California and other states that took a stand against the dangerous U.S. offshore drilling plan released earlier this year are feeling pressure this week from the White House. Today, a proposal was released by U.S. officials, which aims to impose financial penalties on coastal states that oppose offshore drilling. Simply put, this means the public would have to pick up the costs for private offshore drilling ventures, even if the public does not want or need increased oil and gas production. And despite public outcry, the U.S. Interior Secretary continues to relax offshore drilling policies for private companies at the detriment of public health and safety, environmental sustainability and biodiversity. (Recent stories: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2018/06/04/451582/secretary-zinke-poised-give-breaks-drilling-industry-less-oversight-public/ & http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/390974-major-oil-group-launches-new-coalition-to-promote-offshore-drilling & http://www.kpax.com/story/38263525/zinkes-first-year-as-us-interior-secretary-fossil-fuel-emphasis-public-access-helping-ag) Please take action NOW with your voice: 1. Tweet to the U.S. Interior Secretary: Do not burden coastal communities with imposed financial penalties, @secretaryzinke! Stop #OffshoreDrilling. It hurts our economy, environment and public health. https://twitter.com/secretaryzinke 2. Tweet to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management: Do not burden coastal communities with imposed financial penalties, @BOEM_DOI! Stop #OffshoreDrilling. It hurts our economy, environment and public health. https://twitter.com/BOEM_DOI 3. Tweet to the Natural Resources Committee: Do not burden coastal communities with imposed financial penalties, @NatResources! Stop #OffshoreDrilling. It hurts our economy, environment and public health. https://twitter.com/NatResources 4. Contact your rep: https://whoismyrepresentative.com/ 5. Learn more: https://www.change.org/p/stop-offshore-oil-and-gas-drilling