Michael Bloomberg (NYC Mayor) Endorses Obama (Main Reason — Climate Change)

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michael bloombergThis article was originally published on Climate Progress. It has been reposted with full permission (image added).

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that climate change is his top consideration this election season. As Bloomberg helps his city recover from Superstorm Sandy — one of nearly two dozen extreme weather events costing more than $1 billion since last year — he says that it has influenced his decision to vote for Barack Obama:

The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast – in lost lives, lost homes and lost business – brought the stakes of Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief.

The floods and fires that swept through our city left a path of destruction that will require years of recovery and rebuilding work. And in the short term, our subway system remains partially shut down, and many city residents and businesses still have no power. In just 14 months, two hurricanes have forced us to evacuate neighborhoods – something our city government had never done before. If this is a trend, it is simply not sustainable.

Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be – given this week’s devastation – should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.

But we can’t do it alone. We need leadership from the White House – and over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks. His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants (an effort I have supported through my philanthropy), which are estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year.

After a period of silence among political leaders and journalists this campaign season on climate change, the issue has dominated headlines in the days after Hurricane Sandy.

Image: Michael Bloomberg via A. Einsiedler / Shutterstock.com


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