Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Michael Shellenberger

Michael Shellenberger (born June 16, 1971) is an American author, journalist, and environmental policy advocate who has focused on energy innovation, nuclear power promotion, and critiques of exaggerated environmental claims.^[1]^[2] He co-founded the Breakthrough Institute in 2003 to advance ecomodernist approaches emphasizing human progress through technology and founded Environmental Progress in 2016 to support nuclear energy preservation and challenge anti-nuclear policies worldwide.^[3]^[4]^[5] Shellenberger gained recognition as a Time magazine "Hero of the Environment" for his early activism and later authored Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All (2020), which argues that alarmist rhetoric distorts data on resource scarcity, biodiversity loss, and climate impacts, thereby undermining practical solutions like abundant energy access.^[6] In recent years, he has exposed government pressures on social media platforms through contributions to the Twitter Files, internal documents revealing content suppression and coordination with federal agencies, and founded Public in 2023 as a platform for investigative journalism on censorship, mental health crises, and policy failures.^[5]^[7]

Biography

Early life and education

Michael Shellenberger was born on June 16, 1971, in Galesburg, Illinois.^[8] He grew up in a Mennonite family and attended a Quaker school, influences that aligned with his early involvement in peace activism.^[9] Shellenberger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Peace and Global Studies from Earlham College, a Quaker-affiliated institution in Richmond, Indiana, graduating in spring 1993.^[5]^[10] He then pursued graduate studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he received a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology in 1996.^[5]^[10] These academic focuses reflected his initial interests in conflict resolution and cultural dynamics, though he did not complete a doctoral degree.^[11]

Professional Career

Environmental activism and organizational roles

Shellenberger entered environmental activism in the late 1990s and early 2000s, focusing on climate campaigns that emphasized economic opportunity and technological solutions over traditional conservation tactics. He contributed to the formation of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition endorsed by labor unions and aimed at advancing clean energy policies through job creation and innovation, though it faced opposition from some environmental groups prioritizing anti-fossil fuel measures.^[9] In 2004, Shellenberger co-authored "The Death of Environmentalism" with Ted Nordhaus, an essay arguing that mainstream environmental organizations had become ineffective by relying on fear-based narratives rather than inspiring visions of human progress and abundance.^[12] The document, presented at a meeting of environmental funders, urged a shift toward policies promoting innovation, poverty alleviation, and energy abundance to address ecological challenges.^[12] Shellenberger co-founded the Breakthrough Institute in 2003 with Nordhaus, serving as its president until 2015.^[4]^[3] The organization promoted "ecomodernism," advocating for intensive human development, including nuclear power and genetically modified crops, as means to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.^[13] Under his leadership, the institute influenced policy debates by critiquing renewable energy intermittency and supporting research into high-yield agriculture and urbanization to spare wilderness.^[3] In 2016, Shellenberger established Environmental Progress, an independent nonprofit research group headquartered in Berkeley, California, where he served as founder and president until at least 2024.^[14]^[15] The organization's mission centered on achieving human prosperity alongside natural preservation, with activism centered on reviving nuclear energy to combat poverty and emissions—efforts that included campaigns to prevent reactor shutdowns in Illinois (2016), New York (2017), and other regions, preserving over 10 gigawatts of zero-emission capacity.^[16]^[17] Shellenberger's role involved international advocacy, such as supporting nuclear restarts in Europe and testifying before U.S. congressional committees on energy reliability.^[16]

Energy policy and nuclear advocacy

Shellenberger founded Environmental Progress in 2016 as an independent research and policy organization dedicated to advancing nuclear energy as a means to achieve human prosperity, energy abundance, and climate stabilization.^[18] Initially an anti-nuclear environmental activist who promoted renewables in the 2000s, he publicly reversed his stance around 2015, citing empirical evidence that nuclear power provides the most reliable, land-efficient, and low-carbon electricity compared to solar and wind, which face scalability limits due to intermittency and material demands.^[19] In his November 2017 TEDxBerlin talk, "Why I Changed My Mind About Nuclear Power," he argued that opposition to nuclear, driven by exaggerated fears of accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, has hindered global development, noting that nuclear has prevented over 2 million air pollution deaths since 1971 through displacement of fossil fuels.^[20] ^[19] Through Environmental Progress, Shellenberger has emphasized nuclear's safety record, with death rates from nuclear electricity generation at 0.03 per terawatt-hour, far below coal (24.6) and even solar (0.44) when accounting for full lifecycle impacts including rooftop installations.^[21] He advocates for nuclear as essential for poverty alleviation in developing nations, pointing to France's 70% nuclear electricity mix enabling low emissions (under 0.05 kg CO2 per kWh) and affordable energy since the 1970s, in contrast to Germany's post-2011 nuclear phase-out, which raised emissions by 10-15% via increased coal reliance.^[21] ^[22] Shellenberger critiques renewable-heavy policies for land overuse—solar and wind requiring 75-360 times more land than nuclear for equivalent output—and for driving up costs, as seen in California's 300% electricity price hike since 2000 amid nuclear shutdowns and renewable mandates.^[23] ^[24] Shellenberger has testified before U.S. congressional committees over a dozen times since 2017, urging policies to preserve and expand the domestic nuclear fleet of 93 reactors, which supply 20% of U.S. electricity and 50% of carbon-free power.^[25] In his March 11, 2021, testimony to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, he warned that premature closures, like those subsidized in states such as Illinois and New York without federal offsets, undermine energy security and grid reliability, recommending tax credits and streamlined licensing to match natural gas's cost-competitiveness.^[26] ^[25] His September 15, 2022, House testimony advocated nuclear expansion for hydrogen production and fossil fuel phase-out, projecting that advanced reactors could deliver electricity at under $30 per megawatt-hour with innovations like small modular designs.^[27] In a 2021 IAEA Bulletin article, Shellenberger outlined seven strategies for affordable nuclear deployment, including factory-built reactors, regulatory reforms to reduce construction delays (e.g., France's Flamanville overruns from 5 to 12 years), and public-private financing akin to South Korea's standardized builds achieving 90% capacity factors.^[22] He positions nuclear as aligned with environmental goals, arguing that anti-nuclear activism, often rooted in 1970s fears rather than data, has ceded clean energy leadership to China, which commissioned 50 gigawatts of nuclear since 2010 while the U.S. added none until recent approvals.^[28] ^[29] Shellenberger's advocacy extends internationally, supporting nuclear in forums like Spain's Foro Nuclear in 2019, where he stressed its role in preventing warming beyond 1.5°C while enabling universal energy access.^[30]

Journalistic investigations

![Michael Shellenberger testifying on UAP investigations][float-right] Shellenberger contributed to the Twitter Files, a series of internal Twitter documents released by Elon Musk starting in December 2022, which exposed content moderation practices, including government influence on suppressing the New York Post's October 2020 story on Hunter Biden's laptop.^[31] His threads detailed FBI communications with Twitter executives, algorithmic biases favoring certain narratives, and the platform's handling of the January 6, 2021, Capitol events.^[7] These revelations, drawn from thousands of emails and Slack messages, highlighted collaborations between federal agencies and tech firms to flag and demote content deemed misinformation, particularly around the 2020 U.S. election and COVID-19 origins.^[32] As founder of Public, a nonprofit investigative journalism outlet launched in 2021, Shellenberger has published reports on the "censorship-industrial complex," alleging coordinated efforts by U.S. government entities, universities, and NGOs to influence social media platforms.^[33] In 2023 and 2024 congressional testimonies, he presented evidence from leaked documents showing USAID-funded programs targeting domestic speech under the guise of combating foreign disinformation, including partnerships with outlets like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project to shape narratives on elections and public health.^[34] These investigations claimed violations of First Amendment principles through indirect censorship mechanisms, such as funding fact-checkers and pressure campaigns.^[16] Shellenberger's 2024 reporting on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) alleged the existence of secret U.S. government programs retrieving non-human craft and biologics, based on whistleblower accounts and declassified materials.^[35] Testifying before Congress on November 13, 2024, he cited specific incidents, including a 2018 Navy encounter and recovered materials defying known physics, arguing for transparency to address national security risks from potential adversarial recoveries.^[36] His work extended prior investigations into Amazon deforestation, revealing discrepancies in satellite data and NGO reporting that overstated rates to secure funding, as detailed in peer-reviewed analyses and fieldwork from 2018 onward.^[16]

Intellectual Contributions

Ecomodernist framework and manifestos

Shellenberger, as co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute in 2003 alongside Ted Nordhaus, advanced ecomodernism as an environmental philosophy emphasizing technological innovation to decouple human economic development from ecological degradation.^[3] This framework posits that intensive land use, advanced agriculture, nuclear energy, and urbanization can reduce humanity's environmental footprint while enabling prosperity and biodiversity preservation, contrasting with views prioritizing natural limits or degrowth.^[37] Shellenberger argued that historical trends, such as agricultural intensification freeing land for rewilding—evidenced by global forest regrowth since 1900 despite population growth—demonstrate decoupling's feasibility through human ingenuity rather than restraint.^[38] In April 2015, Shellenberger co-authored An Ecomodernist Manifesto, signed by 18 scholars and advocates including Nordhaus, Stewart Brand, and Ruth DeFries, which crystallized these ideas.^[39] The document advocates a "good Anthropocene" where technology intensifies resource production to spare wilderness, rejecting Malthusian fears of overpopulation and resource scarcity as empirically unfounded given 20th-century yield improvements in food and energy.^[38] It calls for policies accelerating nuclear power deployment—citing its low land use and emissions—and genetic engineering for crops, while critiquing anti-nuclear opposition as ideologically driven rather than evidence-based.^[40] Shellenberger's ecomodernist contributions through the Breakthrough Institute extended to reports quantifying how modern practices, like high-yield farming, have halved the land needed for global food production since 1961, allowing habitat recovery in regions such as the United States and Europe.^[37] The framework prioritizes causal mechanisms like energy abundance enabling poverty reduction—correlating with lower fertility rates and environmental pressures—over alarmist narratives, drawing on data from sources like the United Nations showing declining deforestation rates in developed nations.^[41] Critics from degrowth perspectives contested the manifesto's optimism, arguing it underestimates biophysical constraints, but Shellenberger maintained that empirical trends validate technology's role in reconciling human advancement with nature.^[42]

Critiques of environmental alarmism

Shellenberger contends that environmental alarmism distorts scientific realities and fosters counterproductive policies by exaggerating threats like climate catastrophe, mass extinctions, and resource depletion. In his 2020 book Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, he marshals empirical data to demonstrate that humanity has made substantial progress in mitigating environmental pressures through technological innovation and economic growth, such as increased agricultural yields that have produced food surpluses 25% above global needs despite population growth. He attributes much alarmism to a revival of debunked Malthusian predictions of overpopulation-induced famine, noting that fertility rates have fallen globally and extreme poverty has declined from 42% of the world's population in 1980 to under 10% by 2015, enabling better resource management.^[43] A core critique targets climate narratives, where Shellenberger argues that while warming occurs, apocalyptic framing ignores human adaptability and data showing no worsening of disasters on a per capita basis; for instance, global wildfire area has decreased by 25% since 2003 due to improved fire suppression and land management. He highlights policy harms, such as opposition to nuclear power—responsible for averting over 1.8 million air pollution deaths annually—claiming alarmism prioritizes symbolic gestures like plastic straw bans, which address only 0.03% of ocean plastic, over scalable solutions that could decarbonize energy systems efficiently. In a June 2020 public apology, he expressed regret for contributing to climate fear that has induced nightmares in one in five British children and depressed emissions reductions in developing nations by restricting fossil fuel use needed for poverty alleviation.^[43]^[44] Shellenberger also challenges extinction alarmism, disputing claims of a "sixth mass extinction" driven by human activity; IUCN assessments indicate just 0.8% of 112,432 evaluated species have gone extinct since 1500, equating to fewer than two per year, with models from reports like IPBES overpredicting losses through unverified assumptions rather than observed data. Wildlife populations have declined about 50% from 1970 to 2010, but he attributes this primarily to habitat conversion for biomass like charcoal rather than climate change or fossil fuels, advocating intensified agriculture and reforestation to spare wilderness—evidenced by reduced global farmland for meat production equivalent to an area nearly the size of Alaska. On deforestation and plastics, he argues fears overlook net gains, such as Earth's 5% greening since the 1980s from CO2 fertilization per NASA data, and the life-saving benefits of plastics in sanitation, where bans exacerbate waste issues in poor nations without addressing root causes like inadequate infrastructure. Overall, Shellenberger posits that alarmism erodes public trust in science and diverts resources from pro-human innovations like genetically modified crops and nuclear energy, which have safely powered development while reducing environmental footprints.^[45]

Analysis of urban decay and progressive policies

Shellenberger posits that progressive governance in California, particularly in San Francisco, has accelerated urban decay through policies that tolerate disorder rather than enforcing accountability and addressing root causes like addiction and mental illness. In San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities (2021), he analyzes how ideological commitments to "harm reduction" and decriminalization have fostered environments where public spaces deteriorate into open-air drug markets, littered with human waste and needles, while businesses flee due to unchecked theft and violence.^[46]^[47] He attributes this not to inevitable urbanization but to causal failures in policy design, where leniency signals permission for antisocial behavior, eroding social norms and inviting further breakdown.^[48] Central to his critique is the homelessness crisis, which Shellenberger frames as predominantly a treatable behavioral health issue rather than a housing shortage. Drawing on local surveys, he notes that the majority of unsheltered individuals in San Francisco—approximately two-thirds—exhibit severe substance use disorders or untreated mental illnesses, with rates of chronic alcoholism at 50% and hard drug addiction at 40% among the homeless population.^[49] Despite expenditures exceeding $1 billion annually on homelessness programs from 2018 to 2021, the unsheltered population in San Francisco grew by over 20%, correlating with policies like "Housing First," which provides permanent housing without preconditions for sobriety or treatment.^[50] Shellenberger cites longitudinal data showing Housing First's high failure rate, with many participants relapsing and returning to streets, and contrasts it with jurisdictions emphasizing shelters and enforcement, where homeless mortality drops threefold compared to Housing First models like Los Angeles'.^[51] He argues that progressive advocacy, often rooted in academia's aversion to stigmatizing addiction, ignores evidence from randomized trials demonstrating better outcomes from conditional approaches requiring behavioral change.^[52] On crime, Shellenberger links urban decay to prosecutorial reforms and Proposition 47 (2014), which reclassified certain thefts and drug offenses as misdemeanors, reducing felony arrests by 27% and contributing to a surge in retail theft organized to fund fentanyl habits.^[53] In San Francisco, progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin's policies—such as declining to charge 40% of felony cases and prioritizing diversion over incarceration—enabled repeat offenders, with data showing violent recidivists committing multiple crimes before rearrest.^[54] This tolerance, Shellenberger contends, created a feedback loop: unpunished shoplifting (often under $950 thresholds) normalized disorder, driving chains like Walgreens to shutter stores and exacerbating economic stagnation. Boudin's 2022 recall, which Shellenberger supported, preceded policy shifts under successor Brooke Jenkins, including stricter charging; while early violent crime fluctuated, overall declines of 22% in violent offenses by late 2025 reflect a pivot toward accountability.^[55] Nationally, he references voter backlash via California's Proposition 36 (passed November 2024), which partially reverses Prop 47 by mandating treatment for repeat drug offenders, signaling empirical repudiation of prior leniency.^[48]^[56] Shellenberger's analysis emphasizes causal realism over correlative narratives favored by some progressive institutions, which attribute decay solely to inequality while downplaying policy incentives for dysfunction. For instance, despite California's 12% of U.S. population hosting half the nation's homeless, states with stricter enforcement and treatment mandates show lower per capita rates, underscoring that enabling behaviors through non-enforcement sustains visible decay.^[52] He advocates alternatives like Portugal's decriminalization paired with compulsory treatment, adapted to U.S. contexts via expanded conservatorships and shelter beds, arguing these restore public order without coercion's moral hazards. Progressive sources, such as university-affiliated critiques, often defend Housing First citing select studies but overlook aggregate failures in retention and cost-effectiveness, where billions yield minimal sustained housing.^[57] Ultimately, Shellenberger views urban revival as achievable through evidence-driven governance prioritizing compulsion for the severely impaired, as evidenced by post-recall improvements in San Francisco's street conditions and business reopenings.^[58]

Major Publications

Early works on environmentalism

Shellenberger's initial prominent publication on environmentalism was the 2004 essay "The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming Politics in a Post-Environmental World," co-authored with Ted Nordhaus and presented at the Environmental Grantmakers Association conference in October 2004.^[12] The essay contended that the environmental movement had stagnated by framing issues like global warming in apocalyptic terms without articulating aspirational goals or effective political strategies, leading to policy failures despite decades of advocacy.^[59] It drew on data showing limited progress in emissions reductions and public support, attributing this to the movement's reliance on doom-laden narratives rather than evidence-based solutions emphasizing human prosperity.^[12] The essay provoked intense backlash and discussion among environmental leaders, with critics accusing it of defeatism while proponents viewed it as a necessary reckoning with the movement's ideological constraints.^[59] Shellenberger and Nordhaus supported their analysis with historical examples, such as the stalled Kyoto Protocol negotiations and stagnant funding outcomes from major environmental foundations between 1990 and 2004.^[60] Building on this, Shellenberger and Nordhaus expanded their critique in the 2007 book Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility, published by Houghton Mifflin.^[61] The work advocated shifting from a "politics of fear and limits" to one promoting technological innovation, economic growth, and abundance as pathways to environmental protection, citing evidence from post-World War II prosperity eras where human development correlated with improved ecological outcomes.^[62] It proposed reframing environmentalism around positive visions, such as decoupling economic expansion from resource depletion through advancements in energy and agriculture, and included case studies like the Green Revolution's role in reducing deforestation pressures.^[61] These early works laid the groundwork for Shellenberger's later ecomodernist ideas, emphasizing empirical trends like declining global poverty rates (from 42% in 1980 to under 10% by 2007) as enabling factors for sustainable development rather than inherent threats.^[63]

Apocalypse Never (2020)

Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All is a 432-page book published by Harper on June 30, 2020.^[6]^[64] In it, Shellenberger, drawing from his decades as an environmental activist who co-founded organizations to protect redwoods and advocate for early versions of a Green New Deal, argues that apocalyptic narratives about climate change and other ecological threats exaggerate dangers, misrepresent scientific data, and obstruct practical solutions such as nuclear energy and natural gas.^[65] He contends that such alarmism, often fueled by psychological needs for meaning, financial incentives for advocacy groups, and status-seeking among elites, diverts attention from real progress like declining poverty and improved human welfare.^[65]^[66] Shellenberger presents empirical evidence to support his thesis that environmental conditions have improved substantially despite population growth and industrialization. For instance, he notes that deaths from extreme weather events have fallen by 80% over the past 40 years, even in developing nations, due to advancements in forecasting, infrastructure, and economic development that enhance resilience.^[65] He highlights that carbon emissions in most developed countries peaked and began declining over a decade ago, decoupling from economic growth through efficiency gains and shifts to cleaner energy sources like natural gas.^[65] On biodiversity, Shellenberger cites satellite data showing the Earth is greener today than 35 years ago, with increased vegetation cover from CO2 fertilization and agricultural intensification that spares wilderness.^[67] He argues that alarmist opposition to technologies like nuclear power and genetically modified crops has prolonged reliance on less efficient alternatives, harming both people and the planet by keeping billions in energy poverty.^[65]^[66] The book advocates for "ecomodernism," emphasizing human ingenuity, innovation, and abundance over scarcity-based conservation. Shellenberger asserts that wealthier societies invest more in environmental protection, as evidenced by cleaner air and water in high-income nations, and that prioritizing economic development in poor countries reduces birth rates and environmental degradation more effectively than top-down restrictions.^[65] He critiques the anti-nuclear movement for contributing to Germany's increased coal use after phasing out reactors, which raised emissions, and praises fracking's role in slashing U.S. emissions through cheap natural gas displacing coal.^[68] Alarmism, in his view, fosters fatalism that undermines public support for pragmatic policies, such as adapting to sea-level rise via dikes rather than futile emission cuts that ignore developing-world growth.^[65] Reception was polarized, with the book achieving national bestseller status.^[64] Climate scientist Tom Wigley described it as "the most important book on the environment ever written," while Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker praised its advocacy for "constructive environmentalism."^[65] MIT's Kerry Emanuel and historian Richard Rhodes also endorsed its science-based approach to rescuing environmental discourse from zealotry.^[65] Critics from alarmist-leaning outlets, such as Yale Climate Connections, faulted it for alleged scientific errors and underplaying climate risks, though Shellenberger's data on disaster mortality and emission trends align with reports from organizations like the World Bank and Our World in Data.^[69] The book's challenge to institutional environmental narratives drew accusations of denialism from outlets like The Guardian, which viewed its emphasis on adaptation and technology as insufficiently urgent.^[70]

San Fransicko (2021)

San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities is a 2021 book by Michael Shellenberger that examines the visible crises of homelessness, open drug use, mental illness, and street crime in San Francisco and other Democrat-led American cities. Published on October 12, 2021, by HarperCollins, the work draws on Shellenberger's three decades of residence in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he initially supported decriminalization of drugs and affordable housing initiatives before concluding that such policies had unintended negative consequences.^[71]^[72] The author attributes these urban decays not primarily to economic factors like housing shortages, but to a progressive ideology emphasizing unconditional compassion over personal responsibility, which he argues enables addiction and antisocial behavior rather than resolving them.^[73] Shellenberger presents empirical evidence from city reports and federal data to support his thesis, including a rise in San Francisco's reported human waste incidents from about 1,000 in 2011 to over 28,000 by 2019, alongside increases in overdose deaths and property crimes amid policies like safe injection sites and non-enforcement of minor offenses. He critiques the dominant "Housing First" model, which prioritizes providing permanent housing without preconditions like sobriety or psychiatric treatment, noting that despite San Francisco spending over $1 billion annually on homelessness by 2021—enough to house all unsheltered individuals multiple times over—the unsheltered population remained around 4,000-5,000 in point-in-time counts, with high recidivism rates in supportive housing due to unchecked substance abuse affecting 42% of the local homeless population per 2019 surveys. Shellenberger contends this approach ignores causal factors like untreated schizophrenia (prevalent in 25-30% of chronic cases) and fentanyl addiction, which drive 70-80% of homelessness in affected cohorts according to his analysis of longitudinal studies, rather than migration or affordability alone.^[46]^[74]^[75] In proposing alternatives, Shellenberger advocates "tough love" strategies, including involuntary commitment for the severely mentally ill, mandatory treatment for addicts, and aggressive policing of public disorder, citing successes in jurisdictions like New York under Rudy Giuliani's broken windows policing in the 1990s, which reduced homelessness by 60% through enforcement, and Finland's "Housing First" variant that incorporates treatment mandates. He argues these methods restore public spaces and motivate recovery by enforcing social norms, contrasting them with San Francisco's permissive environment that, per city data, saw overdose fatalities surge 1,000% from 2015 to 2020 amid harm reduction expansions.^[76]^[77] The book received praise from conservative and centrist outlets for highlighting policy failures and human suffering, with reviewers like Scott Alexander noting its vivid documentation of street-level devastation as a corrective to optimistic narratives. However, progressive critics, including those from academic institutions like UCSF, contested Shellenberger's minimization of housing costs, arguing that California's median rents exceeding $3,000 monthly displace locals into homelessness, and accused him of cherry-picking data while overlooking studies showing 60-70% of homeless individuals becoming so after becoming unhoused in their current region. Such critiques often emanate from sources invested in Housing First paradigms, which receive federal funding tied to the model, potentially biasing evaluations against alternatives requiring enforcement. Despite debates, the book's release coincided with growing public backlash, influencing discussions in San Francisco's 2021 mayoral race and subsequent policy shifts toward encampment clearances.^[76]^[57]^[78]

Political Involvement

Endorsements and ideological evolution

Shellenberger, a longtime environmental activist and registered Democrat, disaffiliated from the party in 2021, citing its adoption of what he termed a psychologically damaging "pity narrative" toward poverty, racial achievement gaps, and addiction, as well as broader embrace of "wokeism" and victim ideology.^[79] His ideological evolution reflects evidence-based revisions to earlier positions: initially skeptical of nuclear energy as a young radical, he became a vocal proponent after analyzing global energy data, safety records, and the role of reliable baseload power in reducing emissions and poverty.^[79] ^[80] On drug policy, Shellenberger shifted from advocating decriminalization and needle exchanges in the 1990s—aligned with harm-reduction approaches—to supporting mandatory treatment and enforcement by the 2020s, attributing surges in overdose deaths (over 100,000 annually in the U.S. by 2022) and urban homelessness to permissive progressive decriminalization experiments, such as California's Proposition 47 and Oregon's Measure 110.^[79] This progression culminated in Shellenberger's self-description as ideologically liberal on compassion, libertarian on personal freedoms, and conservative on preserving civilization, informed by firsthand observations of policy failures in California cities like San Francisco, where he documented over 30,000 homeless individuals amid rising fentanyl deaths (from 53 in 2017 to 745 in 2021).^[79] He ran for California governor as an independent in the June 7, 2022, primary, qualifying for the ballot with over 1.2 million signatures but receiving only 15.3% of the vote, positioning himself against Democratic incumbent Gavin Newsom without formal party backing.^[8] Shellenberger has not issued prominent candidate endorsements, maintaining an independent stance; however, he publicly welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s August 2024 endorsement of Donald Trump, noting its potential electoral impact based on polling data showing shifts among independents and Kennedy supporters.^[81] Post-2024 election analyses from Shellenberger highlighted Democratic defeats as a necessary "wake-up" to internal "woke bullying" and policy missteps, signaling his ongoing critique of left-leaning institutions without aligning explicitly with Republicans.^[82]

California gubernatorial campaigns

Shellenberger announced his independent candidacy for Governor of California on March 13, 2022, following his departure from the Democratic Party the previous year.^[83]^[84] His platform centered on reversing what he described as failed progressive policies contributing to urban decay, particularly in addressing homelessness, mental illness, and addiction through expanded involuntary treatment and shelter enforcement rather than encampment tolerance or decriminalization.^[79]^[85] He also promoted nuclear power expansion to achieve reliable, low-emission energy, critiquing reliance on intermittent renewables and fossil fuel imports amid California's blackouts and high costs.^[79]^[86] Additional priorities included school choice, reduced regulations to boost housing construction, and tougher enforcement against retail theft and street disorder.^[87]^[88] Campaigning as a centrist alternative to both major parties, Shellenberger highlighted his environmental background and data-driven critiques of policies like Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for certain thefts and drug offenses, arguing they exacerbated crime and disorder.^[79]^[88] He raised funds through small donors and received endorsements from figures like Tesla executive Antonio Gracias, while facing criticism from Democrats for aligning with conservative talking points despite his progressive roots.^[89] In California's top-two primary on June 7, 2022, Shellenberger garnered 284,664 votes, equivalent to 4.1% of the total, finishing third behind incumbent Democrat Gavin Newsom (56.2%) and Republican Brian Dahle (17.5%).^[90]^[8] This result prevented his advancement to the November general election, where Newsom defeated Dahle decisively.^[8] Shellenberger conceded the primary but framed his performance as evidence of voter dissatisfaction with one-party dominance in the state.^[91]

Public Advocacy and Testimonies

Congressional testimonies on policy issues

Shellenberger testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis on July 28, 2020, critiquing proposals for heavy investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar, arguing they would impose high costs on consumers and fail to deliver reliable power without sufficient baseload options such as nuclear.^[29] He highlighted data showing that renewables require extensive land use and backup systems, increasing overall energy expenses, and referenced his prior support for similar policies in the 2000s that underperformed in reducing emissions.^[18] On August 5, 2020, he appeared before the House Committee on Natural Resources, emphasizing the risks of making energy scarce and expensive through restrictive policies, which he claimed disproportionately harm developing nations by limiting access to affordable fossil fuels and nuclear power essential for poverty reduction and food production.^[92] In testimony to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 11, 2021, Shellenberger advocated retaining the existing U.S. nuclear fleet, citing its role in providing low-carbon, dispatchable energy and warning that premature retirements would raise electricity prices and emissions as gas plants fill the gap.^[26] He presented evidence from global data showing nuclear's safety record and efficiency compared to alternatives.^[25] Addressing the 2021 Texas grid failure, Shellenberger testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 19, 2021, attributing vulnerabilities to over-reliance on intermittent renewables and insufficient natural gas infrastructure, rather than solely weather extremes, and recommended diversified energy mixes including nuclear for grid resilience.^[93] On September 15, 2022, during a House Oversight Committee hearing on combating climate misinformation, Shellenberger defended open debate on energy policies, arguing that suppressing dissenting views on renewables' limitations hinders effective solutions and cited examples of censored accurate critiques of solar and wind intermittency.^[27] Shellenberger's March 9, 2023, testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government detailed government agencies' coordination with tech platforms to censor content on COVID-19 policies, elections, and climate narratives, presenting internal documents from the Twitter Files showing pressure from entities like the FBI and White House to suppress information deemed misinformation.^[94] He argued this violated First Amendment principles and distorted public policy discourse.^[95] Before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on September 14, 2023, he testified on AI governance, warning that proposed regulations risked enabling further censorship by empowering bureaucrats to define "harmful" content, and advocated for minimal intervention to preserve innovation and free speech in AI development.^[96] In April 2023, testifying to the Senate Budget Committee, Shellenberger promoted widespread air conditioning access as a humanitarian priority, linking energy abundance—via nuclear and natural gas—to reduced heat-related deaths, and critiqued policies prioritizing emission cuts over human welfare in hot climates.^[97]

Claims on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)

Michael Shellenberger has claimed that the U.S. government possesses evidence of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) demonstrating advanced technology potentially of nonhuman origin, which has been concealed through secret programs evading congressional oversight. In his November 13, 2024, testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's subcommittees on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, and National Security, the Intelligence Committee, and Memorial Affairs, Shellenberger alleged that the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) violate statutes such as 10 U.S.C. § 119 and 50 U.S.C. § 3093 by withholding UAP-related data from Congress.^[98] He attributed these assertions to whistleblower accounts, declassified documents, and historical records, criticizing official reports like the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)'s March 2024 historical review for flaws and omissions.^[98]^[36] Shellenberger highlighted alleged secret Unacknowledged Special Access Programs (USAPs), including "Immaculate Constellation," purportedly established in 2017 by the DoD to retrieve and exploit UAP without notifying Congress, involving private contractors like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. He submitted a whistleblower report detailing this program, which described first-hand UAP encounters, including a 2023 incident where an F-22 evaded a UAP, and claimed the program holds retrieved craft exhibiting capabilities beyond known human technology.^[99]^[100] Other programs he referenced include Project Moon Dust, Blue Fly, and Preserve Destiny for UAP recovery and reverse engineering, often linked to facilities like Wright-Patterson AFB and underground sites.^[98] Among specific incidents, Shellenberger cited the 2004 USS Nimitz "Tic-Tac" encounter off California, where radar tracked UAP performing maneuvers defying physics, and historical crashes like Roswell in 1947, involving retrieved nonhuman bodies and materials with anomalous properties, as per witnesses such as Sgt. Frederick Benthal and Stephen Lovekin. He also referenced nuclear site intrusions, such as orbs over Dyess AFB in 1973, and Kecksburg 1965 debris analyzed in withheld Battelle studies. These claims draw from sources including David Grusch's 2023 testimony and Victor Marchetti's accounts of 1970s recoveries.^[98]^[101] Shellenberger advocated for legislative measures to enforce UAP transparency, including defunding concealment efforts and mandating disclosure, arguing that secrecy undermines public safety and national security by prioritizing cover-ups over threat assessment. The Pentagon has denied evidence of extraterrestrial technology or crash retrieval programs, maintaining in its March 2024 AARO report that no verifiable nonhuman artifacts exist.^[36]^[98] His allegations, while supported by cited whistleblowers, remain unverified by independent empirical confirmation and contrast with official denials from DoD entities.^[36]^[98]

Controversies and Reception

Scientific and environmental debates

Shellenberger contends that exaggerated claims of climate catastrophe, or "alarmism," undermine public trust and divert resources from proven solutions like technological innovation and poverty reduction, which he argues have already driven down deaths from climate-related disasters by 98% over the past century despite population growth.^[44] He acknowledges climate change as real and supports emissions reductions through natural gas and nuclear power but rejects declarations of crisis or emergency, emphasizing that human adaptability, including through fossil fuels enabling electrification, has historically mitigated environmental harms more effectively than restrictions on development.^[18] In his 2019 TED talk, Shellenberger highlighted renewables' limitations, such as high land use and intermittency requiring fossil fuel backups, arguing they cannot fully replace reliable sources without increasing costs and emissions elsewhere.^[102] A core element of Shellenberger's environmental advocacy centers on nuclear energy, which he promotes as the most scalable, low-carbon technology with the lowest land footprint and death rate per terawatt-hour among major sources—far safer than solar or wind when accounting for mining and installation accidents.^[23] He has debated anti-nuclear environmentalists, such as NRDC's Dale Bryk, asserting that opposition to nuclear, often rooted in irrational fears post-Chernobyl and Fukushima, blocks the path to decarbonization in developing nations where energy poverty kills millions annually via indoor air pollution and disease.^[103] According to IPCC data cited by Shellenberger, nuclear generates one-quarter of global low-carbon electricity, outperforming renewables in reliability and emissions avoidance.^[28] He founded Environmental Progress in 2016 to advance pro-nuclear policies, influencing restarts like California's Diablo Canyon plant in 2022.^[80] Critics from climate advocacy circles, including a 2020 Yale Climate Connections review of Apocalypse Never, charge Shellenberger with "deeply and fatally flawed" science, alleging he downplays sea-level rise risks, misrepresents IPCC projections, and ignores compounding effects like biodiversity loss.^[69] Climate Feedback analyzed his claims as mixing accurate data on disaster trends with misleading simplifications that overlook long-term warming thresholds, such as 2°C beyond pre-industrial levels.^[104] Shellenberger rebuts these as ideologically driven, pointing to peer-reviewed studies confirming declining disaster fatalities and arguing that alarmist narratives, amplified by media and NGOs, prioritize fear over evidence of progress through abundance rather than austerity.^[105] He maintains that empirical metrics—global greening from CO2 fertilization and nuclear's role in averting emissions equivalent to all other sources combined—validate a ecomodernist approach favoring human ingenuity over de-growth.^[44]^[106]

Political and media criticisms

Shellenberger has drawn political and media criticism from progressive outlets and activists for his critiques of mainstream environmental narratives, particularly in Apocalypse Never (2020), where he argued that climate alarmism exaggerates risks and distracts from practical solutions like nuclear energy.^[69] Outlets such as Yale Climate Connections labeled the book as containing "bad science and bad arguments," accusing it of downplaying the urgency of anthropogenic warming despite Shellenberger's acceptance of the scientific consensus on human-caused temperature rise.^[69] Similarly, Climate Feedback described his claims, including that "climate change is not making natural disasters worse," as misleading and overly simplistic, contradicting evidence of increased disaster intensity in peer-reviewed studies.^[104] In political testimony and writings, Shellenberger's assertions linking climate alarmism to youth mental health declines have been attacked by environmental advocacy groups as advancing Republican skepticism, with DeSmog portraying him as a "Republican star witness" who undermines public support for aggressive decarbonization.^[107] Critics from left-leaning media, including Drilled Media, have framed his positions as a form of "denial by delay," alleging selective use of data to prioritize adaptation and technology over emission cuts.^[108] The Guardian reported that his 2020 public "apology" for past environmental scares unsettled former supporters, drawing conservative praise while prompting accusations of ideological apostasy from progressive circles.^[109] On social policies, Shellenberger's San Fransicko (2021) and gubernatorial campaign proposals faced backlash from Democratic activists and media for opposing "Housing First" models that provide shelter without requiring sobriety or treatment, with The American Prospect decrying his emphasis on addiction and enforcement as "clueless" and dismissive of structural factors like poverty.^[110] UCSF researchers criticized his analysis as abandoning housing affordability as the primary driver of homelessness in favor of behavioral interventions.^[57] Filter, a drug policy publication, attacked his "Cal-Psych" plan to involuntarily treat and potentially relocate severe cases as a "sinister" overreach that stigmatizes the unhoused rather than addressing root causes.^[111] During the 2022 campaign, these stances positioned him as a target for progressive ire, with Yahoo News noting opposition from Newsom-aligned activists who viewed his independent run as enabling right-leaning critiques of Democratic governance.^[112]

Personal Life

Family and residences

Shellenberger was raised in Colorado by Mennonite parents.^[113] He attended a Quaker school and later earned a degree in peace and global studies, reflecting his early involvement in peace activism.^[9] Shellenberger is married to Helen Jeehyun Lee, a sociologist.^[114] The couple has children, including at least one son.^[115] ^[116] Shellenberger resides in Berkeley, California, where he has lived for over 30 years, including with his wife at their home there.^[117] ^[118]

References

[1]
Michael Shellenberger - IMDb
Michael Shellenberger was born on 16 June 1971 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Pandora's Promise (2013), Thrown to the Wind (2023) and ...
[2]
Michael Shellenberger - KeyWiki
May 30, 2025 · Michael Shellenberger is an American author, journalist, and environmental policy advocate born on June 16, 1971.
[3]
Michael Shellenberger | The Breakthrough Institute
Michael Shellenberger co-founded the Breakthrough Institute with Ted Nordhaus in 2003. He left the Breakthrough Institute in 2015 and founded Environmental ...
[4]
[PDF] Michael Shellenberger | Congress.gov
PUBLICATIONS. ○ Apocalypse Never: How Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, HarperCollins, 2020. ○ “Why Apocalyptic Claims About Climate Change Are Wrong,” ...Missing: biography - | Show results with:biography -
[5]
[PDF] Michael Shellenberger - Public - CV November 2024
Nov 13, 2024 · PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE. ○ Founder, Public, an X and Substack publication, 2023 -. ○ President and Founder, Civilization Works, Berkeley, ...
[6]
Apocalypse Never - HarperCollins Publishers
In stock Free delivery over $35Michael Shellenberger's balanced and refreshing book delves deeply into a range of environmental issues and exposes misrepresentations by scientists, one ...
[7]
Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
Nov 30, 2023 · Michael Shellenberger, Twitter Files journalist, author, and environmentalist - testimony; Rupa Subramanya, Canada-based journalist for The ...
[8]
Michael Shellenberger - Ballotpedia
Michael Shellenberger was born in Galesburg, Illinois and lives in Berkeley, California. Shellenberger's career experience includes working as an author and ...Elections · 2018 · Campaign themes
[9]
Experts | Michael Shellenberger - Last Energy
Jan 8, 2018 · Michael Shellenberger comes from a Mennonite family, went to a Quaker school, was a peace activist, and got his degree in peace and global studies.Missing: background | Show results with:background
[10]
Michael Shellenberger - Fair For All
Michael Shellenberger is an American author whose work is mostly centered around the intersection of climate change, policy, and politics.
[11]
Does Michael Shellenberger have a PhD? If so, from which university?
Sep 6, 2021 · Shellenberger holds a bachelor's degree, having majored in peace and global studies at Earlham College. By itself, this isn't much of a ...Missing: early | Show results with:early
[12]
The Death of Environmentalism at 20 | American Enterprise Institute
Jun 20, 2024 · The leaders of the environmental movement were livid last fall when Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, two little-known, earnest ...
[13]
About Landing | The Breakthrough Institute
The Breakthrough Institute was founded in 2007 by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger. Breakthrough's early work built on Nordhaus and Shellenberger's ...
[14]
About Us - Environmental Progress
Environmental Progress (EP) was founded in 2016 with the mission of achieving nature, peace and prosperity for all. We believe everyone has a right to ...
[15]
[PDF] Michael Shellenberger - Public - Congress.gov
CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY. ○ “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the ... ○ “Does Poverty Cause Homelessness?,” UATX, April 2024. ○ “How WPATH ...
[16]
[PDF] Michael Shellenberger is Founder-President of Environmental ...
Shellenberger has been a climate and environmental activist for over 30 years. He has helped save nuclear reactors around the world, from Illinois and New York ...
[17]
Environmental Progress
Environmental Progress is a proud founding member of the California Peace Coalition of parents of children killed by or addicted to fentanyl and other deadly ...About Us · News · The War on Nuclear · Global Overview
[18]
Testimony of Michael D. Shellenberger For the House Select ...
My name is Michael Shellenberger, and I am Founder and President of Environmental Progress, an independent and nonprofit research organization. I am an invited ...
[19]
Why I changed my mind about nuclear power: Transcript of Michael ...
Nov 21, 2017 · I started out as an anti-nuclear activist and I quickly got involved in advocating for renewable energy.
[20]
Why I changed my mind about nuclear power | Michael Shellenberger
Nov 17, 2017 · ... Michael and his colleagues have constructed a new paradigm that views prosperity, cheap energy and nuclear power as the keys to ...Missing: advocacy | Show results with:advocacy
[21]
Michael Shellenberger: "Nuclear is the safest way to make electricity"
Feb 25, 2019 · "Only nuclear energy can lift all humans out of poverty while preventing dangerous levels of global warming. Just look at France and Sweden.
[22]
[PDF] The seven secrets to cheap nuclear energy
Michael Shellenberger is. President of Environmental. Progress, an independent research and policy organization based in Berkeley,. California, USA. This ...
[23]
Climate Perspectives and The Future of Energy - OurEnergyPolicy
Sep 8, 2020 · Shellenberger said a reason he is a proponent of nuclear power is that it has a far smaller land-use impact than other zero-carbon technologies.
[24]
Environmental Progress explains why nuclear power is cheap, reliable
Aug 14, 2023 · Michael Shellenberger, founder of Environmental Progress, says "the problem with renewables is that they're reaching their limits in many ...
[25]
Shellenberger to Senate: Keep nuclear
Mar 18, 2021 · Michael Shellenberger, founder and president of Environmental Progress, called for maintaining the current US fleet of nuclear power reactors.
[26]
[PDF] Testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Energy ...
Mar 11, 2021 · Shellenberger, “Democrats Say California is a Model,” Forbes, August 17, 2020. 13 Lucas Davis et al., “Market impacts of a nuclear power plant ...
[27]
[PDF] Michael Shellenberger Testimony to the House Committee on ...
Sep 15, 2022 · We should seek a significant expansion of nuclear power to increase energy abundance and security, produce hydrogen, and one day phase out the ...
[28]
Why nuclear is an environmentalist's story
Apr 24, 2019 · Shellenberger described the public perception of nuclear power as being like the fairy tale Cinderella; that it had been maligned and taken for ...
[29]
[PDF] Testimony of Michael D. Shellenberger, Founder and President ...
Jul 28, 2020 · Because of the inherently dual military-civilian nature of nuclear energy,. Congress and most presidential administrations have long viewed ...
[30]
Michael Shellenberger - Foro Nuclear
Mar 1, 2019 · Invited by Foro Nuclear to give a lecture in Madrid, Shellenberger considers that "only nuclear energy can lift all humans out of poverty ...
[31]
Twitter Files: What they are and why they matter - CBS News
Dec 14, 2022 · The Twitter Files consist of thousands of internal documents, including many Slack discussions, between Twitter employees about their content moderation ...
[32]
TWITTER FILES - Michael Shellenberger on X
Apr 3, 2024 · Twitter Files, released here for the first time, reveal that de Moraes and the Superior Electoral Court he controls engaged in a clear attempt to undermine ...
[33]
[PDF] USAID Censorship and Disinformation Operations Aimed at the ...
Feb 13, 2025 · that intelligence agencies can use to launder information as news and investigations. ... 3 @shellenberger (Michael Shellenberger), “Twitter Files ...
[34]
[PDF] The Censorship-Industrial Complex, Part 3: The Foreign Threat
Feb 12, 2025 · 3 Michael Shellenberger, Victory! Stanford Shuts Down Censorship Operation, Public,. June 14, 2024. Shellenberger Testimony February 12, 2025.
[35]
“Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth”
Michael Shellenberger Founder, Public Bio [PDF 1MB] Witness Statement [PDF 5MB] Truth in Testimony [PDF 610KB]; Mr. Luis Elizondo Author, Former Department ...Missing: investigations | Show results with:investigations
[36]
Experts testify before lawmakers that the U.S. is running secret UAP ...
Nov 13, 2024 · Shellenberger's Public news site recently published a story alleging that the U.S. government is operating "an active and highly secretive ' ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[37]
Ecomodernism - The Breakthrough Institute
An environmental philosophy that argues that humans can protect nature and improve human wellbeing by decoupling human development from environmental impacts.
[38]
An ECOMODERNIST MANIFESTO
“We offer this statement in the belief that both human prosperity and an ecologically vibrant planet are not only possible, but also inseparable.
[39]
An Ecomodernist Manifesto - The Breakthrough Institute
Apr 15, 2015 · The manifesto offers an affirmative and optimistic vision for a future in which we can have universal human development, freedom, and more nature.
[40]
[PDF] “An Ecomodernist Manifesto.” (PDF) - Squarespace
Apr 2, 2015 · In this, we affirm one long-standing environmental ideal, that humanity must shrink its impacts on the environment to make more room for nature, ...
[41]
Readings - An ECOMODERNIST MANIFESTO
Breakthrough Institute cofounders Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger on the coevolution of technology and humanity. Modernization theology should thus ...
[42]
A Degrowth Response to an Ecomodernist Manifesto - MAHB
May 19, 2015 · A group of over fifteen researchers from the degrowth scholarship community has written a detailed refutation of the Ecomodernist Manifesto.<|separator|>
[43]
On Behalf Of Environmentalists, I Apologize For The Climate Scare
Malthusianism — has been repeatedly debunked for 200 years and yet is more powerful than ever. But ...
[44]
Why Climate Alarmism Hurts Us All - Forbes
Dec 4, 2019 · Their main finding was that climate change policies are more likely to hurt food production and worsen rural poverty than climate change itself, ...
[45]
Extinctions - Environmental Progress
Bottom Line: The world is not in the midst of a sixth mass-extinction, but we are witnessing declines in the size of wildlife populations.
[46]
Review: 'San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities'
Oct 17, 2021 · The result is urban disaster. Shellenberger covers the vogue for "housing first" policy, which emphasizes placing homeless people in housing ...
[47]
San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities - Amazon.com
Progressives claimed they knew how to solve homelessness, inequality, and crime. But in cities they control, progressives made those problems worse. Michael ...
[48]
Michael Shellenberger: Californians Finally Get Serious on Crime
Nov 8, 2024 · This softer approach to crime, addiction, and homelessness was demonstrably more effective and compassionate than tougher models.
[49]
The Dirty Little Secret About Homelessness Is the Key to Ending It
Apr 25, 2024 · Studies find that cities that prioritize basic shelter over expensive housing reduce the deaths of homeless by 3-fold. And so in LA, homeless ...Missing: data | Show results with:data
[50]
Can We Fix San Francisco? - Reason Magazine
Mar 7, 2022 · San Fransicko author Michael Shellenberger on homelessness, crime, addiction, and his differences with progressives and libertarians.
[51]
Housing First not only ineffectual but deadly: LA case study
Aug 22, 2022 · On his Substack blog, Michael Shellenberger points to the evidence in an LA versus NYC comparison, asserting that Housing First results in three ...Missing: policy | Show results with:policy
[52]
Homelessness Is Not About Housing - City Journal
Mar 25, 2022 · “California,” writes Shellenberger, “has half of America's homeless but just 12 percent of the population.” A substantial portion of this group ...
[53]
Not Taking Crime Seriously: California's Prop 47 Exacerbated Crime ...
Oct 17, 2024 · By reclassifying several nonviolent felonies as misdemeanors, Prop 47 changed the trajectory of defendants from prison to jail—and from jail to ...
[54]
Impact Analysis of the Chesa Boudin Administration - arXiv
May 19, 2024 · When only looking at violent crimes during this period, the SFDA's office saw a 36% decrease, 7% decrease, and 47% increase in monthly ...
[55]
Crime is down in San Francisco, key law enforcement partnerships ...
Oct 15, 2025 · The largest overall declines in violent crime were reported by the police departments in Oakland (30%) and San Francisco (22%).
[56]
California Proposition 36: Penalties for theft, drug crimes - CalMatters
Nov 5, 2024 · Ten years ago, voters approved Proposition 47, which sought to reduce California's prison overcrowding by making some theft and drug crimes into ...
[57]
San Fransicko Is Incorrect About Housing Affordability and ...
Jan 24, 2022 · San Fransicko's argument against housing unaffordability as the primary driver of homelessness can be summarized as follows:Missing: decay policies
[58]
Transcript: Michael Shellenberger On Homelessness, Addiction, Crime
Mar 12, 2022 · On homelessness, crime, addiction, and the fast-deterioration of our public spaces, San Fran-sicko, despite its trolly title, is empirical, ...
[59]
Paper Sets Off a Debate on Environmentalism's Future
Feb 6, 2005 · Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus paper, The Death of Environmentalism, first released last fall, sets off debate after Pres Bush's ...
[60]
[PDF] Post-environmentalism: origins and evolution of a strange idea
The guest authors, Michael. Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, had just orchestrated the publication of An ecomodernist manifesto, co- written with prominent ...
[61]
Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics ...
Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus have spent their entire careers working with environmental organizations. The two are managing dirctors of American ...
[62]
Michael Shellenberger | ITIF
Michael Shellenberger is president and co-founder of Breakthrough Institute. He is co-author with Ted Nordhaus of Break Through: From the Death of ...
[63]
The Long Death of Environmentalism | The Breakthrough Institute
Feb 25, 2011 · Michael Shellenberger is founder and president of Environmental Progress, co-author of An Ecomodernist Manifesto, and a co-founder of the ...
[64]
Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
Michael Shellenberger's balanced and refreshing book delves deeply into a range of environmental issues and exposes misrepresentations by scientists, one ...
[65]
About Apocalypse Never - Environmental Progress
"Apocalypse Never is an extremely important book. Within its lively pages, Michael Shellenberger rescues with science and lived experience a subject drowning in ...
[66]
Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us
Sep 24, 2020 · In this best‐selling book, Shellenberger examines the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism and shows how parts of the environmental movement ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[67]
Key Takeaways from Michael Shellenberger's Apocalypse Never
Mar 27, 2021 · Key Takeaway #3: The earth is greener today than it was 35 years ago. (Examples abound. There has been wonderful restoration of our St. Louis ...Missing: arguments | Show results with:arguments
[68]
Michael Shellenberger – Apocalypse Never: A New Approach to ...
Sep 25, 2020 · Michael Shellenberger is a Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment” and the Founder and President of Environmental Progress. He's been a climate ...Missing: organizational | Show results with:organizational
[69]
Book review: Bad science and bad arguments abound in ...
Jul 15, 2020 · Bad science and bad arguments abound in 'Apocalypse Never' by Michael Shellenberger. A new book that critiques environmentalism is 'deeply and fatally flawed.'
[70]
False Alarm by Bjorn Lomborg; Apocalypse Never by Michael ...
Aug 9, 2020 · Two prominent 'lukewarmers' take climate science denial to another level, offering tepid manifestos at best.
[71]
San Fransicko - HarperCollins Publishers
In stock Free delivery over $35San Fransicko. Why Progressives Ruin Cities. By Michael Shellenberger,. On Sale: October 12, 2021. $32.50 Now: $26.00.
[72]
San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities - Amazon UK
In stock Rating 4.6 (2,108) Michael Shellenberger has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for thirty years. During that time, he advocated for the decriminalization of drugs, affordable ...
[73]
San Fransicko Book Summary by Michael Shellenberger - Shortform
Rating 4.9 (229) The author argues that compassion-driven, progressive policies have inadvertently fueled substance abuse, mental illness, and deterioration of public spaces.
[74]
Separating Facts from False Narratives of Shellenberger's “San ...
Mar 1, 2022 · Shellenberger falsely asserts that progressives oppose the creation of shelter beds, leading to high rates of unsheltered homeless people in ...
[75]
Housing First is a Failure - Cicero Institute
Jan 13, 2022 · Several cities and states show the failure of the Housing First approach. San Francisco has built enough permanent housing to house every ...Missing: Fransicko | Show results with:Fransicko
[76]
Book Review: San Fransicko - by Scott Alexander - Astral Codex Ten
Jun 23, 2022 · Shellenberger opens with the story of a 1970s SF candidate who campaigned on a message of public cleanliness, promising stronger punishments for ...
[77]
A cautionary tale from the streets of San Francisco - The Economist
Oct 23, 2021 · A cautionary tale from the streets of San Francisco. A new book shows how well-meaning urban policies have backfired.<|separator|>
[78]
Book Review: 'San Fransicko,' by Michael Shellenberger
Nov 23, 2021 · He criticizes the “harm reduction” and “housing first” policies embraced by many progressives and advocates (these approaches seek to ...
[79]
What would Michael Shellenberger do as California governor?
Jun 6, 2022 · Michael Shellenberger talks about why he isn't a Democrat, his changes on nuclear power and drug policy and his plans as California ...Missing: endorsements | Show results with:endorsements
[80]
This environmentalist is shaping the GOP's climate narrative
May 19, 2021 · He's an environmentalist who likes to apologize for the “climate scare.” Author Michael Shellenberger has ascended among Republicans as a ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[81]
Michael Shellenberger on X: "Kennedy Endorsement Of Trump ...
Aug 24, 2024 · Today, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Donald Trump, which polls suggest may give the former president enough votes to be elected president.
[82]
The Democrats' defeat was necessary to 'wake them up,' Michael ...
Nov 8, 2024 · Substack author Michael Shellenberger calls out 'woke bullying' following the 2024 election on 'The Bottom Line.'
[83]
Author Michael Shellenberger announces gubernatorial run on ...
Mar 13, 2022 · Inside California Politics - March 13, 2022.
[84]
Why Michael Shellenberger, A Centrist, Is Challenging California ...
Apr 4, 2022 · Shellenberger, an author who was a registered Democrat until last year, faces an uphill campaign in California's nonpartisan, top-two primary system.
[85]
Meet 'San Fransicko' author hoping to replace Gov. Newsom as ...
May 18, 2022 · Bay Area homeless policy advocate Michael Shellenberger is running against California Governor Gavin Newsom in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
[86]
California governor race: Who is Michael Shellenberger?
May 20, 2022 · Michael Shellenberger, 50, is running as an independent, pushing for nuclear energy and mental health reforms. What books has he written?
[87]
Can California Change?—An Interview with Michael Shellenberger
May 13, 2022 · In October 2021, environmentalist activist and author Michael Shellenberger published his bestselling book San Fransicko: Why Progressives ...<|separator|>
[88]
The Revolt Against Homelessness - The Atlantic
Jun 2, 2022 · Shellenberger doesn't have much of a plan for people like this, who become homeless because of poverty and don't have drug addiction—which ...
[89]
The environmental apostate who backed nuclear before it was cool
Jun 8, 2022 · Michael Shellenberger is an environmentalist who takes aim at sacred cows of the left. He's made a career out of poking conventional progressive positions.
[90]
California Governor (Top-two Primary) - 2022 Election Results
Candidate. Votes. Pct. Gavin Newsom*. dem. 3,888,543. 56.2%. Brian Dahle. gop. 1,214,317. 17.5%. Michael Shellenberger. 284,664. 4.1%. Anthony Trimino.
[91]
Shellenberger finishes third in California primary for Governor
Jun 13, 2022 · Author Michael Shellenberger finished 3rd in the open primary for California governor held last week. He is best known for such books as San ...Missing: gubernatorial | Show results with:gubernatorial
[92]
[PDF] Testimony of Michael D. Shellenberger, Founder and President ...
Aug 5, 2020 · Congress has to date failed to take steps to keep America's nuclear plants operating, even as it has repeatedly subsidized industrial solar and ...
[93]
Testimony before the United States House of Representatives ...
Apr 19, 2021 · The significant integration of variable energies leads to the loss of traditional power plants and the construction of new transmission lines to ...
[94]
[PDF] Censorship Industrial Complex - Document Repository
Testimony by Michael Shellenberger to The House Select. Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. March 9, 2023. Page 2 ...
[95]
- HEARING ON THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE FEDERAL ...
2 WITNESSES Mr. Michael Shellenberger, Journalist, Co-founder, Public, a Substack publication Oral Testimony..............
[96]
[PDF] Shellenberger Senate Testimony AI Censorship Sept 14, 2023
Sep 14, 2023 · Testimony by Michael Shellenberger. Before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and. Governmental Affairs. On the topic of: “Governing AI ...
[97]
[PDF] Shellenberger Testimony — “Air Conditioners For Humanity”
Apr 26, 2023 · Congress has to date, failed to take steps to keep America's nuclear plants operating, even as it has repeatedly subsidized industrial solar and ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[98]
[PDF] The United States Department Of Defense And The Intelligence ...
Nov 13, 2024 · Congress. Testimony by Michael Shellenberger to the Subcommittee On Cybersecurity,. Information Technology, and Government Innovation, and the.
[99]
'Immaculate Constellation' UAP program named in report: Journalist
Nov 13, 2024 · Independent journalist Michael Shellenberger told NewsNation a new whistleblower report reveals a secret UAP program named "Immaculate ...
[100]
UAP hearing witnesses claim U.S. government has hidden ...
Nov 13, 2024 · ... House Oversight and Accountability Committee Hearing. Michael Shellenberger, a journalist and one of the witnesses, released a 12-page ...
[101]
Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth
Nov 13, 2024 · Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (RET.) Chief Executive Officer, Ocean STL Consulting, LLC Document. Luis Elizondo. Author, and Former Department of ...
[102]
Michael Shellenberger: Why renewables can't save the planet |
Jan 29, 2019 · Environmentalists have long promoted renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind farms to save the climate.
[103]
Breakthrough Institute's Michael Shellenberger debates NRDC's ...
Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute states that he loves wind and solar and always has, but he has learned to recognize their limitations.<|separator|>
[104]
Article by Michael Shellenberger mixes accurate and inaccurate ...
Jul 6, 2020 · Shellenberger claims that “climate change is not making natural disasters worse.” As the reviewers describe below, this claim is inaccurate and contradicts ...
[105]
Bad science and bad ethics in Peter Gleick's Review of “Apocalypse ...
Aug 3, 2020 · In his review of my new book, Apocalypse Never, at Yale Climate Connections, Peter Gleick accuses me of mischaracterizing environmentalism and misrepresenting ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[106]
Shellenberger: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
Oct 8, 2020 · I've been frustrated by the fact that many on the Left are still very anti-nuclear, including and especially those who are very alarmist about climate change.
[107]
Long-time Contrarian Michael Shellenberger Is a Republican Star ...
a self-described Democrat and climate activist who nevertheless purports that climate concerns are overhyped — is now ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[108]
The New Denial Is Delay - Drilled Media
Mar 30, 2022 · Shellenberger's denial that Exxon suppressed or spun what it knew about climate change back in the 1970s was even referenced by mainstream ...
[109]
The environmentalist's apology: how Michael Shellenberger ...
Jul 3, 2020 · The American environment and energy commentator's piece in the Australian has found praise in conservative media.
[110]
Homelessness Meets Cluelessness - The American Prospect
Mar 18, 2022 · When San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a crackdown on street crime and drug dealing last December, Shellenberger claimed vindication.
[111]
Gov. Candidate's Sinister Plan to Ship Unhoused People Out of CA ...
Jun 2, 2022 · Michael Shellenberger may describe himself as an "underdog" in the race, but wields much influence. His "Cal-Psych" plan is deeply ...
[112]
Why Michael Shellenberger, A Centrist, Is Challenging California ...
Apr 4, 2022 · Michael Shellenberger and his wife Helen Lee, a sociologist, at their home in Berkeley, California. He believes that other Newsom ...
[113]
Two Environmentalists Anger Their Brethren - WIRED
Sep 25, 2007 · They came from very different backgrounds: Shellenberger was raised in Colorado by Mennonite parents, married young, and has two kids. Nordhaus ...
[114]
Michael Shellenberger - Biography - IMDb
Michael Shellenberger was born on June 16, 1971 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Pandora's Promise (2013), Thrown to the Wind (2023) and ...
[115]
An Interview with Michael Shellenberger - Quillette
Dec 3, 2024 · I want to talk about journalism and maintaining standards in today's disrupted media landscape. Both of us run new media organisations, and it ...
[116]
We came to New York to see my son's girlfriend Lucy's dance ...
May 25, 2023 · We came to New York to see my son's girlfriend Lucy's dance performance. It was wonderful. We also saw Helen's sister Jenny and her husband Zuri. Both are very ...Missing: life | Show results with:life<|separator|>
[117]
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/michael-shellenberger-centrist-california-governor-election-gavin-newsom_n_624a6134e4b098174502afe4
[118]
Michael Shellenberger: How Progressives Threaten Cities
A Bay Area resident for more than 30 years, Shellenberger says progressive policies are, in good part, the reason for homelessness and crime in San Francisco.Missing: evolution | Show results with:evolution