Mark Ruffalo Speaks Out For Tar Sands Action

Activist and actor Mark Ruffalo has joined the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline, a pipeline from the tar sands in Canada to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.

In the video, Ruffalo says, “I’ve seen the kind of damage that out-of-control energy development can do to water and to communities near my own home, where fracking for natural gas is causing widespread pollution ... All these problems are connected — we need to get off fossil fuels.”

Ruffalo has long been an outspoken advocate against fracking, arguing, "we've seen grave consequences unfold: from drinking water contaminated with toxic chemicals and radioactive waste, to residents reportedly getting sick, livestock dropping dead, homes exploding, and property values tanking."

In a past interview with The Huffington Post, he said, "Either we're going to go with some grace into green energy, or we're gonna go kicking and screaming, but we're going by God. The world is already leaving us behind. We're being left behind. America. Because the gas and oil industry has a strangle hold on us. And our politicians."

Now, Ruffalo is joining Tar Sands Action, a movement dedicated to stopping the Keystone XL pipeline. They are planning a peaceful protest in Washington, D.C. from August 20th to September 3rd.

A group of climate change scientists recently wrote a letter to President Obama, arguing, "It takes a lot of energy to extract and refine this resource into useable fuel, and the mining is environmentally destructive. Adding this on top of conventional fossil fuels will leave our children and grandchildren a climate system with consequences that are out of their control."

HuffPost's Tom Zeller reported that some landowners are fighting the pipeline in order to protect their land. But TransCanada's spokesman, Terry Cunha argued, "Our commitment is to treat landowners with respect, to work with them and come to the best possible solution."

For the advocates of Tar Sands Action though, the best solution would be an end to the pipeline.