Climate Changed
Bloomberg Proposes ‘Fire Corps,’ Double Wildfire Spending
- Candidate vows to double federal fire budget to $10 billion
- Says blazes around globe call attention to climate change
Mike Bloomberg speaks at a rally in New York on Jan. 15.
Photographer: Anthony Behar/Sipa USA via APThis article is for subscribers only.
Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg called for the creation of new government “Fire Protection Corps” and to double the amount of money the government spends on preventing and combating wildfires to $10 billion a year as part of a plan unveiled Thursday to address climate change.
The release comes as devastating wildfires in California, Australia and Brazil have burned millions of acres in recent years and drawn attention to the ways climate change is making the world more vulnerable to environmental disasters. The ones in Australia have killed 28 people and destroyed more than 30 million acres.