Joining Hands in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2012. From Alaska to Florida, from Pakistan to Kenya, thousands of people will join hands at noon on May 17, for the fifth annual “Hands Across the Sand and Land” event. Come to your local Hands event to call for clean and renewable energy and to say “no” to dirty fossil fuel projects that endanger our local communities. In joining Hands Across the Sand and Land, we show unified support for clean energy at a moment when dirty fuel proposals are proliferating even as the effects of the BP drilling disaster linger in the Gulf of Mexico.Across the country, communities are facing threats from coastal and offshore drilling, seismic blasting, pipelines, tar sands mining, transporting crude by rail, hydraulic fracturing, LNG export terminals and mountain top removal. In addition to damaging our water, air and wildlife; these projects also threaten to worsen climate change, which is already leading to rising sea levels, drought, forest fires, ocean acidification, crop loss, flooding, and increased storm intensity. Since its inception, Hands has gathered a large coalition of local, regional and national organizations. This year, Hands is expanding its messaging to include a strong opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. The bottom line remains the same: keep dirty fuels in the ground and build a clean, renewable energy future now.Gulf Restoration Network is organizing events across the Gulf, from Louisiana to Florida . We’re joining Hands to show President Obama and other political leaders that there is widespread opposition to new fossil fuel exploitation. We are joining hands to demand that Obama support a clean energy economy rooted in efficient, renewable energy solutions including solar power and wind power. For more information about the events that GRN is helping to organize, visit these links:St. Petersburg, Florida – https://www.facebook.com/events/309185982569753/Ocean Springs, Mississippi – https://www.facebook.com/events/283376371831263Keep an eye out for more information soon about a Hands event on Bayou St. John in New Orleans, LA. To find or organize an event in your area, please visit www.handsacrossthesand.com.For more information about the worldwide Hands effort, please contact me at cathy@healthygulf.org.Cathy Harrelson is GRN’s Florida Organizer.
