A Message from Dave
Good morning! I woke up two hours early, wide awake thinking about all we have all accomplished in the past three and one half months. Whatever happens today and in the future I want to thank all of you for joining hands with me to make a difference regarding this important issue for Florida's future.
We are fighting for the protection of our coastal legacy to pass on to our children and grandchildren. If we don't succeed, the pipelines will come, the rigs will come, the refineries will come and surely the oil spills will follow and our beautiful waterways and coastline will be forever changed. We have a very good chance to change all that. We are protesting to protect so much we value.
We have an opportunity to preserve our future. Florida's treasures are our past, our present and if we succeed our future. These are the elements that define our Florida. Our beaches, our waterways, our mangroves, our rivers, our springs, our Everglades; this beautiful, amazing wonder that Florida Is. We are fighting for the soul of OUR Florida.
There is a minority of Floridians who have no problem with selling out Florida's soul. Unfortunately, some in that minority, our Legislators and Governor are in a position to forever change our Florida. The most important message to convey to your fellow HANDS on the beach today is for them to write their Legislators!
I expect this issue to come up in this Legislative session (Dean Cannon said it would in the recent Orlando Sentinel article) but it is doubtful it will be voted on and passed any time soon. Now that our network of HANDS are in place the simplicity of this protest enables us to repeat it whenever necessary and it will certainly grow. Be prepared to invite Florida back to the beaches at a future date. It's such a simple, yet powerful a statement.
We must make any Legislator who voted for this and any Legislator who might vote for it think twice in fear of their jobs. The only way to do that is to flood their offices with faxes, emails and phone calls during this Legislative Session and in the future. We have to make this the most unpopular issue in their Legislative lives so much they, hopefully won't even breath the word OIL. Please implore all on the beach today to take action. This fight is just beginning today and Florida's soul is at stake.
On a much lighter note, It 's a beautiful day in Florida, Sunshine all over the State! Good luck and have fun, after all, it's the beach!
Through our coordinated efforts we will win this fight! I lifted this passage from the HANDS home page. When I wrote these words in early October I never imagined how much it would actually come true. "Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting our waterways and beaches from the devastating effects of oil drilling. Thank you! Thank you all!!
Dave Rauschkolb
Founder, Hands Across The Sand
Time to draw the line!
