The Atlantic Chapter of Sierra Club and WE ACT for Environmental Justice have a compelling op-ed today in Newsday calling for the state legislature to act on Fair Elections legislation that is currently before both houses.

The groups note that they seldom stray from purely environmental issues, but that the big money influence, particularly in the "fracking" fight, has become too much to ignore.

From the op-ed: "Consider that gas companies and their trade associations donated a whopping $1.34 million to New York State elected officials and campaign committees from January 2007 through October 2011. This is no surprise, since certain regions of the state are being considered for natural-gas extraction through a process called hydraulic-fracturing. The state greatly needs a fracking health-impact study, to evaluate how this process -- which has been linked to contamination of groundwater and harmful pollutants -- affects human health. But the study didn't make it into this year's budget."

This year's session of the state legislature is slated to end on June 21st, but there is still time for lawmakers to take action on Fair Elections. Hopefully this unusual voice calling for reform will have an influence on lawmakers in Albany.