Photo by Angie Brooks.
Hoosiers will gather on August 4 near the Monon Trail, at Art Studio B on the corner of Coil Ave. and Cornell Ave. to find an end offshore drilling and fossil fuel dependence. “This Land is Your Land” was organized by Angie Brooks and begins at noon.
“Maybe this year, when the high was 100 degrees day after day, and our state is brown, instead of green. We should consider going green, instead of brown,” Brooks says.
Brooks created the event with Hands Across the Sand, a global organization supporting clean energy.
“I just want great people to come together, and do good for all, and our planet,” Brooks says.
On Wednesday, July 25, House Republicans voted to revoke President Obama’s 5-year plan for offshore drilling, and expand in the Gulf of Mexico, the nation’s largest site.
Coastal communities are still recovering from 2010′s explosion on British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers and launched the nation’s worst spill. By the time the well closed 200,000,000 gallons had entered local ecosystems.
The Gulf has changed dramatically. Fungi appeared that thrive on polluted conditions, replacing organisms in the food chain. Scientists discovered fish experiencing embryonic developmental defects. Dolphins, studied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, were underweight and anaemic. Their metabolisms and immune systems are crippled, and many have liver and lung diseases related to oil exposure.
Hoosiers are connected to this ecosystem. Our food supply and economy are tied to the biological stability of coastal oil shelves. She’s lived her adult life outside Indiana, involved with volunteer programs, like organizing a Hands Across the Sand event in Atlanta following BP’s disaster.
“I only really started to become aware, while living in Florida. I moved back just to make sure Indy went Blue-Green again,” Brooks says.
Inspired by Indiana wind farms that she saw on her way to Chicago and the solar panels in downtown Indianapolis, Brooks knew Indiana was ready for change.
Find the event on Facebook, Hands Across the Sand, Indiana Living Green, and NUVO. Brooks plans to meet at 10:30 a.m. at 6528 Cornell Ave., Indianapolis, Ind., 46220 to create clean energy signs. Email arteangie@gmail.com with questions. Participants are encouraged to utilize public transportation, bike, or carpool.
“We are all energy, need energy, use energy. Energy is non-partisan. This is a family friendly, peaceful gathering,” Brooks says.
