In a slam to Mitt Romney, Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Obama, but it’s even better than that. He, a prominent public figure, cites the president’s leadership on– wait for it– climate change.

May I just say… THANK YOU? Finally, the “C” word is going mainstream. It took Hurricane Sandy to open a few eyes. It took Hurricane Sandy to get Chris Christie to buddy up with President Obama. And it took Hurricane Sandy to get this onto Bloomberg.com:

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. [...]

[O]ver 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. 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. [...]

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.

Sam Stein just tweeted this:

Obama: ““While we may not agree on every issue, Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time”

— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) November 1, 2012

 That endorsement broke just as I was about to post this excerpt from an L.A. Times editorial:

Scientists are reluctant to attribute any single weather event to man-made global warming. But the storm’s devastating effects give us a picture of our future. [...]

Opponents of efforts to curb greenhouse gases complain that weaning ourselves off fossil fuels would cost too much. But property damage from Sandy is estimated at $20 billion, and it’s just one storm; climate change will ravage infrastructure along the coasts, burn up forests and homes, and wreck crops, just for starters. The cost of adapting to a warmer world — building sea walls and levees, constructing dams, moving homes and businesses to safe ground — will be breathtaking. The question isn’t whether we can afford to clean up our energy sources, it’s whether we can afford not to.

I don’t know about you, but I prefer living and breathing to living in luxury.