Flickr User: Ana.Campos

This Saturday, August 4, 2012, people from all 50 states and 40 countries around the world will join hands in protest offshore drilling and support clean energy.

The Hands Across the Sand movement started on February 13, 2010 when over 10,000 Floridians joined hands and created human lines in the sand to stop oil drilling in Florida's waters on virtually every beach in the state. The legislation was tabled the next month. This simple, powerful act took place two months before the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf.

Dave Rauschkolb, founder of Hands Across the Sand, says he did so to, "bring organizations and individuals together to send a powerful message to leaders that expanding oil drilling in our oceans is a dirty, dangerous endeavor." Rauschkolb goes on to say, "We must compel our local and national lawmakers to steer a clear path towards clean energy sources and decrease our dependence on dirty, dangerous fuels. Every oil spill endangers the coastal tourism industries, ravages the sea life and seafood industry and impacts the life of every person in its path for generations after."

Two months after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Hands Across The Sand took place again on June 25, 2010 with over 1000 events held in all 50 States and in 43 countries outside the US.

Locally, Hands Across the Sand will be at Plyler Park on the Boardwalk in downtown Myrtle Beach at 11 a.m. For more information on the local event, contact the event organizer, Mary Max Neely via Email or phone at 843.283.9490.

Even if there is no 'offical' event set up around your closest beach, there might still be time to do so by filling out the form here, or just throw together an impromptu event. Hands Across the Sand suggests that if you want to participate you, "Go to the beach at 11 a.m. in your time zone for one hour, rain or shine." and "join hands for 15 minutes at 12:00 p.m. in your time zone forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in your coastal waters. Yes to clean energy."

The topic of off shore drilling in South Carolina has come up this election season, with all of the former Republican candidates for the 7th District supporting such measures; additionally, other high profile Republicans and the Governor herself petitioned for offshore drilling in South Carolina.  

On the flip side, North Myrtle Beach has been proactive with their future and the future of jobs and energy production with their Green Energy implimintations. North Myrtle Beach has installed several wind terbines with the hopes of one day in the near future setting up offshore wind farms. You can read all about that here. 

Read all about Hands Across the Sand's mission on their website, and like them on Facebook and follow the movement on Twitter.