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Actor Mark Ruffalo to Speak at UWS Hydrofracking Forum

By Leslie Albrecht | November 2, 2011 7:52am

UPPER WEST SIDE — Actor Mark Ruffalo will lend his scruffy charisma to a forum on hydrofracking Wednesday night.

Ruffalo, a critic of the method of collecting natural gas, will join several experts slated to attend "Speak Out on Hydrofracking," hosted by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal from 7 to 9 p.m. at Congregation B'Nai Jeshurun, 257 W. 88th Street.

Dubbed as "part panel presentation and part town hall meeting," the session is designed to give the public a chance to voice their concerns about the controversial practice of hydrofracking, a method of drilling for natural gas that involves injecting chemicals into the ground.

The meeting will be filmed and the public's comments will be sent to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

When he's not shooting movies such as "The Kids Are All Right" and "Where the Wilds Things Are," Ruffalo has been a passionate activist against hydrofracking, considered an environmentally destructive practice.

Last year, Ruffalo joined other advocates in calling on Gov. David Paterson to put limits on hydrofracking. In June, the state proposed lifting part of a ban on it.

The panel will also feature former Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Albert F. Appleton; Director of New York City Environment Natural Resources Defense Council Eric Goldstein, and Deborah Goldberg, managing attorney, northeast regional office for Earthjustice.