Redford fights 'fracking' in New York

Robert Redford is jumping into environmental politics in upstate New York.

The actor/director, and founder of Utah's Sundance Institute, has recorded a series of radio ads aimed at pressuring New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the issue of "hydraulic fracturing" or "fracking," according to the news website Politics on the Hudson.

"Fracking" is a process in which water and chemicals are pumped into the ground to force up natural gas. It has meant a boom in natural-gas production in the United States, but critics argue the process puts dangerous chemicals into America's drinking water.

In one of the ads, Redford says, "New York faces an urgent decision: Whether to begin hydraulic fracking, a process that blasts toxic chemicals into the ground to release natural gas. It would be a dangerous mistake. Fracking is a bad deal for local communities."

The ads are being funded by Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy and actress Debra Winger (Redford's co-star in the 1986 comedy "Legal Eagles").