President Joe Biden’s polling may be consistently slipping amid numerous national crises, but some say it’s a moment primed with opportunity on fronts like climate change, including vocal climate activist and The Avengers star Mark Ruffalo.
Ruffalo joined Katy Tur Reports on Tuesday along with Kevin Johnson, the Board Director for the Environmental Defense Fund, and the two pushed for the Biden administration to do more to push the U.S. to a completely clean energy future, something Ruffalo made sure to tell Tur at the tail end of the interview has more potential right now thanks to the war in Ukraine and record high gas prices.
“This is a moment for President Biden to take our momentum, people’s fear, their disgust with the war, their disgust with energy prices, and use that to solidify a message to the American people that now is the time to transition,” Ruffalo said. “This is where the jobs are. This is where national security is. And we are going to keep pushing him to do it. This is a gift to the president, as we see it, and we see him accepting it.”
Ruffalo and Johnson argued in the interview that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia illustrates why clean energy can provide better national security as countries energy dependent on Russia have been left in a bind.
Asked whether nuclear energy could be act an an alternative, Ruffalo dismissed the idea, calling
“You know, the fact of the matter is at the end of the day nuclear is very expensive and it’s very dangerous and it might be, you know, a transition for the moment,” he said of nuclear energy.
White House officials have also cited rising gas prices as a reason to push towards clean energy. While numerous conservative have argued against such costly pushes, Ruffalo sold it on Tuesday as the “only real solution” to issues like energy prices and national security.
“Clean energy independence is the only real solution to protect national security, lower our energy prices, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for veterans, front line communities, and fossil fuel workers,” he said.
Watch the full clip above via MSNBC