"It's not a protest," said Mickey Baker, who helped to organize the Ocracoke version of this amazing photo-op. "It's an action to show solidarity worldwide to protect our beautiful ocean. And it shows support against offshore drilling."
Hands Across the Sand started early this morning, even before today was today, in New Zealand. Beach communities up and down the East Coast hosted similar events. It wasn't the first of these actions on Ocracoke – Mickey said she's participated for many years, but I've always missed them.
(Queueing up to hold hands with possible strangers reminded me that actually I had done this before. As an idealistic college kid in 1986, I took part in Hands Across America, the route of which went right through my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. As I mentioned that today at the beach, someone asked me what Hands Across America was about. I had a vague recollection that we sang "We Are the World" and donated money to end hunger. According to Wikipedia, Michael J. Fox attended the Columbus event. Who knew? My most significant memory is that the day started out chilly, then warmed up as we milled around waiting to begin. I took off my red, cotton, v-neck Forenza sweater (purchased at the original The Limited in Kingsdale Shopping Center) and somehow laid it down somewhere – and then as the crowd shifted to make room for everyone, we actually end up a block from where we started – and I never saw that sweater again. It was my favorite. I mourned it for years. Today, I took off my sandals, and almost left the beach without them, but it's Ocracoke and no one would steal them. It's hard to feel solidarity with one's fellow demonstrators when you know one of them scored a really nice sweater. But I digress....)
I rode out to the beach today with some idealistic young people who wanted to add their numbers to the line-up. They are the future of marchers and protesters and organizers, so I was glad they came. We were 100 strong out there at the beach, and I learned later that some people tried to start some singing, but the roar of the surf kept it from catching on. We posed for the cameras, and enjoyed what had to be the prettiest summer-y beach day so far this season.
The hand-holding was brief, but no one was in a hurry to leave the sun and surf. I wandered down the sand to ask Mickey, "What comes next?"
Mickey is one of the founding members of LegaSea (along with Michael McOwen, Michael Egan, Jan DiBlieu, Linda Mizelle, Carmie Prete, Gary Coye, and Ann Ehringhaus) an Outer Banks-based organization that successfully challenged offshore drilling in North Carolina in the 80's and 90's. (Read a great history of the organization here.)
"We got a 20-year moratorium thanks to LegaSea's efforts," she said. "We lobbied for five years in D.C., we demonstrated, we drove up and down the coast talking to people about offshore drilling."
Mickey says one of LegaSea's most helpful visual aides was a map showing how a spill the size of the Exxon Valdez would look on an East Coast map. That spill would've reached from South Carolina to Virginia. That's a lot of beachfront property ruined and tourism dollars lost.
Mickey is preparing for another fight, and plans to revive LegaSea meetings soon at the their new headquarters at The Magic Bean. She'll have bumper stickers, buttons, and t-shirts for sale so you can show your support. And she'll answer questions about offshore drilling, environmental issues, and effective lobbying.
As of now, there aren't any leases out yet for offshore drilling, which can't start before 2017. But Mickey said, it may be even farther off because each lease will have to have an EIS (Environmental Impact Survey).
"It's a walk, a sprint, and a marathon," Mickey said. The metaphor refers to the fight: first you gather your information and organize at the Bureau of Ocean Management meeting (walk), then you sprint to get people involved (that's the part that's happening now), then there's the long, long journey of lobbying, letter-writing, Congressperson-calling, demonstrating, and bringing the message to the masses (the marathon.)
"It's all a process, and we've got to be there to back it up," Mickey said. "We will win – like we did before. They can never prove to us that they can drill without harming the environment."
Stay tuned for more information about Ocracoke's LegaSea meetings.
