All Hands on Deck for Hands Across The Sand June 26

( – promoted by KathyinBlacksburg)

We’ve been inundated with heartbreaking images of oil covered birds and devastated fishermen struggling in the wake of the BP oil disaster. While officials are working to clean up the mess, we need to work to make sure this never happens again.  

While we applaud President Obama’s decision to cancel Virginia’s lease sale, we are not out of the woods on drilling. Virginia, along with our Atlantic coast neighbors, is still enrolled in a leasing program that could allow drilling as close as just 3 miles off our coast and our Chesapeake Bay!

The Obama Administration superseded the 2010-2015 program with its own 2012-2017 program for the Atlantic from Delaware south. That’s what we are fighting.

Keep in mind that there are no moratoriums protecting the Atlantic. In 2008, President Bush cancelled a presidential moratorium and Congress allowed a congressional ban to expire.  

Virginians are urged to join Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation and Oceana for HANDS ACROSS THE SAND, a national day of action, on Saturday, June 26.  We’ll join hands and form a line in the sand to say “No” to offshore drilling and “Yes” to clean renewable energy.

HANDS ACROSS THE SAND will be held on these Virginia beaches:

– Virginia Beach Oceanfront between 19th and 31st Streets (Click here to RSVP.)

– Sandbridge, Little Island Park, 3820 Sandpiper Road, Virginia Beach (Click here to RSVP.)

– Ocean View, Community Beach Park, 700 E. Ocean View Ave., Norfolk (Click here to RSVP.)

– North End, 81st Street and Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach (Click here to RSVP.)

– Buckroe Beach off Point Comfort Ave., Hampton (Click here to RSVP.)

At 11am, we’ll start gathering at each beach.  We’ll join hands from 12:00 to 12:15.

HANDS ACROSS THE SAND started in Florida earlier this year as over 10,000 Floridians locked hands over 80 beaches in opposition to oil drilling. “This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our shoreline, our waterways, our tourism, our coastal military missions and our quality of life,” said Dave Rauschkolb, founder of HANDS ACROSS THE SAND.

HANDS ACROSS THE SAND is a National Day of Action with hundreds of events happening across the country on the same day, Saturday, June 26. Together we will call on President Obama to move America beyond oil over the next two decades. For more information, visit http://www.HandsAcrossTheSand.com.

Even as oil spews from the bottom of the Gulf, Big Oil and its allies are doing everything they can to dangerously drill off our coasts.  Attend Hands Across the Sand to protect our oceans, beaches, and wildlife from more offshore drilling!

HANDS volunteers are needed. Please contact Eileen Levandoski, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, eileen.levandoski@sierraclub.org.