"The whole nation is Flint": Mark Ruffalo slams CA governor Jerry Brown's ties to oil and gas interests

The Academy Award nominee appeared on "Real Time with Bill Maher" to talk about safe water

Published February 27, 2016 1:09PM (EST)

On last night's "Real Time," host Bill Maher welcomed Mark Ruffalo to his panel. Ruffalo is nominated for Best Supporting Actor at this Sunday's Academy Awards for his role in "Spotlight," but took the opportunity to promote his non-profit, Water Defense, and put California Governor Jerry Brown on blast.

"The whole nation is Flint," Ruffalo began. "We just don't hear about it until someone is sick."

"Jerry Brown -- as much as we like to think of him as a great environmentalist and a climate leader -- is basically one of the most friendly governors to oil and gas," Ruffalo continued. "And he goes all over the world, telling people they need to keep 80% of their carbon in the ground, while he does everything he can to make production easier here. There's no tax, there's no regulations, we're irrigating our crops in the Central Valley using ... waste water."

Watch Ruffalo's full diatribe below:


By Brendan Gauthier

Brendan Gauthier is a freelance writer.

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Flint Mark Ruffalo Real Time With Bill Maher Spotlight Water Defense