Video: Joining Hands To Stop Offshore Oil Drilling

Hundreds of Oregonians, maybe thousands, will join hands tomorrow to send a message about offshore oil drilling.

It’s called Hands Across The Sand. More than a dozen events are planned across the state.

What’s this all about?

The idea is pretty simple.

Starting about Noon on Saturday, people will hold hands, face the ocean and form long lines on the beach. It’s a symbolic “line in the sand” against offshore oil and gas drilling. The event will last about 15 minutes and if enough people show up, should be an amazing site.

Organizers will form lines at ten locations all along the Oregon coast. Another seven “solidarity events” will be held in the Willamette Valley, from Eugene to Portland.

The idea kicked off earlier this year in Florida when thousands of people came together to make a statement against offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf.  This was long before the BP fiasco near Louisiana.

Tomorrow, the event goes national. Here along the West Coast, something like two dozen events are planned in Washington. And I can’t even count how many there will be along the California coast.

What’s The Status of Offshore Drilling In Oregon?

There’s not much of a threat here in Oregon.

Several months ago, the legislature passed a law banning offshore drilling in Oregon’s territorial waters for ten years. It was one of the few environmental victories of the special session. The law only protects the first three miles of ocean off our coast. Beyond that, the federal government is in charge.

Even before the spill in the Gulf, the feds were not planning on issuing offshore drilling leases in Oregon and Washington. The last auction was in 1964. There’s so little gas and oil off our coasts that the feds say they’re not going to bother to try again, at least not for the “foreseeable future.”

Environment Oregon has told me that having a state ban in place sends a message to the federal government that offshore drilling isn’t welcome here, and that the are paying attention. Getting thousands of Oregonians to line up on the beach will put some power behind that message.

For More Information:

Hands Across The Sand, Oregon webpage

Hands Across The Sand, Oregon Facebook page

Video: Hands Across The Sand In Destin, Florida from February, 2010.

Tags: hands across the sand, offshore drilling