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.

Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) is pushing an amendment that would further delay the implementation of EPA rules regarding power plants, something that a spokesman from Clean Air Watch “called a ‘hair-raising prospect’ given the ‘massive’ pollution from coal-fired power plants.”

Electric utility company donors, of course, are the top-giving industry to Whitfield so far this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Washington Post reported this morning that House Republicans will push to roll back any number of government regulations in the fall and that “the next month or so will focus on [Environmental Protection Agency] regulations.”

Here are some related energy industry numbers from the Center for Responsive Politics on campaign fundraising so far this cycle:

On Thursday, a handful of Senators wrote a letter to President Obama that stated, “as you continue your negotiations, we urge you to remember the oil and gas industry is part of the solution.” Or, in other words, don’t single out big oil companies and their taxpayer subsidies as a way to reduce the deficit.

Tomorrow, July 26th, the House Oversight Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending will hold a hearing entitled, “Lights Out: How EPA Regulations Threaten Affordable Power and Job Creation.”

National Journal reports in an email this morning:

U.S.

On January 24, 2011, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee said in a press release, “People have a right to see and hear what their Congress is debating.”

This pledge clearly doesn’t mean legislation he’s working on, according to a report from Politico out tonight:

Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-Wisc.) desire to defund and dismantle public employee unions may get all the press, but that part of his plan isn’t the only handout to his special interest donors.

The Capital Times reports this morning that a provision in Gov. Walker’s budget would “eliminate the farmland conversion fee and a farmland preservation program still in its infancy” and would “gut key components of the Working Lands Initiative.”