'Hands across the Sand' to protest proposed oil drilling

SEASIDE — David Rauschkolb can pinpoint almost to the second when the inspiration struck.

On Oct. 1, his restaurant, Bud & Alley’s, hosted a meet-and-greet for David Pleat, a candidate for the District 7 state House seat.

Pleat discussed legislation pending in Tallahassee that would lift a long-standing near-shore oil drilling ban. He said the issue would be the centerpiece of his campaign, Rauschkolb recalled.

“He looked out to everybody (in the audience) near the end of the speech and said, ‘We have to get active and let people know about this, and we need to contact our legislators,’ ” Raushkolb said.

“I looked at my wife and I said, ‘I know what we need to do now. I know exactly what we need to do.’ … I got up and said, ‘I challenge the citizens of Florida to join us on the beaches of Florida to protest oil drilling,’ ” he said.

Raushkolb has spent the ensuing weeks gathering supporters and spreading the word about “Hands across the Sand,” a protest that he hopes will gain state and national traction.

On Feb. 13, 2010 — President’s Day weekend — opponents of off-shore drilling will gather at the beach at noon and join hands at 12:30 p.m.

The protest will create literal and metaphorical lines in the sand against a bill that opponents say could devastate Florida’s economy. Not only would an oil spill defile its famed beaches, but allowing oil drilling would usher in pipelines and “support industries that would be coming out of our passes and running on our waterways on their way to the oil drilling,” Raushkolb said.

State law prohibits drilling within three miles off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean and about 10 miles in the Gulf of Mexico.

The House passed a bill in April that would lift that ban, but it later died in the Senate.

“Hands across the Sand” will be held just weeks before the beginning of the 2010 legislative session, when the issue will be debated again.

“I believe that the politicians who voted for it, as well as the lobbyists, believe they’re going to be effective and they’re going to get this thing pushed through … so I think it’s time that Floridians stood up and let them know that we don’t agree with this,” Raushkolb emphasized.

Opposition to the bill crosses party lines, Raushkolb said.

“It’s not about politics, it’s about protection,” he added. “I’m talking to people all across the state that are Republicans and Democrats that really are passionate about protecting the coastline and our waterways.”

Residents in states such as California and Texas may even join the movement because they know what it’s like to live with pipelines and the smell of oil rigs, Raushkolb said.

“If you ask anyone in Texas or California, you can smell the oil rigs, there’s oil on the beaches from time to time and there’s all these support industries that foul the waters,” he said. “I don’t think we want our passes and our bays and our waterways to become industrial hubs, and that’s a real thing that scares me ... The people from Texas come here to get away from those ugly beaches. Florida is not a place of industry, it never has been.”

TO LEARN MORE

For more information on “Hands across the Sand,” go to www.handsacrossthesand.com.