Nicole Sands is the Web Producer for Greenpeace USA, based in Gainesville Florida…
I joined hands today with a whole string of people who gathered to join hands from end to end of Cedar Key’s beach on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, about 50 miles from where I live in Gainesville, Fl. We gathered to draw a line in the sand. It’s time to protect our coasts from the dangers of offshore drilling. It’s time for an energy revolution — to move away from the reckless energy policy that got us in to this mess.
I love that this was a grassroots event, sprung from the mind of one person who wanted to make a difference. Floridian Dave Rauschkolb started what today became an international event sponsored by dozens of organizations, including Greenpeace.
He stated:
“America could be, should be the world leader in expanding cleaner energy sources yet our political process is paralyzed by oil money. It is time for our leaders to take bold, courageous steps and open the door to clean energy and renewables and free our country from its addiction to oil.
I couldn’t agree more.
The Gulf of Mexico is beautiful. It’s warm, shallow for miles and the water is crystal clear. It’s teeming with life and it’s a treasure for Florida and the world. We’ve gotten ourselves into a situation where as a "solution" we’re literally setting the water on fire. We’re killing our wildlife, we’re poisoning our beaches. We’re so clearly and devastatingly on the wrong path. I hope today demonstrated for everyone, that a large number of us are committed to turning it around.
