Celebrity activists, while experts in the world of make believe, aren't always the best sources for facts regarding their particular causes.
This becomes a disservice to the public, including Times Union readers, when the activist, in this case actor Mark Ruffalo, sermonizes about hydraulic fracturing, and when the reporter, this time Paul Grondahl, presumes this natural gas extraction technique is a bad thing ("A star lends his power to fight," Jan. 17).
Even in the most flowery of profile articles, a reporter should add balance in the form of opposing viewpoints, especially when science and history tell us the negative assumptions about natural gas exploration and hydraulic fracturing are patently false.
Hydraulic fracturing is a well-understood scientific technique used more than 1 million times in this country since about 1950.
I welcome Mr. Ruffalo to explain to all of us how chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing have ever come in contact with groundwater or well water. I ask Mr. Grondahl to be ready with his tape recorder.
