Locals to join hands to oppose offshore drilling

DEL MAR — Area residents who oppose expanded offshore drilling and support clean energy solutions for a sustainable planet can join hands in front of Powerhouse Park at noon June 25 for the second annual Hands Across the Sand event.
Dave Rauschkolb, a Florida surfer and restaurateur, created the event in response to a bill passed by the Florida House of Representatives, lifting the ban on near-shore oil drilling.
With support from sponsor organizations, more than 10,000 Floridians joined hands Feb. 13, 2010, covering the state’s coastlines to show united opposition to near-shore drilling.
Two months later the BP Deepwater Horizon oilrig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Rauschkolb then organized a global Hands Across The Sand to urge President Barrack Obama to abandon his bid to open continental U.S. waters to offshore oil drilling.
On June 26, 2010, more than 1,000 events took place in all 50 states and in 42 countries.
Hands Across the Sand is not about politics, according to the organization’s website.
“It is about protecting coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife and fisheries from the threats of expanded offshore drilling and the accidents associated with this,” the website states.
Participants join hands “to implore leaders and decision-makers to end the United States’ dependence on oil and coal and embrace a clean energy future for a sustainable planet.”
Participants are asked to arrive, rain or shine, at 11 a.m. and join hands for 15 minutes, forming lines in the sand to say “no” to oil drilling in coastal waters and “yes” to clean energy.
For more information, visit handsacrossthesand.org or contact local coordinator Yasmine Zein at [email protected].