Advisory: Citizens to Join Hands on Folly Beach to Oppose Offshore Drilling & Exploration
Hands Across the Sand participants to gather to say “no” to offshore drilling & seismic blasting
Contact:
Chris Carnevale, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy [email protected] , (843) 973-2637
Alice Morrisey, Don’t Drill Lowcountry [email protected], (843) 442-5778
Samantha Siegel, Oceana [email protected], (843) 367-3664
When: Saturday, May 21; Press conference: 11:45 am; Joining of hands & photo opportunity: 12:00 pm – 12:05 pm
Where: Folly Beach; on the beach adjacent to the pier (101 E. Arctic Ave.), in front of Tides Hotel.
What: On May 21, communities all over the world will participate in the international Hands Across the Sand day of action by gathering at their local beach and joining hands to draw a line in the sand. This line will be a figurative way to say “no” to offshore drilling and “yes” to clean renewable energy.
The Charleston area Hands gathering will take place on Folly Beach, which will be the 7th annual Hands gathering at Folly Beach.
The specific purpose of this year’s event will be to affirm the federal government’s recent decision to cancel near term plans for oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic, yet to push for stronger, longer-lasting protections and the cancellation of seismic exploration for oil and gas.
A press conference will precede the joining of hands. The press conference will start at 11:45 a.m. and will feature comments on the subject of offshore drilling from Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation Queen Quet, and other community leaders.
Since its first year in 2010, thousands of Hands gatherings have taken place in all 50 states and 43 countries worldwide, including annual Folly Beach gatherings 2010-15. In South Carolina, Hands events will take place this Saturday in North Myrtle Beach and Garden City Beach as well. More information about Hands Across the Sand can be found at http://www.handsacrossthesand.org/.
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Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, non partisan organization working to promote responsible energy choices that work to address the impacts of global climate change and ensure clean, safe and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. http://www.cleanenergy.org
Don’t Drill SC-Lowcountry is a citizen-led non-partisan grassroots movement to protect South Carolina’s spectacular coastline from offshore drilling. http://dontdrillsc-lowcountry.org
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization focused solely on ocean conservation. We run science-based campaigns and seek to win policy victories that can restore ocean biodiversity and ensure that the oceans are abundant and can feed hundreds of millions of people. Oceana victories have already helped to create policies that could increase fish populations in its countries by as much as 40 percent and that have protected more than 1 million square miles of ocean. We have campaign offices in the countries that control close to 40 percent of the world’s wild fish catch, including in North, South and Central America, Asia, and Europe. To learn more, please visit www.oceana.org.