In February 13, 2010, thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 Beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off shores of Florida. Florida’s first Hands Across The Sand event was the largest gathering in the history of Florida united against oil drilling.

On June 26th, 2010, a second event brought tens of thousands of people to the beach in locations across the United States and worldwide. We gathered at local noon to stand up, link hands and be heard.

The event was particularly poignant for those of us with deep roots in the Gulf Coast. As a thousand of us or more stood hand in hand on the beach at Seaside, Florida, the talk was about tar balls, skimmer ships, local fishermen and the devastating impact of BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster and the subsequent mishandling of the spill.

It was a beautiful day on one of the nation's most beautiful beaches. Even with concerted action -- and no more disastrous errors and delays -- it is likely to be the last summer for many years that families can enjoy the pristine white, sugar sand beaches and emerald-clear waters of Seaside, WaterColor, Grayton Beach, Rosemary Beach and other communities along the scenic Highway 30-A corridor.

This has always been a special place. It may be damaged forever. That is where the "drill, baby, drill" attitude and oil company windfall profits have brought us. It's sickening and sad.