Defenders of Wildlife Blog

(An irregular column to capture insults to wildlife)

People around the world took a stand for healthy coasts and marine wildlife this weekend, joining hands to fight the threats of increased offshore drilling. And in this year’s Hands Across the Sand, thousands of Americans — from the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia to the sandy beaches of Florida’s Gulf Coast, all the way to California and the Pacific – made it clear that they want to trade the dirty, dangerous energy sources of the past for a clean, responsible renewable energy future.

But while ocean lovers and activists came together in solidarity, another kind of gathering was taking place in the Sunshine State. Florida’s Senate President, Mike Haridopolos, met with Big Oil representatives in an “off the record session” to develop energy policy recommendations for state lawmakers, including Florida Governor Rick Scott and House Speaker Dean Cannon. On the agenda? You guessed it – outer continental shelf energy development (aka, drilling off of Florida’s coasts).

Could the timing have been worse? Apparently Florida lawmakers are suffering from the same case of oil spill amnesia that’s plaguing the members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have now passed three reckless offshore drilling bills. But the Floridians who joined Hands on Saturday haven’t forgotten – and neither has Defenders. In fact, we had both coasts covered this weekend – with Florida representative Elizabeth Fleming joining former governor Charlie Crist and other state and city officials in St. Petersberg and marine policy advisor Richard Charter speaking up in California’s Sonoma County. Their message (and ours): keep our coasts clean, healthy and drilling-free.

Learn more:

See more pictures from Hands Across the Sands events this weekend.

See the ways Defenders continues to stand up for wildlife and natural places in the Gulf of Mexico, more than a year after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Hands Across the Sand in Siesta Key, FL

You don’t have to live on the ocean to value clean waters, beaches and healthy marine ecosystems. That’s why people around the world will join hands on beaches and in cities tomorrow for the second annual “Hands Across the Sand” event, a demonstration of opposition to expanding offshore drilling and support for cleaner energy choices.

Despite the ongoing effects of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, Congress served American coasts to the oil industry on a silver platter last month in a suite of reckless drilling bills. The members of Congress spearheading these assaults on our coasts know that drilling here will not actually lower the price of gas at the pump but only serve to profit Big Oil. Yet they passed bills that would mandate the acceleration of the offshore drilling permitting process and open up new areas to oil and gas drilling, including offshore along the coasts of California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida and even in the Arctic Ocean, where the technology to clean up a spill does not even exist.

Just yesterday, the U.S. Geological Survey released a study evaluating science gaps regarding oil and natural gas exploration and development in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off Alaska. According to the report, key information is lacking for effective oil spill risk preparedness, including weather and oceanographic data that could be fed into spill models. They conclude that a better understanding of climate change is needed to clarify development scenarios.

“Hands Across the Sand” participants will show leaders like President Obama the breadth of opposition to new drilling and support for a clean energy future rooted in energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy solutions.

Joining Hands in Olympia, Washington

Dave Rauschkolb, founder of “Hands Across the Sand” said, “Offshore drilling will never be safe. Expanding offshore oil drilling is not the answer; embracing clean energy is. We’re here to say NO to offshore drilling, and YES to clean energy.”

At noon local time tomorrow, people will join hands across the country, from Massachusetts to California. In 2010, more than 100,000 people participated in 1,000 “Hands” events in all 50 states and 43 countries, including India and New Zealand.

Learn more:

Find a Hands Across the Sand event happening near you! Visit http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/

Defenders is fighting to keep dangerous drilling out of American waters. Read about how we’re working to keep illegal drilling operations out of the Gulf of Mexico.

Defenders Online Campaigns Director Chris Burley reports from the Washington, DC Hands Across the Sand event in Washington DC… with a call to action to stop offshore drilling that threatens our wildlife.

Answer the call! Take action online now to stop a proposal that would encourage new offshore drilling — risking the lives of countless sea turtles, brown pelicans, dolphins, whales and other animals that depend on healthy coasts to survive.

Take Action