Bloomberg sacrifices 0.2% of his fortune to fight big coal

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has a personal fortune of some $18 billion joined with the environmental lobby group Sierra Club on Thursday in a $50 million, four-year plan to cut one-third of US coal-fired power plants.

“If we are going to get serious about reducing our carbon footprint in the United States, we have to get serious about coal, ” Bloomberg said. Rolling Stone reported that he was standing on a boat on the Potomac river not far from a 60-year old coal-fired power station to drive his message home.

“Ending coal power production is the right thing to do, because while it may seem to be an inexpensive energy source the impact on our environment and the impact on public health is significant.  Coal is a self-inflicted public health risk, polluting the air we breathe, adding mercury to the water we drink and the leading cause of climate disruption, ” Bloomberg added.

The Guardian reports the bequest still falls short of the sums the Koch family has dispensed to defend oil and coal interests. According to Greenpeace, the billionaire oil brothers have donated $55m to the climate change scepticism cause.

Image is by lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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