There is a lot of disagreement here at Daily Kos about President Obama and whether or not he's doing enough about the Gulf disaster. It seems everyone is frustrated (Keith is even angry now!) and feels somewhat helpless in the face of this catastrophe. While some dialog is good, action is better. That's why I originally came to this site. I wanted to see what I could do to advance progressive ideas. I wanted to take action.
Well, it's time to stop bickering.
It's time to take action and have a little fun.
I'm asking that for one day, for 15 minutes, we put aside our differences and literally join hands in unity against off shore drilling and stand hand in hand to show our support for clean energy.
The movement is Hands Across the Sand and the date is June 26.
Hands Across the Sand is a movement founded by Dave Rauschkolb, a Florida restaurateur, my former employer, and a friend. Hands was originally started to protest a bill proposed by Florida Republicans that would allow near shore drilling within 3-10 miles off the Florida coast. In February, I joined thousands of Floridians in taking a stand against the bill.
Since the oil spill in the Gulf began, the goals for Hands Across the Sand have changed. The movement has grown and the hope is to change energy policy on a national level.
Mission Statement
1. To organize a national movement to oppose offshore oil drilling and champion clean energy and renewables. These gatherings will bring thousands of American citizens to our beaches and cities and will draw metaphorical and actual lines in the sand; human lines in the sand against the threat oil drilling poses to America’s coastal economies and marine environment.
2. To convince our State Legislators, Governors, Congress and President Obama to stop the expansion of offshore oil drilling and to adopt policies encouraging clean and renewable energy sources. America needs legislation that creates tax incentives and subsidies to encourage the growth of clean energy and renewable industries for America’s future.
On June 26, we will join hands once again to say NO to offshore drilling and YES to clean energy.
All you have to do is:
STEP 1
Go to the beach at 11 AM in your time zone for one hour, rain or shine.
STEP 2
Join 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.
Join us in creating what could become the largest gathering against offshore drilling in history
The movement is now global and has the support of organizations such as the Sierra Club, Oceana, Greenpeace, Ocean Conservancy, and Moveon.org, just to name a few.
Participating countries include Kenya, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan, India, Pakistan, and Brazil.
If you don't live near a beach, join or start a solidarity event.
As of this writing all but six states have organized events.
Let's help reach the goal of 20,000 hands Across the Sand fans on Facebook and make sure to ask your friends to join!
Let's all take a deep breath, forget our differences, and join together on June 26.