This Saturday, you have the opportunity to join with thousands of other beach, marsh, and general coast lovers at your local Hands Across the Sand event. Hands Across the Sand is an international day of action on which communities come together to celebrate their treasured places and send a clear message that they want these places to be protected from the adverse impacts of risky energy choices, such as offshore drilling.  More than 90 communities in 18 U.S. states and 8 countries will gather at their treasured place to send the message “NO!” to offshore drilling and risky fossil fuels, and “YES!” to clean energy.

The good news is that you can participate to help make the message ring even louder.  Click here to find your local event or create an event of your own.  The event is simple and fun: participants join hands along their beach (or place of their choosing), thus forming a line.  This line in the sand is physical, yet it is also metaphorical; it is a way to say that you are standing up for the place you love.

The impacts of offshore drilling and other risky fossil fuels are evident and profound: human health impacts, polluted air and water, harm to wildlife, and economic detriment.  You can read more about the impacts of offshore drilling and why it is a bad idea for our region in our recent blog, “Why We Should Not Drill Offshore the South Atlantic” and in our blog detailing the ongoing impacts of the BP oil spill tragedy here.

I’m pleased to say the media is tracking this issue and I was recently interviewed on U Need 2 Know, a talk radio show here in South Carolina to talk about offshore drilling and Hands Across the Sand and you can listen to the broadcast to learn more here.

On behalf of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the other 2013 sponsoring partners of these events, I sincerely hope that you will consider attending a local Hands Across the Sand event this Saturday!