Mark Ruffalo

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Mark Alan Ruffalo (born November 22, 1967) is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Best known for his role as the Marvel Comics character The Hulk in Marvel's The Avengers (2012), he has also starred in films such as You Can Count on Me (2000), Collateral (2004), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Just Like Heaven (2005), Zodiac (2007), and Shutter Island (2010). For his role in The Kids Are All Right (2010), he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Political views

On October 4, 2006, he appeared on Democracy Now!, a daily news program. He spoke against the War in Iraq, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, torture, and the Presidency of George W. Bush. He also announced he would speak at The World Can't Wait Protest in New York City on October 5, 2006. Ruffalo contributed to the Mike Gravel presidential campaign, Democratic Party nomination for President.[1]

In October 2007, Ruffalo criticized the 9/11 Commission Report as "completely illegitimate" and called for re-opening the investigation. He said: "I saw the way they all came down and I am baffled. My first reaction is that buildings don't fall down like that." He also criticized the 9/11 truth movement, saying "There's so much information that's been put out there by truth for 9/11 and ... so much of it has been stretched that a lot of people are grabbing hold of the more sensational parts of what doesn't jibe..."[2]

Ruffalo appeared on Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on August 14, 2008's episode entitled "World Peace". He said that "Peace looks like me and my kids and my wife laying in our bed on a Saturday morning... it's a loving, y'know? John Lennon had it right, y'know?" [3]

In 2012, Ruffalo endorsed Kathleen Kane, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Attorney General, due to her insistence on investigating the Jerry Sandusky scandal, hydrofracking and the Hershey Trust for alleged improprieties.[4] Kane went on to become Pennsylvania's first woman and Democrat elected to the post.

Opposition to fracking

On October 4, 2010, Ruffalo, who makes his home with his family in Callicoon, New York, appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show to discuss hydraulic fracturing and the The FRAC Act of 2009.[5] Ruffalo stated in the December 2010 issue of GQ magazine that after he organized screenings in Pennsylvania of a documentary about natural-gas-drilling called Gasland, he was placed on a terror advisory list.[6] The Department of Homeland Security denied that they had him on a list.[7]

On July 13, 2011, Ruffalo appeared on Countdown With Keith Olbermann to discuss fracking, most particularly in New York. "This is an industry that is the dirtiest, slimiest, most arrogant, and negligent that you can imagine," Ruffalo says. Ruffalo taped an "online segment extra" for Countdown, during which time Keith Olbermann offered him the opportunity to become an official Countdown Contributor. Ruffalo gratefully accepted.[8]

Ruffalo has appeared on The Colbert Report and Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss his continued opposition to fracking and to promote waterdefense.org.[9]

Clean energy report funded by activists

In early March 2013 Mark Ruffalo spearheaded the effort to create a plan for a renewable energy future for the state of New York. Along with filmmaker Josh Fox the two put together a team of researchers headed by Stanford University Professor Mark Z. Jacobson. Their report, titled "Examining the Feasibility of Converting New York State's All-Purpose Energy Infrastructure to One Using Wind, Water and Sunlight". Prof. Jacobson co-authored the report with Cornell University Professor of Engineering, Anthony Ingraffea, Cornell Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Robert W. Howarth, and University of California at Davis scientist Mark Delucchi, among others. Their findings were published in the journal Energy Policy.

According to the study, if New York switched to wind, water and sunlight, deaths from air pollution–related deaths would decline by about 4,000 annually. Additionally the report states that the state would save about $33 billion – 3 percent of the state's gross domestic product – in related health costs every year. The report goes on to say that these savings alone would pay for the new power infrastructure needed within about 17 years, or about 10 years if annual electricity sales are accounted for.[10]

Terrorism list for fracking views

In September 2010, the AP reported Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell admitted that information about municipal zoning hearings on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling and a screening of the documentary "Gasland," as well as an anti-BP candlelight vigil and other peaceful gatherings, were the subject of anti-terrorism bulletins being distributed by Pennsylvania's homeland security office. Rendell admitted that distributing the information was tantamount to trampling on constitutional rights, as the bulletins were going to representatives of Pennsylvania's natural gas industry.[11]

In November 2010, the Guardian reported that actor Mark Ruffalo had reportedly been placed on a US terror advisory list after campaigning in support of Gasland. Ruffalo attracted the attention of Pennsylvania's Office of Homeland Security when he organised screenings for Gasland and addressed the subject of fracking in the latest edition of American GQ.[12] The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, however, told told the Philadelphia Inquirer that "There is no list, we never even had a list."[13]

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External Resources

References

  1. ↑ "Election Center 2008: Mike Gravel", CNN. Retrieved on September 20, 2007. 
  2. ↑ YouTube – MARK RUFFALO questions 9/11. Youtube.com. Retrieved on 2012-08-15.
  3. ↑ YouTube - Penn and Teller - World Peace. YouTube.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-12.
  4. ↑ The endorsement video can be found here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_oYIEsUCefdZGt0Z3NRd0Uxd1U/edit
  5. ↑ Mark Ruffalo Speaks Out Against Fracking Practices on The Rachel Maddow Show, at Common Dreams website, October 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ Kyle Buchanan, Mark Ruffalo Is on a Homeland Security Watch, New York Magazine, November 24, 2010.
  7. ↑ Josh Sanburn, Does Pennsylvania Consider Actor Mark Ruffalo a Terrorist?, Time, November 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ July 13, 2011 (2011-07-13). Web Extra: Countdown Contributor Mark Ruffalo on Fracking - Countdown with Keith Olbermann // Current TV. Current.com. Retrieved on 2012-08-15.
  9. ↑ Mark Ruffalo. Retrieved on January 8 2013.
  10. ↑ "Examining the Feasibility of Converting New York State's All-Purpose Energy Infrastructure to One Using Wind, Water and Sunlight" Mark Z. Jacobson, Anthony Ingraffea, et al.
  11. ↑ Marc Levy, "`Appalled' Pa. gov. shuts down reports on protests" AP, Sep. 15, 2010.
  12. ↑ Ben Child, "Mark Ruffalo 'added to terrorism watchlist' over Gasland" The Guardian, Nov. 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Is Mark Ruffalo really on a terror watch list?" MSN, Nov. 30, 2010.

Wikipedia also has an article on Mark Ruffalo. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

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