FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chuck Myron

Director of Media Relations

Environmental and Peace Education Center

Fort Myers, FL

P: (863) 273-1090

E: cmyron@onemain.com

Hundreds to line Fort Myers Beach in support of clean fuel

Local gathering part of national Hands Across the Sand event

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 14, 2010) — The legions demanding clean energy solutions won’t be hard to see June 26 on Fort Myers Beach.

That’s where hundreds are expected to take part in Hands Across the Sand, a nationwide effort designed to raise awareness of opposition to offshore drilling and support for alternative energy in response to the Gulf oil disaster. Tens of thousands will attend gatherings across the country.

The Environmental and Peace Education Center (EPEC), a Fort Myers-based nonprofit organization, is teaming with a group of Fort Myers Beach activists called Oil Coalition by the People to sponsor the event locally.

Those who want to participate should meet at the Pier at 11 a.m. Everyone will join hands for 15 minutes beginning at noon.

Cape Coral resident Megan Kuzyk, helping to organize the event, said the simplicity of Hands is what attracted her when she was looking for a way to help. It doesn’t take much to make a statement, she said.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone to come out and enjoy the sand, and the beach, and the sun,” Kuzyk said. “I just really want it to be a day for everyone to get together and enjoy what we could possibly lose because of this oil spill.”

Now is the time, EPEC President Jessica Mendes believes, to pressure lawmakers in Washington, D.C., Tallahassee and around the corner to preserve Florida’s great environmental assets.

“We need to insist the government look at the subsidies that essentially our tax dollars are paying for, and instead of putting them into oil companies, put them into renewable energies,” Mendes said. “It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of planning, but if not now, when?”

The core of the event is the joining of hands, but for people who want to do more, there will be a clean energy petition to sign, and registration for oil cleanup certification classes will take place.

“I really hope this is the first step to action,” Kuzyk said. “We’ve only got one planet. There is no ‘Planet B.’”

Participants are asked to carpool, bike or use the trolley if possible, and pick up all trash and belongings when they leave. For more information, visit handsacrossthesand.org.

About EPEC

The Environmental and Peace Education Center, founded in 1982, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Fort Myers and dedicated to raising awareness of nonviolent conflict resolution and global sustainability across Southwest Florida.