This Friday, June the 11th, the Los Angeles branch of the Sierra Club will hold a rally in Venice to call attention to the detrimental effects of the Gulf Coast oil spill and demonstrate the need to move the country beyond oil. The rally starts at noon where Rose meets the ocean. You are encouraged to bring masks, rubber boots and bird/sea creature costumes.
From the Sierra Club:
As oil washes up on beaches in the Gulf Coast, fouling tourist attractions and devastating commercial fisheries, local residents will gather at the iconic tourist attraction to raise awareness of the plight of the Gulf’s tourism industry. On Friday, Sierra Club activists in Venice, CA will call attention to the depressing outlook facing the fishermen and tourism-dependent businesses in Venice, LA as well as other locations around the Gulf Coast.
The Obama administration recently signaled that offshore drilling will move forward following a temporary ban, releasing new safety regulations for offshore drilling in water less than 500 feet deep. The mock spill will display the frighteningly tangible dangers of expanding offshore drilling along America’s coastline and off California’s beaches.
As long as there is offshore drilling, there will be tragedies like the BP Disaster. After more than 50 days, the BP oil catastrophe has quickly grown into one of the largest environmental disasters in United States history. Demonstrators will call on President Obama to provide the leadership necessary at this crucial moment in history and to create a plan to move our nation off of oil within 20 years.
WHERE: On the sand at Venice Beach, near the Rose Avenue entrance to Venice Beach in Venice, CA. Local street parking is available and public parking in the lot for a fee
(Map: http://tinyurl.com/2383gw4)
Thanks to Zach over at LAist for hipping us to this!