Tonight's EcoAdvocates edition includes a guest post by by Dave Rauschkolb, founder of Hands Across the Sand , the June 26 day of solidarity on beaches around the world in response to the Deepwater Horizon Disaster; Kevin Grandia reporting from tcktcktck's FreshAir Center on "What's next after the UNFCCC Bonn talks?" and tonight's editor, boatsie, who provides background information and advocates for a few eco-actions in "Act Now!" |
Just two months before the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Floridian restaurateur Dave Rauschkolb launched his fight against off shore drilling, rallying over 10,000 Floridians to join hands on beaches from Jacksonville to Miami Beach and Key West to Pensacola, drawing lines in the sand to oppose offshore drilling. Little did he know that the first "Hands Across the Sand" would serve as a template for the Saturday, June 26, global day of action, when at 12 noon local time, people will convene on beaches around the world in solidarity with the Gulf Coast states to demand an end to off shore drilling. As of today, beaches in Norway, the UK, Canada, Malaysia, India, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Stonetown, and the Dominican Republic are participating. Hands Across the Sand is sponsored by such climate action organizations as Defenders of Wildlife, 350.org, Greenpeace, Surfrider Foundation, Audubon Society, Moveon.org, and 1Sky, and is rapidly morphing into the largest global gathering in support of clean energy in history (visit the homepage for a complete list of the project partners and sponsors)
Follow the groundswell on Facebook and Twitter.
June 26: Join Hands Across the Sand
By Dave Rauschkolb
It is my greatest hope that when Americans stand hand-to-hand on beaches on June 26 the message is loud and clear: NO to Offshore Oil Drilling, YES to Clean Energy.
No industry should be allowed to place the coastal economy of our coastlines, oceans, marine wildlife and the fishing industries at risk. The oil companies have had their way in the Gulf for too long.
You know, when I finally saw Who Killed the Electric Car, it became so patently obvious that the oil companies for so long now have been spending exorbitant amounts of money to keep us addicted to oil. The only way this will stop is if Americans wake up, stand up together and force their hand. We have to make our leaders understand we will not stand idly by until they change their energy policy.
I was really knocked back on my heels last October when the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill in favor of lifting the ban on off shore three miles from any beach in Florida. I’d been saying that it was really time for us to draw a line in the sand. I meant it metaphorically, but when a local politician, David Pleat, began urging Floridians to take action to influence what was happening in Florida, I got the idea of actually engaging Floridians in forming lines across our state’s sands.
Last February, over 80 beaches in Florida and 10,000 individuals organized and participated in "Hands Across the Sand." And that was before the Deepwater Horizon crisis.
June 26 is an opportunity for a paradigm shift. A shift that says we will hold any company accountable for the devastating effects of oil drilling. That what the citizens of America have to say IS important!
I frankly don’t believe the oil companies will ever stop in the Gulf, but enough is enough. Yes, the focus should be on BP but we can’t just make BP the scapegoat because this goes way beyond BP. The entire offshore oil industry is under indictment. Using 1970s technology to stop a 2010 accident they never planned for is unacceptable.
Any industry that can avoid the controlling hand of American government shouldn’t be allowed to do business.
We are all working towards the day when oil will become the alternative energy instead of the other way around.
How to Get Involved
Visit Hands Across the Sand to locate or organize an event at a beach near you. The website provides interactive maps of states and nations as well as a resource toolkit of downloadable banners, posters, logos, press releases and t-shirts. Scroll down the main page for a complete list of sponsors and partners.
What to do at a Hands Event
STEP 1
Go to the beach at 11 AM in your time zone for one hour, rain or shine.
STEP 2Join hands for 15 minutes at 12:00 forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters.
STEP 3 Leave only your footprints.
Tips of the Day
- Use only approved beach accesses and parking.
- Create as long a line or as many lines as you wish.
- Be courteous and respectful to those who disagree with your view.
- Please steer clear of bird nesting areas.
- ...enjoy yourself, it’s the beach!
Hands Across The Sand from Walton Outdoors on Vimeo.
So what happened at the Bonn climate talks and what's next?
by Kevin Grandia (DeSmog Blog)
With so much of the world's attention focused on the continued fall-out from the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it wasn't hard to miss the fact that some very important meetings were held the last two weeks in Bonn, Germany where progress was made on moving our world away from dirty fossil fuels, like oil and coal, and on to a clean energy path.
The talks in Bonn were the opening of a new round of negotiations that will hopefully culiminate in a finalized international climate treaty this December when world leaders gather in Mexico.
Like any agreement of this magnitude there is a lot of details that need to be worked through and there was some progress made in Bonn on dealing with these technical issues. These details are important, because they can become major sticking points that can bog down the entire process and threaten the chances of a final climate treaty.
While some countries showed up in Bonn, rolled up their sleeves and got to work, many countries continue to block progress.
The usual suspects continue to stall progress - countries like Canada, Saudi Arabia and Russia. These are influential countries that will have a great effect on the final outcome of this process and they must realize that a fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty is what we need if we want to ensure that our children and our children's children do not have to deal with the most dire effects of climate change and tragedies like the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
So these talks in Bonn end here on a note of optimism, with a cautionary note that the process needs to stay on track and pick up the pace.
The next step in this process is the G8 and the G20 summits that will be happening later this month in Canada. Leaders of the most influential countries in the world will be there and while the host country doesn't want to talk about climate change and a path to clean energy, it will be hard to ignore the issue considering there will be an estimated 1 million gallons of dirty crude oil pumping into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico each day that these summit meetings are underway.
Act Now!
by Boatsie
Take Action: Join the campaign to
Put Climate Change on the G8 Agenda
Support the Climate9
The Climate9, including a chef, an artist, a dad, a university lecturer, and a call center manager are in week one of a trial for a five hour protest they staged at Scotland's Aberdeen Airport in March 2009, against planned expansions at the country's 17 airports, claiming the expansions could elevate the tons of carbon in the atmosphere to 3.4 million tons. The group erected a golfcourse on the Aberdeen runway and in five hours "prevented at least 107 tonnes of carbon from being emitted (enough to heat 200 Scottish homes for a month). ... Since taking this action they have been hounded by undercover police, harassed and needlessly stopped in the street, have had their phones bugged and are being called domestic terrorists."
Actions: Write a statement of support, use social media to draw attention to the trial, pack the court or donate money to their defense. Link
Join The Greenpeace Energy Revolution: Share Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook
"A global energy scenario paints a picture of our common future – the picture depicts how the future could unfold. Energy scenarios send important messages on alternative futures to decision makers in political, financial, industrial sectors as well as other stakeholders in the energy market. They paint a picture which can encourage and guide decision makers involved in shaping our energy future."
Railroad Remodelers Club
The Railroad ReModelers Club is a loose collaboration of engineers, economists, and professional media focusing on the serious changes needed in both policy and the education and empowerment of the public on the need for action to adequatealy address the threats of peak oil, climate change and the global economic crisis. RRMC is applying the Millennium Institute's state-of-the -art Threshold 21 integrated planning tool to address highly complex policy change proposals.
Actions: Join RRMC onFacebookand follow on Twitter.
Photocredits:
Hands Across the Sands, Florida, Feb. 2010. 10,000 people by pcbdaily
Delay Kills, climate activists from Avaaz
Capitol Climate Action by capitolclimateaction
Four Horsemen of Apocalypse by Greenpeace International
Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare" by Claude Monet by mark6mauno
EcoAdvocates is a new series initiated by Meteor Blades and Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, who are contributing editors. This series focuses on providing more effective political pressure and taking action on environmental issues.
Contributing writers provide a diversity of perspectives including wind/energy/climate change; water; agriculture/food; mountaintop removal mining/coal; wildlife; environmental justice; and indigenous/human rights/civil rights. Contributing writers include: Bill McKibben, Jerome a Paris, mogmaar, boatsie, Aji, rb137, Ellinorianne, faithfull, Oke, Jill Richardson, Patric Juillet, Josh Nelson, beach babe in fl, Ojibwa, Muskegon Critic, Desmogblog, A Siegel, gmoke, DWG, citisven, mahakali overdrive and FishOutofWater.
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