NEW YORK, NY May 28, 2008 —Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered the keynote address at the World Science Summit this morning, and used the occasion to defend his ban on smoking. He said the scientific data outweighed the criticism he got from the public at the time.

BLOOMBERG: And I can tell you, marching in some neighborhoods on St. Patrick's Day, and parades after we passed that legislation, I got a lot of one-fingered waves. I don't think they were telling me that I was Number One in their books.

REPORTER: The mayor also said Congress should eliminate the tariff on imported sugarcane, to spur the development of sugar-based ethanol, and turn away from corn-based ethanol, which is more polluting.