Hands Across the Sand" held demonstrations at two East Cooper Beaches last Saturday to raise awareness about the hazards of off shore drilling. There were six local events and hundreds around the country.
The Isle of Palms event was organized by some of the Lowcountry's more experienced activists. Over 100 people joined hands just North of the Pier, near the County Park right at noon. It was brief, but everyone present got the chance to savor the clean sand, the fresh breeze off the ocean and our still clear water.
On Sullivan's Island competing organizational efforts produced confusion and a misfire. The local organizer had a family emergency and attempted to cancel the planned event in favor of the one on neighboring Isle of Palms. Moveon.org, announced their own event for 11 a.m. instead of the planned noon. As a result people were still coming in when the original organizers gave in and held their hands joining a little before noon.
Books have been written about how to organize a demonstration. Most of them warn you can start a little late, but never start early.
My son made it by bicycle a to Sullivan's Island little after it was over and reported a good sized crowd that was signing petitions against off shore drilling and for the petition senate candidacy of Linda Ketner. Even with the problems, most present were glad they came. The ocean was beautiful at Sullivan's Island too.
I called my friends in Pensacola, Florida which isn't as lucky as we are.
They had over 200 people at one of three gatherings on one striking Pensacola Beach, a thin sandy ridge reached by a long bridge across the bay. A cleanup crew was working around them. The demonstrators could see some oil in the water. A few people were still swimming. Some tar balls were mixed in the sand. The seashells were covered with oil. You can't really tell where the oil is when you go in the water at Pensacola. Surfboards and bathing suits become an oily mess even when you don't see oil. It doesn't come out of synthetic bathing suits very well. It's hard to wash off.
Pensacola is trying to do summer around the problem. They told me they still love their town and its beach. Nathalie Walgis said it was a beautiful day.
The Isle of Palms was hopping Saturday. Most people there weren't thinking about the demonstration, off shore drilling or what had happened to Pensacola. They were just having a good time, trying to get away from all the worries and problems of the world. Houses were rented, restaurants were busy. Jimmy Buffett was playing "Margaretville" on the loudspeakers by the ice cream stand for the hundred thousandth time.
Most of the people on the Isle of Palms got to the beach by car, burning gasoline. There was plenty of plastic in evidence, all of which came out of an oil well somewhere.
My son biked to the beach. CARTA runs a flex bus service to the Isle of Palms and Sullivan's. You can put together a kit of organic, petroleum free beach gear. However, we're still locked in a culture and economy that requires most people to use oil to go to the beach.
The "Drill Baby Drill" people would like to see some of that oil coming from rigs off our beaches. They promise those rigs will be so far off shore that we'll never see them. They claim drilling is still safe and clean.
They don't have that to worry about in Pensacola any longer. There is very little reason to go to the beach. The off shore drilling or beach decision has already been made there, at least for a while.
It is a decision South Carolina is going to have to make. Everyone running for public office here should be made to answer that question. If we don't, we may head down to the beach one day to discover our decision has been made for us. It might be this August when the Gulf Oil drifts in from the Gulf Stream or years from now.