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Is Bloomberg "The Worst Individual Polluter" In Public Office?
By
Ben Muessig
Published Dec 13, 2009
Modified Dec 13, 2009
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By
Ben Muessig
Published Dec 13, 2009
Modified Dec 13, 2009
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Even though the average New Yorker has a smaller carbon footprint and uses about one-half less energy than other Americans, our Mayor — who has been widely praised for his ambitious environmental agenda — might be one of "the worst individual polluters ever to hold public office," according to the Times.
Columnist Jim Dwyer goes after Mayor Bloomberg for the environmental impact caused by his fleet of personal aircraft, which includes a helicopter and two Falcon 900 jets. Bloomberg uses his private planes for short jaunts to Washington DC, regular weekend vacations to Bermuda, and lengthy overseas voyages, like his upcoming trip to Copenhagen — where he will discuss climate change, of all things. In that flight to Denmark, Bloomberg and his crew will produce 37 times the amount of carbon dioxide than they would if they traveled to Europe on a commercial flight.
This isn't the first time the Mayor's seemingly wasteful travel routines have come under fire — he's been known to be chauffeured in an SUV from his Upper East Side townhouse to the subway. The Times notes that Bloomberg's environmental hypocrisy isn't out of the ordinary, because in general, "[h]uman beings will produce as many tons of carbon emissions as they can afford." But then again, we're talking about the guy who banned trans fat and mandated the display of nutritional information at fast food joints, but has been caught munching on artery-clogging Cheez-Its and is known to salt his bagels "like a pretzel."
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carbon footprint
environment
helicopter
mayor bloomberg
polluters
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Ben Muessig
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