New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg just endorsed President Obama for re-election, citing the President’s record on same-sex marriage and women’s rights, and the belief Obama will “lead on climate change.”
READ:Â Breaking: NYC Mayor Bloomberg Endorses Barack Obama For President
At least ten New York City residents were killed this week by Hurricane Sandy, a storm that took at least 75 lives nationwide. The Republican Party does not “believe” in climate change, and Michael Bloomberg, a former Republican, does.
In an op-ed titled, “A Vote for a President to Lead on Climate Change,” just published minutes ago at his Bloomberg.com news website, the three-term Mayor of the country’s largest city explained his endorsement:
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.
Bloomberg, a billionaire and the founder of Bloomberg L.P., a company that reportedly “makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market,” has been rumored to be interested in a future White House run.
“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,” Bloomberg writes. “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.”
Bloomberg adds that President Obama’s “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.”
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.
 Image by Rubenstein