oil.”
Ross feels the movement should have no trouble getting the attention of America’s political leaders.
“Politicians, especially here in Florida, can’t help but listen,” said Ross. “There have been times throughout our country’s history where it’s been the people who have stood up and said, ‘Wait, we need to go in a different direction.’ I think that’s what’s going on now, and I think it’s going to be heard loud and clear.”