The common belief is that you are either a dreamer or a realist. But idealism and pragmatism aren't as far apart as one might think.

For decades, Big Oil ravaged our environment. They knew what they were peddling was lethal, but they didn't care. They used the classical Big Tobacco playbook of denial, denial, denial, and all the while, they did everything to hook society on their lethal product.

For New Yorkers, late October 2012 was a moment when something fundamental altered. If there were any climate change deniers in the five boroughs before Hurricane Sandy, I don't think there were too many left afterward.

Bill de Blasio Quotes