Locals gather for International? Hands Across The Sand event
To the editor:
The legions demanding clean energy solutions won’t be hard to see June 25 at area beaches. SWFL Naturally, a new green yellow pages, will be supporting the cause at the Cape Coral Yacht Club beach.
Hundreds are expected to take part in Hands Across the Sand at local beaches as part of this international effort designed to raise awareness of opposition to offshore drilling and in support of alternative energy. The movement arose in response to last year’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the still existing lack of firmer guidelines and proven safety measures. Tens of thousands will attend gatherings across the globe.
Local residents from across southwest Florida’s counties are teaming up with the local Sierra Club, Lee County Parks & Recreation, the towns of Cape Coral and Fort Myers Beach and the cities of Sanibel, Naples, and Fort Myers to support this event.
Those who want to participate should contact the organizers listed below to find out particulars for their beach area. Group organizers are asking people to arrive no later than 11 a.m.; all will join hands at noon for 15 minutes.
This is a peaceful statement to government officials that it is time to look at the subsidies our tax dollars are paying for, and to urge them to put our tax dollars into renewable energies instead of in the pockets of oil companies. It is a day for all to come together and enjoy what we could possibly lose, as was lost last year in Louisiana due to the oil spill. While our area was spared for the most part last year, we are a tourist destination, and the devastation of the smallest oil spill, even with cleanup efforts, would hurt our local economy considerably for years and years – not to mention our quality of life. Our government needs to focus on clean energy and create clean jobs. Clean energy will help to stop our nation’s dependency on foreign oil.
What to do at the Event on June 25
– STEP 1?Go to the beach at 11 a.m. for one hour, rain or shine.
– STEP 2?Join hands for 15 minutes at noon, forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in your coastal waters. Say “yes” to clean energy.
– STEP 3?Leave only your footprints.
LOCATIONS include Cape Coral at the beach at Cape Coral Yacht Club (coordinator is Rose Young, who can be reached at bryoung2@comcast.net; phone 540-5836); ?Fort Myers Beach at the Pier at Times Square (coordinator is Robin Curley who can be reached at rockinrobinfmb@peoplepc.com phone 265-6552);?Sanibel at Lighthouse Beach (coordinator is Deborah Belford -deborahbelford@bellsouth.net; phone – 292-2675);?Naples – Lowdermilk Beach (coordinator is John Jenkins- autonanny@hotmail.com; phone – 732-1480).
Lynda J. Mastronardo
Cape Coral