The Huffington Post: On Climate Change, COP21 and Public Art, by Patricia E. Harris
December 9, 2015
World leaders, environment experts and delegates from around the globe are convening in Paris for COP21, the U.N.’s climate summit. Meanwhile, in the center of the city at Place du Panthéon, the public has the chance to encounter Ice Watch, a work by acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson and scientist Minik Rosing, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Ice Watch consists of 80 tons of free-floating blocks of ice from Greenland, arranged in a clock formation. Remaining in the public square the ice melts, visually representing the climate change taking place on our planet. In a release about the art work, Eliasson said, “Art has the ability to change our perceptions and perspectives on the world, and Ice Watch makes the climate challenges we are facing tangible.”
Read moreThe Huffington Post: Ensuring Sustainability for Philanthropic Investments With Data, by Verna Eggleston
November 10, 2015
Since 2008, Bloomberg Philanthropies has been working to increase women’s economic opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. With partners such as Women for Women International (WfWI), for example, women in Rwanda and Congo are taught organic farming techniques geared toward commercial production; and food processing, textiles and artisan crafts to bring to local and international markets. As a result, these women — all of whom have survived the hardships due to conflicts and war — are learning life-changing education and technical skills to move from being survivors to active citizens.
Read moreForbes: Death Toll On World’s Roads Is Too High, WHO Finds
October 20, 2015
The report was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which since 2007 has committed more than $250 million to help low- and middle- income countries adopt effective road safety measures.
“Thanks to stronger laws and smarter infrastructure, nearly half a billion people in the world are better protected from road crashes than were just a few years ago – and we have the opportunity to do much more, especially when it comes to enforcing laws,” Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term former Mayor of New York, said in a statement.
Read moreTIME: Mexicans Begin to Slim With the Help of the Soda Tax
October 12, 2015
As the tax completes its second year, activists and big soda are now arguing over how much effect it has on the health and habits of Mexicans. A study funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, and involving top academics from Mexico and the United States, finds there was a dip of 6% in the purchase of taxed sweetened beverages in 2014. This dip increased over the year, leading to 12 percent by December.
Read moreThe Washington Post: Why the United Nations should press for higher taxes on tobacco, by Michael R. Bloomberg and Margaret Chen
October 2, 2015
For the first time, the global sustainable-development goals being negotiated at the United Nations treat tobacco use — and the chronic diseases it causes — as a development issue. It’s long overdue.
Read moreThe Huffington Post: Putting Focus on a Deadly — but Preventable — Problem
September 16, 2015
Since 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies has been helping cities and countries adopt effective road-safety measures, such as reducing drunk driving, increasing seatbelt use, investing in public transportation, and making improvements to roads where there are frequent crashes.
Read moreThe Huffington Post: The Arts Receive Capacity Building of an Unprecedented Scope
September 15, 2015
By investing in arts-management training for small- and mid-size arts organizations through AIM, Bloomberg Philanthropies is helping to secure the future of these organizations to ensure that they continue to drive economic growth and shape the cultural identity of communities and cities around the country for years to come.
Read moreThe Huffington Post: What City Halls Across America Say About Using Data and Evidence
August 4, 2015
By James Anderson
We launched What Works Cities to help 100 mid-size U.S. cities get better at using data and evidence to improve results for residents. Over three years, the effort will help mayors adopt best practices as they open up city data, use data to drive better performance, and rely on evidence to make better policy and funding choices.
An impressive 112 cities from 40 states and Washington, D.C. applied during the initial application period — and tomorrow, we’ll announce the first group of cities we’re investing in. Our commitment through it all is to share what we’re learning.
Read moreSlate: Coal Is Losing the War on Coal
July 17, 2015
And here, too, we’re seeing that, as a result of pressure from several sources—government, cheap natural gas, campaigns like the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal initiative, which Michael Bloomberg’s nonprofit is backing to the tune of $80 million—companies are making important decisions about future coal use.
Read moreThe New York Times: Bloomberg Philanthropies Gives $100 Million to Cornell Tech
June 17, 2015
Cornell Tech, the applied sciences graduate school of Cornell University, is expected to announce a $100 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies on Tuesday to construct the first academic building on the school’s Roosevelt Island campus.
That building will be called the Bloomberg Center, solidifying Cornell’s ties to former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Cornell Tech won a $400 million competition three and a half years ago to build an applied sciences campus on the island, in New York City, an initiative created by the Bloomberg administration.
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