Hands across the sand

On  Saturday, June 26, members of the community and visitors to Marco Island met at South Beach to hold hands and form a line to say “no” to new offshore drilling and “yes” to clean energy. People started arriving at the beach around 11 a.m. for this event, and waited until noon when the “official” line was made. More than fifty people held the line for fifteen minutes. This event was also held at Residents and Tigertail beaches.

Randy Dudenbostel, a participant in today’s event, found out about this get together through an email his mom sent him, the same email I received from moveon.org. Randy said, “This is a great way to come out and support the cause; offshore drilling is a disgusting thing.”

Celeste Navara,

group organizer of the Marco Island event, said in reference to the oil spill, “We are here because of this tragic event that has taken place. It has not only taken the lives of human, marine and wildlife, but also has destroyed the livelihood and lifestyles of many people across the coast.

We are here to make a standÉ There are well over 900 events happening around the world including in locations from Washington DC to Puerto Rico.” Marco Island residents who attended this event included Amy Bozicnik, Julliette Rose, Meryl and Jim Allen, and Arzy Fortunes.

“Hands Across the Sand,” that started the event, originated with Dave Rauschkolb, a Florida small business owner, in October of 2009, and has grown into a huge, literally global movement. With the help of

dozens of organizations, there will be events in over 400 cities and 12 countries, including the U.S., Japan, India, and New Zealand.

Since the massive oil spill two months ago, thousands of people from all around the world are joining hands across their beaches to participate in the event, “Hands Across The Sand.” Since President Obama’s speech on our addiction to oil, and the need to start using other “alternative” solutions to oil and energy, the group hope to see a new era of clean energy and a world that does not rely on oil and offshore drilling. With oil still gushing into the Gulf, wildlife has been devastated due to this catastrophic event and people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, fuelling the emotions of those who feel they need to stand up for clean energy.