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Axios: How Democrats came to oppose natural gas

June 25, 2019

Why it matters: Natural gas, while far cleaner than coal and oil, is still a fossil fuel that emits heat-trapping emissions that cause global warming. It’s become plentiful in America over the past decade and is poised to become one of the world’s dominant energy sources. To what degree politicians embrace it or not is critical.

The big picture: As I’ve written in two recent Harder Line columns, Democrats, including those running for president, are increasingly embracing more aggressive and progressive policies on climate change while rejecting natural gas, along with oil and coal. But this hasn’t always been the case.

Flashback: Positions by two prominent Democrats — former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) — illustrate the overall party’s shift away from natural gas. Let’s break them down.

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Bloomberg Associates

Fast Company: Milan is embarking on a bold plan to plant 3 million trees

June 22, 2019

Soon, there will be more trees than people in the city of Milan. Mayor Giuseppe “Beppe” Sala has embarked on an ambitious plan to plant 3 million trees in the Italian city—population 1.3 million—better known for industry than natural wonders.

For the last year and a half, the city of Milan has been working with Bloomberg Associates, the pro bono, not-for-profit consultancy established by Michael Bloomberg with the goal of helping cities around the world. They work with local governments on disciplines like marketing, municipal integrity, sustainability, cultural asset management, urban planning, media, digital, tech, transportation, and social services. In Milan, the relationship covers about two-thirds of those disciplines, including the creation of new public plazas. (“It’s funny that ‘piazza’ comes from Italy and we’re going back and helping them new plazas,” says George Fertitta of Bloomberg Associates.)

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Arts

CNN: A temple that was built to help people heal after the Parkland school shooting goes up in flames

May 20, 2019

The Temple of Time, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, is among five large-scale art installations being displayed in Coral Springs and Parkland over two years. The projects are an extension of an art therapy program that has turned the Coral Springs Museum of Art into a space that has helped children and educators cope since the shooting.
Best also built two of the four benches surrounding the temple. They will be given to the families of victims Nicholas Dworet and Helena Ramsay. The others will be on display in Coral Springs and Parkland, city officials said.

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Public Health

The Telegraph: Sink or swim: how Bangladesh is turning the tide against child drowning

April 29, 2019

Now a new partnership between the Bangladeshi Centre of Injury Prevention and Research (CIPRB) and Bloomberg Philanthropies aims to tackle this by opening over 500 day care centres – known as anchals – and rolling out swimming lessons for children across villages.

The initiative – introduced in seven districts covering a population of several hundred thousand – has reduced the number of children drowning by 80 per cent.

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Public Health

Health Affairs: How Evidence Has Fueled Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Work In Tobacco Control

March 27, 2019

By Dr. Kelly Henning and Dr. Jennifer Ellis

When he became mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg picked tobacco control as one of the key issues on which he could have the biggest impact on public health. Immediately after taking office in 2002, the new mayor implemented science-based approaches to reducing tobacco use that were not yet commonly in place in the United States but had the potential to dramatically lower smoking rates among city residents. That strategy paid off. Reductions in tobacco prevalence in New York City were immediate and evident. In twelve years, adult smoking rates dropped from 21.5 percent in 2002 to 13.9 percent in 2014.

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Arts

Fast Company: These 5 public art projects just won $1 million each to spark discussion about social issues

February 20, 2019

Each proposal is designed to both address related civic issues and bolster the local economy. That’s an idea that’s proven out: Bloomberg’s last Public Art Challenge ran in 2014 and eventually led to an estimated $13 million in economic growth across the four areas where projects were installed. So Bloomberg re-upped the idea in February 2018 with this competition that drew more than 200 entries from cities with at least 30,000 or more people.

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Education

The Wall Street Journal: Top Colleges Are Enrolling More Students From Low-Income Homes

December 17, 2018

A major push to increase enrollment of lower-income students at the nation’s top colleges and universities is showing some early signs of success. Since a public effort called the American Talent Initiative was launched two years ago, 96 schools have increased enrollment of low-income students by 7,291 students, a 3.5% gain, according to a report being released by the group Monday. While the number may be small, it bucks a nationwide trend of declining enrollment by such students in recent years.

The American Talent Initiative, backed by $4.7 million to date from Bloomberg Philanthropies, has grown from 30 schools to 108, with the goal of increasing by 50,000 the number of low- and middle-income students who enroll in and graduate from good colleges by 2025. Roughly 300 schools, all with six-year graduation rates of at least 70%, are eligible to sign on.

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Public Health

The Telegraph: Death on the road: Traffic accidents kill more than malaria, HIV and TB

December 7, 2018

Road traffic accidents have become the eighth leading cause of death worldwide killing 1.35 million people a year, a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed. The “unacceptably high” death toll is higher than that from malaria, HIV or tuberculosis and is climbing – global road traffic deaths stood at 1.15 million in 2000. Children and young adults are most at risk, with more than 440,000 aged between five and 29 killed on the roads in 2016.

“Road safety is an issue that does not receive anywhere near the attention it deserves,” said Michael Bloomberg, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies and the WHO’s global ambassador for noncommunicable diseases and injuries.

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Public Health

The Washington Post: Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $50 million to battle opioid epidemic

November 30, 2018

Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $50 million to states fighting the opioid epidemic, an effort to support current programs and encourage new approaches. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the three-year program Friday morning during the second day of a health conference in Washington hosted by another of his ventures, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

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Government Innovation

Fast Company: These nine cities are dreaming up local solutions to global issues

November 21, 2018

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge worked with city leaders to launch innovative projects to address complex issues like homelessness and energy independence.

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