Mark RuffaloPhoto: Christopher HarteWe got all excited when we heard Mark Ruffalo was getting involved in the debate over the destructive natural-gas extraction process called “fracking.” Turns out that’s because we thought he was Mark Wahlberg. Mark Ruffalo is a serious actor, who was never in any Funky Bunch! We have no jokes about that at all. It’s admirable on all fronts. Bah.

Huffington Post doesn’t have any jokes either, but they do have an interview with Ruffalo about his anti-fracking activism, and a report on a recent panel that the actor attended. Some of the most ovation-worthy quotes:

Reader support makes our work possible. Donate today to keep our site free. All donations TRIPLED!

Fight the Man:

“Are we going to continue to put our lives, our health, our well being into the hands of politicians and corporations who consistently say they have our back, and at the same time, screw the bejesus out of us?”

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Dragging America into green energy:

“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.”

The audacity of hope:

“What people have a hard time now with is hope. They feel like the system is rigged against them, and what I always say, and I know to be true from my own adventures and experiences, is if you’re losing hope then you’re not doing enough. And it’s you, it’s not it, it’s you. And even writing a letter, you’ve already engaged in hope. You’ve done something that’s proactive, that’s greater than yourself.”

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.