Buffalo was one of over 900 cities throughout the world that joined hands yesterday in order to send a message that continued off shore drilling practices was not the answer. Not only did close to fifty people arrive to the Hands Across the Sands gathering, the group was so passionate that a both a circle and a line were formed. Representatives from Greenpeace and Riverkeeper attended, as did Floridian expats who were visiting Buffalo for the weekend.
The Hands Across the Sand movement was founded by Dave Rauschkolb, who came up with the concept before the BP oil spill. He felt that alternative energy was the way of the future and that continued over-dependence on oil would only lead to problems. He was right. After the oil spill the movement really took off, culminating in a massive grassroots response that can be witnessed on the Hands Across the Sand Facebook site. Each minute another rally participant uploads photos and summaries of the events that took place. I’m happy that Buffalo was able to contribute to the wave.