1,000 protest offshore drilling in Virginia Beach
June 27, 2010
The Virginian-Pilot
To protest of offshore drilling and to promote clean energy, about 1,000 people held hands along the Oceanfront on Saturday.
The event was part of an international campaign called Hands Across the Sand. In Virginia Beach, the event at 31st Street attracted participants with signs and petitions. Starting at noon, the line stretched from 31st Street to 22nd Street with a few gaps, and participants shuffled down the beach and held hands.
"I'm very, very excited. In my book, it was 100 percent successful," said Eileen Levandoski, organizer of the Virginia events. "This was phenomenal, the fact that we were able to pull this off in the first place."
Organizers expected almost 800 events in all 50 states and 72 international cities. Sponsors included the Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation and Oceana.
Saturday's event spawned from a protest in February, when thousands staged a similar demonstration in Florida.
Other spots in Hampton Roads that hosted Hands Across the Sand included Ocean View in Norfolk, Buckroe Beach in Hampton and two more Virginia Beach locations.
"The Gulf Coast oil spill disaster provides a vivid reminder that the price of offshore oil is far too high," said Chelsea Harnish, a regional campaign coordinator for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
"What our great commonwealth needs is a permanent ban on offshore drilling."
Lisa Young of Virginia Beach attended with her 10-year-old daughter, Morgan, and said she wants to keep the beach clean for her daughter's generation. Morgan, she said, was very upset about how the Gulf Coast spill has harmed fish and other marine animals.
Ellison Turpin, 17, of Virginia Beach, said the group that gathered at 31st Street sent an important message, no matter how small.
Allison Chin, former national president of the Sierra Club board of directors, said it's now obvious that offshore drilling is risky, dirty and dangerous.
" This is a wake-up call, and America's really on the alert that we've got to change our habits," she said.
"We've got to break our addiction to oil, and make a real commitment to getting onto clean energy."
