This weekend, in a moment of pure heroism, the former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, promised to uphold America's financial commitment to the Paris climate agreement.
As you probably know, last year, the Trump administration announced their intention to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. And, if they follow through, the US will be the only country in the world that is not part of the global agreement.
When America is one of the biggest polluters in the world and also one of the wealthiest nations, this leaves the Paris accord in a sticky spot.
Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation", Bloomberg said he feels a personal responsibility to pick up the government's environmental slack.
"America made a commitment and as an American if the government's not going to do it we all have responsibility," he said.
"I'm able to do it. So, yes, I'm going to send them a check for the monies that America had promised to the organization as though they got it from the federal government."
In total, the "monies" that America would have contributed sits somewhere around $4.5 million. And while that is no small sum, Bloomberg feels morally obligated to pay the amount - especially in light of the Trump administration's environmental inaction.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has not only withdrawn from the Paris agreement, they have proposed expanding offshore drilling, suggested gutting the nation's fuel efficiency standards, slashed the size of several national parks and monuments, and started the process to roll back several Obama-era environmental regulations.
Along the way, the Trump administration has repeatedly denied the primary role of humans in climate change.
"It's dangerous to keep doing what we're doing," Bloomberg said.
"If everybody would do the right thing, yes, it would be better. But if some people or some countries do the right thing we all benefit from that."
Still, nothing is for sure quite yet. During his interview on CBS, Bloomberg expressed hope that President Trump would change his mind on the Paris accord.
"He's been known to change his mind, that is true," he said.
"America is a big part of the solution and we should go in and help the world stop a potential disaster."
But Bloomberg is not so optimistic when it comes to Scott Pruitt, the current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"His job is to protect the environment and he has walked away 100 percent from that, saying the 'environment doesn't need protection, I'm going to protect jobs.' That's not his job," Bloomberg said.
In particular, Bloomberg remains frustrated by Pruitt's blatant climate denial, and his penchant for putting industry interests over environmental prosperity.
"To debunk science and walk away from it is just ridiculous," he said.
"Even if you don't believe it, if there's a possibility that it's right, you have to take prophylactic actions to prevent a disaster."
"You have a right to your own opinions; you don't have a right to your own facts … something is going on and we have to prepare for the worst," Bloomberg added.
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