When Kelly Riddell penned a pro-fracking commentary piece ("Upstate's path to recovery," July 22), she described herself only as a native of New York and Washington-based writer. She conveniently failed to mention that she is a consultant at Cove Strategies, a public relations and lobbying firm that represents fracking proponents like Dow Chemical and Koch Industries.
I work for NYPIRG, a nonprofit organization that advocates for environmental protection and public health. Disclosure isn't hard. Sadly, pro-fracking interests regularly deceive New Yorkers about their affiliations. In April, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell — now a consultant for a private equity firm heavily invested in the industry — did the same when he failed to mention his current job while penning a New York Daily News op-ed urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to green-light fracking in New York.
In 2012, Exxon Mobil spent $2 million on advertisements in newspapers across the state, and completely omitted their name from the ads in favor of a host of local organizations. These ads even criticized the opposition for bringing in large "outside voices" while failing to disclose that they were financed by one of the largest corporations in the world.
If we can't trust the industry to even be honest about who they are, then how can we trust them to be honest about the consequences of fracking? New Yorkers are counting on Governor Cuomo to see through the deceit, and keep this harmful practice out of New York.
Joe Stelling
New York Public Interest Research Group Albany