Hundreds of anti-oil lefties linked arms on a Santa Barbara beach for a bizarre human-chain protest against oil drilling.
Environmental advocates gathered at West Beach on Saturday for “Hands Across the Sand” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the California Coastal Act.
The California Coastal Act was passed in 1976 to allow public access to beaches and to protect natural resources in the state. Since its passing, people all across the country have gathered annually to protest offshore oil drilling across the beach.
While protests occur across the country, the demonstrations are mainly big in coastal and politically liberal states like California.
“I ask you please to reflect on the fact that you are standing on unceded ancestral homelands of the Chumash peoples… Please think about what that means to us and what it means to you. And please think about what you can do to move beyond mere land acknowledgement,” the Santa Barbara Independent reported the tribal leader and member of the Environmental Defense Center’s board of directors Toni Cordero saying.
A 16-year-old activist named Ethan Maday also gave a fiery speech regarding off shore oiling saying how much it “sucks” that “we still need oil today.” “We don’t need to build more infrastructure for a dying industry,” he also said.
People from multiple organizations such as the Fearless Grandmothers, Surfrider foundation, Sea League and Women’s March all attended the demonstration.
“Hands Across the Sand” was founded in 2009 by a Surfrider member named Dave Rauschkolb. It initially started off as a grassroots movement in Florida before it grew into a nationwide campaign.
The Surfrider Foundation –– a nonprofit that is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of oceans worldwide –– is one of the movement’s major partners. Other groups like the Sierra Club also acts as a big sponsor.
