[Vision2020] New York City Mayor Bloomberg "A Vote for a President to Lead on Climate Change"

[Joe Campbell]

Wow! What an interesting guy. Bloomberg was on the list of
contributors to the YES-side of the Idaho education initiatives. His
appreciation of climate change is encouraging. Joe

On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 3:36 PM, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> wrote:
> Critical statement from Bloomberg, in his endorsement of Obama for
> president:
>
> "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."
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> First Bloombergs op-ed, then commentary from the UK Guardian:
>
> http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/a-vote-for-a-president-to-lead-on-climate-change.html
>
> A Vote for a President to Lead on Climate Change
>
> By Michael R. Bloomberg Nov 1, 2012 11:55 AM PT
>
> 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.
>
> Here in New York, our comprehensive sustainability plan -- PlaNYC -- has
> helped allow us to cut our carbon footprint by 16 percent in just five
> years, which is the equivalent of eliminating the carbon footprint of a city
> twice the size of Seattle. Through the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
> -- a partnership among many of the world’s largest cities -- local
> governments are taking action where national governments are not.
>
> Leadership Needed
>
> 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.
>
> Mitt Romney, too, has a history of tackling climate change. As governor of
> Massachusetts, he signed on to a regional cap- and-trade plan designed to
> reduce carbon emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels. “The benefits (of that
> plan) will be long- lasting and enormous -- benefits to our health, our
> economy, our quality of life, our very landscape. These are actions we can
> and must take now, if we are to have ‘no regrets’ when we transfer our
> temporary stewardship of this Earth to the next generation,” he wrote at the
> time.
>
> He couldn’t have been more right. But since then, he has reversed course,
> abandoning the very cap-and-trade program he once supported. This issue is
> too important. We need determined leadership at the national level to move
> the nation and the world forward.
>
> believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man, and he would bring valuable
> business experience to the Oval Office. He understands that America was
> built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results. In the past he
> has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion
> rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is
> even running against the health-care model he signed into law in
> Massachusetts.
>
> If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may
> well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have
> found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing.
>
> In 2008, Obama ran as a pragmatic problem-solver and consensus-builder. But
> as president, he devoted little time and effort to developing and sustaining
> a coalition of centrists, which doomed hope for any real progress on illegal
> guns, immigration, tax reform, job creation and deficit reduction. And
> rather than uniting the country around a message of shared sacrifice, he
> engaged in partisan attacks and has embraced a divisive populist agenda
> focused more on redistributing income than creating it.
>
> Important Victories
>
> Nevertheless, the president has achieved some important victories on issues
> that will help define our future. His Race to the Top education program --
> much of which was opposed by the teachers’ unions, a traditional Democratic
> Party constituency -- has helped drive badly needed reform across the
> country, giving local districts leverage to strengthen accountability in the
> classroom and expand charter schools. His health-care law -- for all its
> flaws -- will provide insurance coverage to people who need it most and save
> lives.
>
> When I step into the voting booth, I think about the world I want to leave
> my two daughters, and the values that are required to guide us there. The
> two parties’ nominees for president offer different visions of where they
> want to lead America.
>
> One believes a woman’s right to choose should be protected for future
> generations; one does not. That difference, given the likelihood of Supreme
> Court vacancies, weighs heavily on my decision.
>
> One recognizes marriage equality as consistent with America’s march of
> freedom; one does not. I want our president to be on the right side of
> history.
>
> One sees climate change as an urgent problem that threatens our planet; one
> does not. I want our president to place scientific evidence and risk
> management above electoral politics.
>
> Of course, neither candidate has specified what hard decisions he will make
> to get our economy back on track while also balancing the budget. But in the
> end, what matters most isn’t the shape of any particular proposal; it’s the
> work that must be done to bring members of Congress together to achieve
> bipartisan solutions.
>
> Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both found success while their
> parties were out of power in Congress -- and President Obama can, too. If he
> listens to people on both sides of the aisle, and builds the trust of
> moderates, he can fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago and lead our
> country toward a better future for my children and yours. And that’s why I
> will be voting for him.
>
> (Michael R. Bloomberg is mayor of New York and founder and majority owner of
> Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.)
>
> To contact the Bloomberg View editorial board: view at bloomberg.net.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/01/bloomberg-endorses-obama-climate-change
>
> New York's Bloomberg endorses Obama to lead on climate change
>
> New York mayor combines endorsement with attack on Romney for failures over
> climate change, women's rights and gun contro
>
> Ewen MacAskill and Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
> The Guardian, Thursday 1 November 2012
>
>
> The impact of the superstorm Sandy was felt directly on the presidential
> election on Thursday when the popular mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg,
> threw his support behind Barack Obama, citing Republican challenger Mitt
> Romney's failure to back climate change measures.
>
> Bloomberg combined his endorsement of Obama with a devastating attack on
> Romney for reversing his positions not only on climate change but on
> immigration, guns, abortion rights and healthcare.
>
> His endorsement came as Obama received plaudits for his handling of the
> storm that has devastated New Jersey and New York and also hit Connecticut
> and West Virginia.
>
> The mayor, writing about the damage caused to New York by Sandy, praised
> Obama for having made some progress towards tackling climate change. He
> noted that Romney, too, had supported climate change moves in the past but
> has since backed away from them.
>
> In a powerful passage that can only hurt Romney, Bloomberg went on to write:
> "I believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man, and he would bring valuable
> business experience to the Oval Office. He understands that America was
> built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results.
>
> "In the past he has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal
> guns, abortion rights and healthcare. But he has reversed course on all of
> them, and is even running against the healthcare model he signed into law in
> Massachusetts."
>
> Obama said he was honoured to have Bloomberg's endorsement. "I deeply
> respect him for his leadership in business, philanthropy and government, and
> [I] appreciate the extraordinary job he's doing right now, leading New York
> City through these difficult days," the president said.
>
> "Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time – that
> the key to a strong economy is investing in the skills and education of our
> people, that immigration reform is essential to an open and dynamic
> democracy, and that climate change is a threat to our children's future.
>
> "Just as importantly, we agree that whether we are Democrats, Republicans,
> or independents, there is only one way to solve these challenges and move
> forward as a nation – together."
>
> Bloomberg's support comes after New Jersey governor Chris Christie praised
> Obama for his handling of Sandy. Although Christie is a Republican and a
> prominent supporter of Romney, he went out of his way this week to
> repeatedly praise Obama's leadership in responding to the crisis.
>
> Bloomberg is an independent who had originally been a Democrat before
> switching to the Republicans in 2001. He won the mayorship as a Republican
> but fell out with the party in 2007.
>
> He considered running as an independent in the 2008 White House election and
> commissioned polls in all 50 states, dropping the idea after finding
> insufficient support.
>
> In his op-ed, Bloomberg brings climate change, largely ignored by Obama and
> Romney during the campaign, back to the fore.
>
> "The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of
> the north-east – in lost lives, lost homes and lost business – brought the
> stakes of Tuesday's presidential election into sharp relief," he wrote.
>
> He added: "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."
>
> Obama had taken major steps to reduce carbon consumption and Romney too had
> a history of tackling climate change but had reversed course.
>
> He said he was disappointed with Obama on many issues, listing among them
> healthcare reform.
>
> "When I step into the voting booth, I think about the world I want to leave
> my two daughters, and the values that are required to guide us there. The
> two parties' nominees for president offer different visions of where they
> want to lead America," he writes.
>
> "One believes a woman's right to choose should be protected for future
> generations; one does not. That difference, given the likelihood of supreme
> court vacancies, weighs heavily on my decision.
>
> "One recognises marriage equality as consistent with America's march of
> freedom; one does not. I want our president to be on the right side of
> history."
>
> He concluded: "Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both found success
> while their parties were out of power in Congress – and President Obama can,
> too. If he listens to people on both sides of the aisle, and builds the
> trust of moderates, he can fulfil the hope he inspired four years ago and
> lead our country toward a better future for my children and yours. And
> that's why I will be voting for him."
>
> The Economist, which has a wide readership in the US, said in an editorial
> it had backed Obama four years ago and was doing so again. It regretted that
> Romney was too far removed from the centre.
>
> "This newspaper yearns for the more tolerant conservatism of Ronald Reagan,
> where 'small government' meant keeping the state out of people's bedrooms as
> well as out of their businesses. Mr Romney shows no sign of wanting to
> revive it," it says.
>
> It concludes: "For all his businesslike intentions, Mr Romney has an
> economic plan that works only if you don't believe most of what he says.
> That is not a convincing pitch for a chief executive. And for all his
> shortcomings, Mr Obama has dragged America's economy back from the brink of
> disaster, and has made a decent fist of foreign policy. So this newspaper
> would stick with the devil it knows, and re-elect him."
>
> Fellow Republicans downplayed the significance of Bloomberg's endorsement.
> "It's not surprising to me. Bloomberg is a very liberal political figure,"
> said George Pataki, the former Republican governor of New York.
>
> Pataki also argued Romney would be "far better" than Obama in dealing with
> climate change.
>
> Pataki during his time as governor was one of the creators of a regional
> carbon trading system – which is in partial collapse since Christie pulled
> out last year.
>
> He said of Romney's position: "I think he is far better than Obama, who
> embraced the Markey-Waxman bill. That is the fear when you allow people like
> Pelosi and Reid and Obama to draft national legislation that is not so much
> aimed at climate change but at expanding government power and government
> revenue. I think Romney would be far better."
>
> ------------------------------------------
> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>
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