{{UPE|date=June 2026}} {{Short description|American author and environmental policy writer (born 1971)}} {{use American English|date=November 2024}} {{use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Shellenberger | image = ShellenbergerNov2024.jpg | caption = Shellenberger in 2024 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|6|16}} | birth_place = Colorado, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = Earlham College (BA)<br />UC Santa Cruz (MA) | awards = Stevens Institute of Technology's Center for Science Writings Green Book Award (2008) | political_party = Independent (2022–present) | other_party = Democratic (before 2022) | movement = Ecomodernism<br/>Radical centrism | spouse = Helen Lee | children = 2 | module = {{Infobox writer | embed = yes | subject = Energy, global warming, human development | module = {{Listen |embed= yes |filename= Michael Shellenberger Plans for San Francisco.ogg |title= Shellenberger's voice |type= speech |description=On his political vision}} | website = {{URL|shellenberger.org|Official website}}}} }}
'''Michael D. Shellenberger''' (born June 16, 1971) is an American author, professor and journalist. Shellenberger is known for holding heterodox views that are controversial among some academics.{{refn|<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Article by Michael Shellenberger mixes accurate and inaccurate claims in support of a misleading and overly simplistic argumentation about climate change|url=https://science.feedback.org/review/article-by-michael-shellenberger-mixes-accurate-and-inaccurate-claims-in-support-of-a-misleading-and-overly-simplistic-argumentation-about-climate-change/|access-date=August 9, 2024|website=Climate Feedback|date=July 6, 2020|archive-date=August 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809042445/https://science.feedback.org/review/article-by-michael-shellenberger-mixes-accurate-and-inaccurate-claims-in-support-of-a-misleading-and-overly-simplistic-argumentation-about-climate-change/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GleickReview2020">{{cite web|last=Gleick|first=Peter H.|date=15 July 2020|title=Book review: Bad science and bad arguments abound in 'Apocalypse Never' by Michael Shellenberger|url=https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/review-bad-science-and-bad-arguments-abound-in-apocalypse-never/|access-date=24 September 2020|website=Yale Climate Connections|publisher=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922150538/https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/review-bad-science-and-bad-arguments-abound-in-apocalypse-never/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Demos|first=TJ|title=Against the Anthropocene: Visual Culture and Environment Today|publisher=MIT Press|year=2017|isbn=9783956792106|location=|pages=46–49}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last1=Caradonna|first1=Jeremy L.|last2=Norgaard|first2=Richard B.|last3=Borowy|first3=Iris|date=2015|title=A Degrowth Response to an Ecomodernist Manifesto|url=https://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-05-06/a-degrowth-response-to-an-ecomodernist-manifesto/|access-date=|website=Resilience|archive-date=December 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208131805/https://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-05-06/a-degrowth-response-to-an-ecomodernist-manifesto/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LARB" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kallis|first1=Giorgos|last2=Bliss|first2=Sam|date=January 4, 2019|title=Post-environmentalism: origins and evolution of a strange idea|url=https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/2123/|journal=Journal of Political Ecology|language=|volume=26|issue=1|pages=466–485|doi=10.2458/v26i1.23238|s2cid=202259917|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019JPolE..2623238K |archive-date=April 2, 2024|access-date=March 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402152531/https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/2123/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adamson|first1=Joni|last2=Slovic|first2=Scott|date=2009|title=Guest Editors' Introduction the Shoulders We Stand on: An Introduction to Ethnicity and Ecocriticism|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20532676|journal=MELUS|volume=34|issue=2|pages=5–24|doi=10.1353/mel.0.0019|jstor=20532676|s2cid=143615564|issn=0163-755X|archive-date=August 20, 2023|access-date=March 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820163132/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20532676|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="DotsonBouchey2020"/><ref name="HorganSciAm" /><ref name=":14">{{cite news |last=Stein |first=Hannes |date=20 June 2020 |title=Die Illusionen der Öko-Romantiker |url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/plus209686495/Atomkraft-und-Klima-Die-Illusionen-der-Oeko-Romantiker.html |work=Die Welt |location= |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=February 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215095851/https://www.welt.de/kultur/plus209686495/Atomkraft-und-Klima-Die-Illusionen-der-Oeko-Romantiker.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-04 |title=Why Centrist Michael Shellenberger Is Challenging California Gov. Gavin Newsom |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-shellenberger-centrist-california-governor-election-gavin-newsom_n_624a6134e4b098174502afe4 |access-date=2026-05-20 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, Shellenberger became CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech at the University of Austin, a widely-publicized new university in the process of applying for accreditation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-24 |title=New Texas college, UATX, encourages civil discourse and free speech {{!}} 60 Minutes - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uatx-college-teaching-inaugural-class-60-minutes/ |access-date=2026-05-20 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Shellenberger – University of Austin |url=https://uaustin.org/people/michael-shellenberger/ |access-date=2026-05-20 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Shellenberger authored ''Apocalypse Never'' (2020), about the environment, and ''San Fransicko'' (2021), about homelessness. Both books sparked significant debates and were both praised and critiqued by academics and journalists.
Shellenberger has been active in critiquing the environmental movement, offering alternative views on climate threats and policies.<ref name="HorganSciAm" /><ref name=":18">{{Cite news |date=2020-10-06 |title=Los Angeles Review of Books |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-stories-michael-shellenberger-tells/ |access-date=2022-06-29 |language=en |quote=Shellenberger has a history of anti-green contrarianism. He thrust himself into the limelight in 2004, when he and Ted Nordhaus wrote an essay titled "The Death of Environmentalism." Thirty-three at the time, Shellenberger was already portraying himself as an environmentalist who had realized that environmentalism's problem was environmentalism itself... The story Shellenberger has stuck with is that the things environmentalists resist – nuclear, GMOs, fracking, industrial agriculture, and so on – are actually good for the environment. |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626194146/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-stories-michael-shellenberger-tells/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":17" /> He contends that while global warming is a concern, it is "not the end of the world",<ref name=":17" /> and advocates for the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), industrial agriculture, fracking, and nuclear power as tools for environmental protection.<ref name=":18" /> Shellenberger ran for governor of California in 2018 and 2022, but was unsuccessful in both campaigns.
{{Asof|2026}} Shellenberger is on the faculty of the University of Austin in the area of "Politics, Censorship and Free Speech."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Shellenberger |url=https://uaustin.org/people/michael-shellenberger/ |publisher=University of Austin |access-date=2026-05-25 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Shellenberger was born and raised in Colorado to Mennonite parents.<ref name= Anger>{{cite magazine| url= https://www.wired.com/2007/09/mf-burning |title= Two Environmentalists Anger Their Brethren| magazine= Wired| date= September 2007| publisher= | access-date= }}</ref> He is a 1989 graduate of Greeley Central High School.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.greeleytribune.com/2013/02/17/greeley-central-high-school-graduate-waxes-philosophic-on-energy/ |title= Greeley Central High School graduate waxes philosophic on energy |newspaper= Greeley Tribune |date= 17 February 2013 |access-date= 9 July 2022 |archive-date= September 14, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230914210108/https://www.greeleytribune.com/2013/02/17/greeley-central-high-school-graduate-waxes-philosophic-on-energy/ |url-status= live }}</ref> He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Peace and Global Studies program at Earlham College in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title=PAGS Graduates in the Media, Academics |publisher=Earlham College |accessdate=December 20, 2019 |url= https://earlham.edu/academics/programs/peace-and-global-studies/pags-graduates-in-the-media |location=Richmond, IN |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210308130533/https://earlham.edu/academics/programs/peace-and-global-studies/pags-graduates-in-the-media |url-status=dead}}</ref> Subsequently, he earned a Master of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Shellenberger's Biography |url= https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/179442/michael-shellenberger |website=justfacts.votesmart.org |publisher=Vote Smart |accessdate=June 22, 2022}}</ref>
He is proficient in Portuguese.<ref>http://youtube.com/watch?v=UkKwa4jU0fc&t=10743s</ref>
==Career== After graduation, Shellenberger moved to San Francisco to work on left-wing causes. He worked with Global Exchange on a Nike boycott. He created a nonprofit public relations firm, Communication Works, that worked on many progressive causes, and Lumina Strategies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Progressive-PR-3239880.php|title=Progressive PR |website=SF GATE |date=5 August 1997 |access-date=19 May 2026}}</ref> Shellenberger in 2003 founded the Breakthrough Institute.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/us/paper-sets-off-a-debate-on-environmentalisms-future.html|title=Paper Sets Off a Debate on Environmentalism's Future |website=New York Times |date=26 February 2025 |access-date=19 May 2026}}</ref> While at Breakthrough, Shellenberger wrote a number of articles with subjects ranging from positive treatment of nuclear energy and shale gas,<ref>{{Cite news| last=Totty| first=Michael| date=April 17, 2010| title=Nuclear's Fall – and Rise| newspaper=The Wall Street Journal| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303411604575168171976855444| archive-date=April 26, 2018| access-date=August 8, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426144901/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303411604575168171976855444| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last=Leonhardt| first=David| date=July 21, 2012| title=Opinion {{!}} A Ray of Hope on Climate Change| language=en-US| newspaper=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/sunday-review/a-ray-of-hope-on-climate-change.html| access-date=2018-04-26| issn=0362-4331| archive-date=December 28, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228163313/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/sunday-review/a-ray-of-hope-on-climate-change.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-boom-in-shale-gas-credit-the-feds/2011/12/07/gIQAecFIzO_story.html|title=Opinion: A Boom in Shale Gas? Credit the Feds |last1=Shellenberger| first1=Michael| last2= Nordhaus| first2=Ted| newspaper=The Washington Post| date=December 16, 2011|url-status= live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122204229/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-12-16/opinions/35287573_1_shale-gas-barnett-shale-shale-formations| archive-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/23/fracking-developed-government_n_1907178.html| title=Decades of Federal Dollars Helped Fuel Gas Boom| last=Begos| first=Kevin| publisher=AP| date=September 23, 2012| archive-date=October 19, 2012| access-date=January 23, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019102211/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/23/fracking-developed-government_n_1907178.html| url-status=live}}</ref> to critiques of the planetary boundaries hypothesis.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2012/06/16/boundary-conditions| title=Boundary conditions| date=June 16, 2012| newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> He worked to burnish the reputations of prominent clients including Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collier |first=Robert |date=2004-08-21 |title=Venezuelan politics suit Bay Area activists' talents / Locals help build Chavez's image, provide polling data |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Venezuelan-politics-suit-Bay-Area-activists-2700433.php |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=SFGATE |language=en |archive-date=January 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124174314/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Venezuelan-politics-suit-Bay-Area-activists-2700433.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
Shellenberger then founded Environmental Progress,<ref>[http://www.environmentalprogress.org/ Environmental Progress] home page (accessed 1 July 2017)</ref> which is behind several public campaigns to keep nuclear power plants in operation.<ref name="Foundation For National Progress">{{cite news| last1=McDonnell| first1=Tim| title=Closing This Nuclear Plant Could Cause an Environmental Disaster| url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-climate-change| access-date=11 February 2016| work=Mother Jones| publisher=Foundation For National Progress| date=3 February 2016| archive-date=May 23, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523091209/https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-climate-change/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Open letter: Do the right thing – stand-up for California's largest source of clean energy| url=http://www.savediablocanyon.org/open-letter/| website=Save Diablo Canyon| access-date=11 February 2016| archive-date=February 7, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207001258/http://www.savediablocanyon.org/open-letter/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.eia.gov/nuclear/state/illinois/| title=State Nuclear Profiles: Illinois| date=26 April 2012| publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration| access-date=7 April 2016| archive-date=July 15, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715024749/http://www.eia.gov/nuclear/state/illinois/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=http://environmentalprogress.org/new-york-public-service-commission-letter| title=EP open letter to New York PSC| date=2016-07-14| website=Environmental Progress| access-date=December 16, 2017| archive-date=June 15, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615110959/http://environmentalprogress.org/new-york-public-service-commission-letter| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=http://environmentalprogress.org/south-korea-letter| title=Open letter to South Korean president Moon Jae-in| date=2017-05-07| website=Environmental Progress| access-date=December 16, 2017| archive-date=December 17, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014841/http://environmentalprogress.org/south-korea-letter| url-status=live}}</ref> Shellenberger has also been called by conservative lawmakers to testify before the U.S. Congress about climate change and in favor of nuclear energy.<ref name="testi">{{cite web| last=Shellenberger| first=Michael| date=15 January 2020| title=Full Committee Hearing – An Update on the Climate Crisis: From Science to Solutions| url=https://republicans-science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/full-committee-hearing-update-climate-crisis-science-solutions| access-date=17 June 2020| website=republicans-science.house.gov| publisher=Committee on Science, Space, and Technology| archive-date=June 18, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618093714/https://republicans-science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/full-committee-hearing-update-climate-crisis-science-solutions| url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2022, Shellenberger was one of the authors who released sections of annotated internal Twitter Files authorized by new owner Elon Musk.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Folmar |first=Chloe |date=2022-12-11 |title=American author Michael Shellenberger releases 'Twitter Files Part 4' |url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3770483-american-author-michael-shellenberger-releases-twitter-files-part-4/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221211104348/https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3770483-american-author-michael-shellenberger-releases-twitter-files-part-4/ |archive-date=2022-12-11 |access-date=2022-12-17 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref> As of December 2022, he is a writer for The Free Press.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=2022-12-13 |title=Bari Weiss reveals business plan for buzzy new media startup |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/12/13/bari-weiss-business-plan-free-press |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Axios.com |language=en |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128033108/https://www.axios.com/2022/12/13/bari-weiss-business-plan-free-press |url-status=live }}</ref>
Also in November 2023, Shellenberger was the key note speaker at a Genspect conference. In this speech he said that the idea of transgender people was a "woke religion" and went on further, saying "We are creating, through ideological means and social media, gender dysphoria. ... These are ideologically driven failures of civilization".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/michael-shellenberger-sf-trans-issues-18488990.php | title=Michael Shellenberger is one of the most influential writers in S.F. Here's what he says about trans people | newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle | last1=Ho | first1=Soleil }}</ref>
Shellenberger is the co-founder of ''Public'', a newsletter that covers "stories on the most important issues of the day, from censorship and cities to mental health and addiction to energy and the environment".<ref>{{cite web |title=About Public |url=https://public.substack.com/about |website=public.substack.com |publisher=Michael Shellenberger |access-date=30 November 2023 |archive-date=November 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127161253/https://public.substack.com/about |url-status=live }}</ref> Public broke the story of the first people to get Covid, as the Wall Street Journal acknowledged, in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gordon |first=Michael |date=June 20, 2023 |title=U.S.-Funded Scientist Among Three Chinese Researchers Who Fell Ill Amid Early Covid-19 Outbreak |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/u-s-funded-scientist-among-three-chinese-researchers-who-fell-ill-amid-early-covid-19-outbreak-3f919567 |website=Wall Street Journal}}</ref> And in January 2022, the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' said that the use of drugs at a recently opened San Francisco social services facility was first reported on Shellenberger's substack.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Moench |last2=Fagan |first1=Mallory |first2=Kevin |date=Jan 26, 2022 |title=In controversial move, S.F. allows drug use at Breed's new Tenderloin treatment linkage center |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/In-controversial-move-S-F-allows-drug-use-at-16804669.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126143857/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/In-controversial-move-S-F-allows-drug-use-at-16804669.php |archive-date=Jan 26, 2022 |access-date=Mar 1, 2024 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> In December 2022, the facility closed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sjostedt |first=David |date=May 11, 2022 |title='Tenderloin Linkage Center' Morphs into Safe Consumption Site, Despite Legal Risks |url=https://sfstandard.com/2022/05/11/much-touted-tenderloin-linkage-center-morphs-into-a-safe-consumption-site-for-drug-use-despite-legal-risks/ |access-date=2023-08-13 |work=The San Francisco Standard |language=en |archive-date=April 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409172611/https://sfstandard.com/2022/05/11/much-touted-tenderloin-linkage-center-morphs-into-a-safe-consumption-site-for-drug-use-despite-legal-risks/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On April 3, 2024, Shellenberger published the "Twitter Files – Brazil", resulting in dozens of news stories in Brazil, a formal Congressional inquiry, and two Congressional hearings, at which Shellenberger testified.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 12, 2024 |first1=Pepita |last1=Ortega |first2=Heitor |last2=Mazzoco |title='Há dificuldade de diferenciar palavras de ações', diz ativista americano crítico de Moraes; ouça |url=https://www.estadao.com.br/politica/blog-do-fausto-macedo/ha-dificuldade-de-diferenciar-palavras-de-acoes-diz-ativista-americano-critico-de-moraes-ouca/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |work=O Estado de S. Paulo |language=pt-br |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417015041/https://www.estadao.com.br/politica/blog-do-fausto-macedo/ha-dificuldade-de-diferenciar-palavras-de-acoes-diz-ativista-americano-critico-de-moraes-ouca/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vieira |first=Thiago |date=2024-04-16 |title=Michael Shellenberger: 'Petistas exigiram minha prisão' |url=https://revistaoeste.com/politica/michael-shellenberger-petistas-exigiram-minha-prisao/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=Revista Oeste |language=pt-BR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-11 |title=Ao vivo: Michael Shellenberger fala à Comissão do Senado |url=https://www.poder360.com.br/congresso/ao-vivo-michael-shellenberger-fala-a-comissao-do-senado/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=Poder360 |language=pt-br |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417015028/https://www.poder360.com.br/congresso/ao-vivo-michael-shellenberger-fala-a-comissao-do-senado/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 11, 2024 |title=Jornalista do Twitter Files diz no Senado que Moraes 'parece agir como legislador' |url=https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/politica/jornalista-do-twitter-files-diz-no-senado-que-moraes-parece-agir-como-legislador/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |work=CNN Brasil |language=pt-br |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417015033/https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/politica/jornalista-do-twitter-files-diz-no-senado-que-moraes-parece-agir-como-legislador/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Investigative journalists subsequently highlighted multiple errors in Shellenberger's reporting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Demori |first=Leandro |date=2024-05-07 |title=How the "Twitter Files" spread disinformation on Brazil's Supreme Court |url= https://ijnet.org/en/story/how-twitter-files-spread-disinformation-brazils-supreme-court |access-date=2026-05-20}}</ref> In September 2024, Shellenberger appeared with Bill Nye at an event entitled "Can Science Save the World?" hosted by New College of Florida.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-25 |title=New College to Host Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' and Michael Shellenberger for Socratic Stage Event at Sarasota Opera House |url=https://www.ncf.edu/news/new-college-to-host-bill-nye-the-science-guy-and-michael-shellenberger-for-socratic-stage-event-at-sarasota-opera-house/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=New College of Florida |language=en}}</ref> The event "seeks to advance civil discourse and engagement through facilitating events that foster open discussion and debate on relevant public policy issues."<ref name=":10" />
Shellenberger has faced accusations of "bad science" for his comments on climate change in ''Apocalpyse Never'';<ref name="GleickReview2020"/> he has also been criticized for arguing with prominent climate scientists on social media and "apologising" to the world on the behalf of environmentalists.<ref name="Guardian2020-07-04"/> A panel of scientists organized by Climate Feedback analyzed the claims he made in his "apology" article, concluding that they were "inaccurate or mislead readers by contradicting available evidence or using scientific data out of context."<ref name="ClimateFeedback2020">{{cite web|date=6 July 2020|title=Article by Michael Shellenberger mixes accurate and inaccurate claims in support of a misleading and overly simplistic argumentation about climate change|url=https://science.feedback.org/review/article-by-michael-shellenberger-mixes-accurate-and-inaccurate-claims-in-support-of-a-misleading-and-overly-simplistic-argumentation-about-climate-change/|website=Science Feedback|access-date=}}</ref> A Snopes article, which consulted multiple scientists that Shellenberger had cited, was similarly critical; Michael Mann called one of Shellenberger's central arguments "completely wrong," and found it was also contradicted by the very IEA source Shellenberger used to support it. .<ref name="Snopes2020">{{cite web|last=|date=4 August 2020|title=Shellenberger's Optimistic, Viral Take on Climate Future Challenged by Scientists He Cites|url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/08/04/shellenberger-climate-change/|website=Snopes|access-date=}}</ref>
== Congressional testimony == Shellenberger has testified before the United States Congress on multiple occasions on topics ranging from climate change, state-sponsored censorship and disinformation, UFOs, and artificial intelligence.<ref name=":23">{{Cite web |date=2020-01-15 |title=Full Committee Hearing - An Update on the Climate Crisis: From Science to Solutions |url=https://republicans-science.house.gov/2020/1//full-committee-hearing-update-climate-crisis-science-solutions |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=House Committee on Science Space & Tech - Republicans |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":21"/><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKksMTQYepo |title=Michael Shellenberger testifies at UFO hearing, says military has ample video & photo information |date=2024-11-13 |last=New York Post |access-date=2025-05-09 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite web |title=Report of The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate and Its Subcommittees for The One Hundred Eighteenth Congress |url=https://www.congress.gov/119/crpt/srpt8/CRPT-119srpt8.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250509080820/https://www.congress.gov/119/crpt/srpt8/CRPT-119srpt8.pdf |archive-date=May 9, 2025 |access-date=May 9, 2025 |publisher=U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Topic !Date !Committee !Subcommittee |- |"An Update on the Climate Crisis: From Science to Solutions"<ref name=":23" /> |January 15, 2020<ref name=":23" /> |House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology<ref name=":23" /> |Full Committee |- |"Governing AI Through Acquisition and Procurement"<ref name=":19" /> |September 14, 2023<ref name=":20">{{Cite web |title=Governing AI Through Acquisition and Procurement |url=https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/governing-ai-through-acquisition-and-procurement-2/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs |language=en-US}}</ref> |Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs<ref name=":20" /> |Full Committee |- |"Hearing on The Weaponization of The Federal Government"<ref name=":21">{{Cite web |title=- HEARING ON THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg54237/html/CHRG-118hhrg54237.htm |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.govinfo.gov}}</ref> |November 30, 2023<ref name=":21" /> |House Committee on the Judiciary |Select Subcommittee on The Weaponization of The Federal Government<ref name=":21" /> |- |"Brazil: A Crisis of Democracy, Freedom, & Rule of Law?"<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-07 |title=Brazil: A Crisis of Democracy, Freedom, & Rule of Law? |url=https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/2024/5/brazil-a-crisis-of-democracy-freedom-rule-of-law |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=House Foreign Affairs Committee |language=en}}</ref> |May 7, 2024<ref name=":24" /> |House Committee on Foreign Affairs |Full Committee |- |"Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth"<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-07 |title=Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth |url=https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-exposing-the-truth/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability |language=en}}</ref> |November 13, 2024<ref name=":22" /> |House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform<ref name=":22" /> |Committee on Oversight and Accountability<ref name=":22" /> |- |"The Censorship-Industrial Complex, Part 3: The Foreign Threat"<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Shellenberger |first=Michael |date=February 12, 2025 |title=The Censorship-Industrial Complex, Part 3: The Foreign Threat |url=https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/117881/witnesses/HHRG-119-JU00-Wstate-ShellenbergerM-20250212-U4.pdf}}</ref> |February 12, 2025<ref name=":9" /> |House Committee on the Judiciary |Full Committee |- |"USAID Censorship and Disinformation Operations Aimed at the American People"<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |last=Shellenberger |first=Michael |title=USAID Censorship and Disinformation Operations Aimed at the American People |url=https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Testimony-Shellenberger-2025-02-13.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214133737/https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Testimony-Shellenberger-2025-02-13.pdf |archive-date=February 14, 2025}}</ref> | February 13, 2025<ref name=":25" /> |Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs |Full Committee |}
== Writing and reception ==
=== ''The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming in a Post-Environmental World'' === In 2004, Nordhaus and Shellenberger co-authored "The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming Politics in a Post-Environmental World."<ref>{{cite report |last1=Shellenberger |first1=Michael |last2=Nordhaus |first2=Ted |title=The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming in a Post-Environmental World |publisher=Breakthrough Institute |year=2004 |url=https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/uploads.thebreakthrough.org/legacy/images/Death_of_Environmentalism.pdf |access-date=2021-11-30 |archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144818/https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/uploads.thebreakthrough.org/legacy/images/Death_of_Environmentalism.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The paper argued that environmentalism is incapable of dealing with climate change and should "die" so that a new politics can be born. The paper was criticized by members of the mainstream environmental movement.<ref name="TimeHeroes2008">{{Cite magazine |last=Walsh |first=Bryan |date=2008-09-24 |title=Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger – Heroes of the Environment 2008 |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1841778_1841779_1841804,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729030254/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1841778_1841779_1841804,00.html |archive-date=29 July 2009 |access-date=2022-11-20 |magazine=Time Specials}}</ref> Carl Pope, the former executive director of the Sierra Club, called the essay "unclear, unfair and divisive", stating it contained multiple factual errors and misinterpretations. Adam Werbach, another former Sierra Club president, praised the paper's arguments.<ref>{{cite web|date=14 January 2005|title=Dead movement walking?|url=http://www.salon.com/2005/01/14/death_of_environmentalism/|access-date=13 August 2018|website=Salon.com}}</ref> John Passacantando, the former Greenpeace executive director, said in 2005 that Shellenberger and Nordhaus "laid out some fascinating data, but they put it in this over-the-top language and did it in this in-your-face way."<ref>{{cite news|last=Barringer|first=Felicity|date=February 6, 2005|title=Paper Sets Off a Debate on Environmentalism's Future|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/national/06enviro.html?pagewanted=2}}</ref> Michel Gelobter, as well as other environmental experts and academics, wrote ''The Soul of Environmentalism: Rediscovering transformational politics in the 21st century'' as a response that criticized "Death" for demanding increased technological innovation instead of addressing the systemic concerns of people of color.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|last1=Gelobter|first1=Michel|last2=Dorsey|first2=Michael|last3=Fields|first3=Leslie|last4=Goldtooth|first4=Tom|last5=Mendiratta|first5=Anuja|last6=Moore|first6=Richard|last7=Morello-Frosch|first7=Rachel|last8=Shepard|first8=Peggy M.|last9=Torres|first9=Gerald|date=27 May 2005|title=The Soul of Environmentalism Rediscovering transformational politics in the 21st century|url=http://grist.org/comments/soapbox/2005/05/27/gelobter-soul/index1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050711000747/http://grist.org/comments/soapbox/2005/05/27/gelobter-soul/index1.html|archive-date=11 July 2005|publisher=Grist}}</ref>
=== ''Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility'' === In 2007, Shellenberger and Nordhaus published ''Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility''. The book is an argument for what its authors describe as a positive, "post-environmental" politics that abandons the environmentalist focus on nature protection for a new focus on technological innovation to create a new economy. They were among 32 of ''Time'' magazine's Heroes of the Environment (2008) after writing the book,<ref name="TimeHeroes2008"/><ref name='LARB'>{{cite news |last=Bliss |first=Sam |date=6 October 2020 |title=The Stories Michael Shellenberger Tells |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-stories-michael-shellenberger-tells/ |work=Los Angeles Review of Books |location= |access-date=31 January 2021 |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626194146/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-stories-michael-shellenberger-tells/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and received the 2008 Green Book Award from science journalist John Horgan.<ref name='HorganSciAm'>{{cite news |last=Horgan |first=John |author-link=John Horgan (journalist) |date=4 August 2020 |title=Does Optimism on Climate Change Make You Pro-Trump? Apocalypse Never, a book by iconoclastic environmentalist Michael Shellenberger, triggers polarized responses |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-optimism-on-climate-change-make-you-pro-trump/ |work=Scientific American |location= |access-date=31 January 2021 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126033113/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-optimism-on-climate-change-make-you-pro-trump/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Wall Street Journal'' wrote that "(i)f heeded, Nordhaus and Shellenberger's call for an optimistic outlook – embracing economic dynamism and creative potential – will surely do more for the environment than any U.N. report or Nobel Prize."<ref name=":8">Jonathan Adler, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 27 November 2007, [http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010913 The Lowdown on Doomsday: Why the public shrugs at global warming] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226001844/http://opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010913 |date=December 26, 2009 }}</ref>
Environmental scholars Julie Sze and Michael Ziser questioned Shellenberger and Nordhaus's goals in publishing ''Break Through,'' arguing the "evident relish in their notoriety as the 'sexy'(,) cosmopolitan 'bad boys' of environmentalism (their own words) introduces some doubt about their sincerity and reliability." Sze and Ziser asserted that ''Break Through'' failed "to incorporate the aims of environmental justice while actively trading on suspect political tropes", such as blaming China and other nations as large-scale polluters. Furthermore, Sze and Ziser claim that Shellenberger and Nordhaus advocate technology-based approaches that miss entirely the "structural environmental injustice" that natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina make visible. Ultimately, "Shellenberger believes that community-based environmental justice poses a threat to the smooth operation of a highly capitalized, global-scale Environmentalism."<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Ziser|first1=Michael|last2=Sze|first2=Julie|date=2007|title=Climate Change, Environmental Aesthetics, and Global Environmental Justice Cultural Studies|journal=Discourse|volume=29|issue=2/3|pages=384–410|doi=10.1353/dis.2007.a266843 |jstor=41389785|s2cid=143411081 }}</ref>
Joseph Romm, a former US Department of Energy official now with the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, argued that "(p)ollution limits are far, far more important than R&D for what really matters{{snd}}reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and driving clean technologies into the marketplace."<ref>Joe Romm, ''Grist'', 3 October 2007, [http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/10/2/151156/638 Debunking Shellenberger & Nordhaus: Part I: The death of 'The Death of Environmentalism'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207200119/http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/10/2/151156/638|date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> Environmental journalist David Roberts, writing in ''Grist'', argued that while the BTI and its founders garner much attention, their policy is lacking, and ultimately they "receive a degree of press coverage that wildly exceeds their intellectual contributions."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=David |date=2011-04-27 |title=Why I've avoided commenting on Nisbet's 'Climate Shift' report |url=https://grist.org/climate-change/2011-04-26-why-ive-avoided-commenting-on-nisbets-climate-shift-report/ |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=Grist |archive-date=March 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312135453/https://grist.org/climate-change/2011-04-26-why-ive-avoided-commenting-on-nisbets-climate-shift-report/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=David |date=2013-06-14 |title=Some thoughts on 'Pandora's Promise' and the nuclear debate |url=https://grist.org/climate-energy/some-thoughts-on-pandoras-promise-and-the-nuclear-debate/ |website=Grist |access-date=February 24, 2023 |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305213939/https://grist.org/climate-energy/some-thoughts-on-pandoras-promise-and-the-nuclear-debate/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Reviewers for the ''San Francisco Chronicle,''<ref>Robert Collier, ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 7 October 2007, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/07/RV2QSBFFQ.DTL&type=politics Review: Why get so heated about global warming?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222225515/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/07/RV2QSBFFQ.DTL&type=politics |date=February 22, 2008 }}</ref> the ''American Prospect''<ref>Kate Sheppard, ''American Prospect'', 11 October 2007, [http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=life_after_the_death_of_environmentalism Life After the Death of Environmentalism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216221947/http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=life_after_the_death_of_environmentalism |date=February 16, 2008 }}</ref> and the ''Harvard Law Review''<ref>Douglas Kysar, ''Harvard Law Review'', June 2008, [http://www.harvardlawreview.org/issues/121/june08/kysar.shtml The Consultants' Republic] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131011929/http://www.harvardlawreview.org/issues/121/june08/kysar.shtml|date=January 31, 2009}}</ref> argued that a critical reevaluation of green politics was unwarranted because global warming had become a high-profile issue and the Democratic Congress was preparing to act.
=== ''An Ecomodernist Manifesto'' === In April 2015, Shellenberger joined a group of scholars and Whole Earth Catalog founder, author Stewart Brand, in issuing ''An Ecomodernist Manifesto''. It proposed dropping the goal of "sustainable development" and replacing it with a strategy to shrink humanity's footprint by using natural resources more intensively through technological innovation. The authors argue that economic development is necessary to preserve the environment.<ref name="EcoModernistManifesto">{{cite web|title=An Ecomodernist Manifesto|url=http://www.ecomodernism.org/manifesto/|access-date=April 17, 2015|website=Ecomodernism.org|quote=A good Anthropocene demands that humans use their growing social, economic, and technological powers to make life better for people, stabilize the climate, and protect the natural world.|archive-date=April 15, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150415110224/http://www.ecomodernism.org/manifesto/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT41415">{{cite news|first1=Eduardo|last1=Porter|date=April 14, 2015|title=A Call to Look Past Sustainable Development|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/business/an-environmentalist-call-to-look-past-sustainable-development.html|access-date=April 17, 2015|quote=On Tuesday, a group of scholars involved in the environmental debate, including Professor Roy and Professor Brook, Ruth DeFries of Columbia University, and Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute in Oakland, Calif., issued what they are calling the "Eco-modernist Manifesto."|archive-date=April 15, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150415035841/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/business/an-environmentalist-call-to-look-past-sustainable-development.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
''An Ecomodernist Manifesto'' was met with critiques similar to Gelobter's evaluation of "Death" and Sze and Ziser's analysis of ''Break Through''. Environmental historian Jeremy Caradonna and environmental economist Richard B. Norgaard led a group of environmental scholars in a critique, arguing that Ecomodernism "violates everything we know about ecosystems, energy, population, and natural resources," and "Far from being an ecological statement of principles, the ''Manifesto'' merely rehashes the naïve belief that technology will save us and that human ingenuity can never fail." Further, "The ''Manifesto'' suffers from factual errors and misleading statements."<ref name=":5" />
Environmental and Art historian T.J. Demos agreed with Caradonna, and wrote in 2017 that the ''Manifesto'' "is really nothing more than a bad utopian fantasy," that functions to support oil and gas industry and as "an apology for nuclear energy." Demos continued that "What is additionally striking about the Ecomodernist document, beyond its factual weaknesses and ecological falsehoods, is that there is no mention of social justice or democratic politics," and "no acknowledgement of the fact that big technologies like nuclear reinforce centralized power, the military-industrial complex, and the inequalities of corporate globalization."<ref name=":4" />
=== ''Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All'' === {{main|Apocalypse Never}} right|thumb|Shellenberger in 2017 In June 2020, Shellenberger published ''Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All'', in which he argues that climate change is not the existential threat it is portrayed to be in popular media and activism. Rather, he posits that technological innovation, if allowed to continue and grow, will remedy environmental issues. According to Shellenberger, the book "explores how and why so many of us came to see important but manageable environmental problems as the end of the world, and why the people who are the most apocalyptic about environmental problems tend to oppose the best and most obvious solutions to solving them."<ref name="apocalypse">{{cite book |last= Shellenberger |first=Michael |date= 30 June 2020 |title=Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All |location= New York City, NY |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn= 978-0-06-300169-5}}</ref>
In his book, Shellenberger argues that people shouldn't need to be worried about climate change causing crop failure, famine and consequent mass deaths because he believes that when it comes to food production, humans will be able to produce more food despite the effects of climate change. Shellenberger cites an editorial that is published by a group led by Eric Holt-Giménez to support his statement, however Holt-Giménez later told Snopes that Shellenberger "has either misunderstood our editorial, or is purposefully mischaracterizing our points." Instead Holt-Giménez criticized the industrial farming that Shellenberger advocates, and says that such practices are using a model of overproduction that generates poverty. He explained that people typically don't become hungry because there is not enough food, but that instead they become hungry when they are too poor to afford to buy the food that is produced.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-04 |title=Shellenberger's Optimistic, Viral Take on Climate Future Challenged by Scientists He Cites |url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/08/04/shellenberger-climate-change/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Snopes |language=en |archive-date=April 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402093312/https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/08/04/shellenberger-climate-change/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Reviews of the book were mixed.<ref name="HorganSciAm"/> Kerry Emanuel, who endorsed the book before publication, said that while he did not regret doing so, he wished that "the book did not carry with it its own excesses and harmful baggage."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Emanuel|first=Kerry|date=2020-07-29|title=MIT climate scientist Kerry Emanuel on energy and Shellenberger's 'Apocalypse'" Yale Climate Connections|url=https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/mit-climate-scientist-kerry-emanuel-on-energy-and-shellenbergs-apocalypse/|access-date=2021-02-08|website=Yale Climate Connections|language=en-US|archive-date=December 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217144213/https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/mit-climate-scientist-kerry-emanuel-on-energy-and-shellenbergs-apocalypse/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Guardian2020-07-04">{{Cite news |last=Readfearn |first=Graham |date=July 4, 2020 |title=The environmentalist's apology: how Michael Shellenberger unsettled some of his prominent supporters|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/04/the-environmentalists-apology-how-michael-shellenberger-unsettled-some-of-his-prominent-supporters|access-date=2021-02-08 |work=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
In contrast, in reviewing ''Apocalypse Never'' for Yale Climate Connections, environmental scientist Peter Gleick argued that "bad science and bad arguments abound" in the book, writing that "what is new in here isn't right, and what is right isn't new."<ref name="GleickReview2020" /> In a review for the ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' environmental economist Sam Bliss said that while "the book itself is well written", Shellenberger "plays fast and loose with the facts" and "Troublingly, he seems more concerned with showing climate-denying conservatives clever new ways to own the libs than with convincing environmentalists of anything."<ref name="LARB" /> Similarly, environmental and technological social scientists Taylor Dotson and Michael Bouchey have argued that as an "Environmental activist" and "ecomodernist", Shellenberger's writing in his books and on his foundation's website "bombards readers with facts that are disconnected, out of context, poorly explained, and of questionable relevance," and ultimately, his "fanatic, scientistic discourse stands in the way of nuclear energy policy that is both intelligent and democratic."<ref name="DotsonBouchey2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Dotson|first1=Taylor|last2=Bouchey|first2=Michael|date=2020|title=Democracy and the Nuclear Stalemate|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26934424|journal=The New Atlantis|volume=62|issue=62|pages=15, 26|jstor=26934424|archive-date=August 20, 2023|access-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820163243/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26934424|url-status=live}}</ref>
A 2020 Forbes article by Shellenberger, in which he promoted ''Apocalypse Never'', was analyzed by seven academic reviewers and one editor from the Climate Feedback fact-checking project. The reviewers conclude that Shellenberger "mixes accurate and inaccurate claims in support of a misleading and overly simplistic argumentation about climate change."<ref name=":0" /> Zeke Hausfather, Director of Climate and Energy for The Breakthrough Institute, wrote that Shellenberger "includes a mix of accurate, misleading, and patently false statements. While it is useful to push back against claims that climate change will lead to the end of the world or human extinction, to do so by inaccurately downplaying real climate risks is deeply problematic and counterproductive."<ref name=":0"/> The Forbes article was later deleted for violating Forbes' policy against self-promotion. In response, Shellenberger called the deletion censorship and ''The Daily Wire'', ''Quillette'', and ''Breitbart News'' re-published all or parts of the article.<ref name=":18" />
=== ''San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities'' === {{main|San Fransicko}} In 2021, Shellenberger published ''San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities'', a criticism of progressive social policies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shellenberger |first=Michael |title=San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities |year=2021 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-309362-1}}</ref> Benjamin Schneider, writing in the ''San Francisco Examiner'', described the book's thesis as "[P]rogressives have embraced 'victimology,' a belief system wherein society's downtrodden are subject to no rules or consequences for their actions. This ideology, cultivated in cities like San Francisco for decades and widely adopted over the past two years, is the key to understanding, and thus solving, our crises of homelessness, drug overdoses and crime."<ref name="SchneiderReview">{{Cite web |first1=Benjamin |last1=Schneider |date=October 13, 2021 |title=Owning the Progressives: A new book takes aim at San Francisco's social policies |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/owning-the-progressives-a-new-book-takes-aim-at-san-franciscos-homelesness-policies/ |access-date=2021-10-25 |website=The San Francisco Examiner |language=en-US |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160513/https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/owning-the-progressives-a-new-book-takes-aim-at-san-franciscos-homelesness-policies/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Wes Enzinna, writing in ''The New York Times'', charged that Shellenberger "does exactly what he accuses his left-wing enemies of doing: ignoring facts, best practices and complicated and heterodox approaches in favor of dogma."<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |first1=Wes |last1=Enzinna |author-link=Wes Enzinna |date=November 23, 2021 |title=The San Francisco Homeless Crisis: What Has Gone Wrong? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/books/review/san-fransicko-michael-shellenberger.html |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |access-date=2021-11-30 |archive-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129153440/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/books/review/san-fransicko-michael-shellenberger.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Olga Khazan, writing in ''The Atlantic'', said that "The problem — or opportunity — for Shellenberger is that virtually every homelessness expert disagrees with him. ('Like an internet troll that's written a book' is how Jennifer Friedenbach, the executive director of San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness, described him to me.)." Khazan also noted that "some experts agree with some of Shellenberger's critiques of Housing First. Though they stop short of endorsing Shellenberger or his views."<ref name=":17">{{cite web |last1=Khazan |first1=Olga |date=2022-06-02 |title=The Revolt Against Homelessness |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/06/california-governor-race-shellenberger-homelessness-san-francisco/661164/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-date=February 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203011937/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/06/california-governor-race-shellenberger-homelessness-san-francisco/661164/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Tim Stanley, writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', described it as a "revelatory, must-read book", but added "There is much in the argument for liberal readers to contest."<ref name=":15">{{cite news |last=Stanley |first=Tim |date=December 5, 2021 |title='San Fransicko': a must-read exposé of the misery caused by an ultra-liberal policy experiment |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/san-fransicko-must-read-expose-misery-caused-ultra-liberal-policy/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |location= |access-date=2021-12-05 |archive-date=December 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205071932/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/san-fransicko-must-read-expose-misery-caused-ultra-liberal-policy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Claims regarding UAP reports === <!-- Deleted image removed: right|thumb|Michael Shellenberger Testifying on UAP, November 13 2024 -->thumb|Michael Shellenberger testifies before congress. Screenshot from a U.S. Congressional video. Public domain. During the November, 2024 U.S. House of Representative Oversight Committee hearing titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth", Shellenberger claimed sources have told him that intelligence communities "are sitting on a huge amount of visual and other information" about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). He said that there are hundreds or even thousands of undisclosed images and videos.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lagatta |first=Eric |title=Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/13/ufo-hearing-takeaways-uap-congress/76249251007/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=November 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241116140137/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/13/ufo-hearing-takeaways-uap-congress/76249251007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Shellenberger had previously published a story that alleged the U.S. Government was operating a secret UFO program called Immaculate Constellation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |title=Experts testify before lawmakers that the U.S. is running secret UAP programs |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5189426/ufo-uap-hearing-congress-2024 |access-date=May 23, 2025 |work=NPR |date=November 13, 2024}}</ref> “The intelligence community is treating us like children,” Shellenberger testified. “It’s time for us to know the truth about this. I think that we can handle it.”<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kluger |first=Jeffrey |date=November 15, 2024 |title=Inside Capitol Hill's Latest UFO Hearings |url=https://time.com/7176658/inside-capitol-hills-latest-ufo-hearings/ |access-date=July 2, 2024 |magazine=Time}}</ref>
== Politics == [[File:Michael Shellenberger speaking at ARC Forum 2023, 30 October 2023.jpg|thumb|Michael Shellenberger speaking at the 2023 Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Forum]] Shellenberger worked with left-wing groups in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s and in 2021 changed his party registration from Democrat to Independent. He has written widely on the environment, homelessness, and other progressive issues. A self-described ecomodernist, Shellenberger believes that economic growth can continue without negative environmental impacts through technological research and development, usually through a combination of nuclear power and urbanization. Shellenberger advocated against the closure of Diablo Canyon nuclear generating station, which was eventually not closed.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Berliner |first=Uri |date=Aug 30, 2022 |title=Why even environmentalists are supporting nuclear power today |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/30/1119904819/nuclear-power-environmentalists-california-germany-japan |access-date=January 15, 2024 |website=National Public Radio |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115221025/https://www.npr.org/2022/08/30/1119904819/nuclear-power-environmentalists-california-germany-japan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":26">{{Cite web |last=Kahn |first=Debra |date=Jun 8, 2022 |title=The environmental apostate who backed nuclear before it was cool |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-long-game/2022/06/08/the-environmental-apostate-who-backed-nuclear-before-it-was-cool-00038048 |access-date=January 15, 2024 |website=Politico |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115221026/https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-long-game/2022/06/08/the-environmental-apostate-who-backed-nuclear-before-it-was-cool-00038048 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":27">{{Cite news |last=Freeman |first=James |date=April 29, 2022 |title=Is This Man Talking California Into Nuclear Power? |url=https://www.wsj.com/opinion/is-this-man-talking-california-into-nuclear-power-11651264431?st=N4LnCS |access-date=September 8, 2025 |work=Wall Street Journal |pages=NA}}</ref>
He was the keynote speaker for Genspect's 2022 conference in Denver.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ho |first=Soleil |date=20 November 2023 |title=Michael Shellenberger is one of the most influential writers in S.F. Here's what he says about trans people |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/michael-shellenberger-sf-trans-issues-18488990.php |access-date=2024-04-05 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118223601/https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/michael-shellenberger-sf-trans-issues-18488990.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== 2018 California gubernatorial election ===
Shellenberger was a Democratic candidate for governor in the 2018 California gubernatorial election, placing ninth in a field of twenty-seven candidates with 0.5% of the vote, with 31,692 votes (the winner was Gavin Newsom with 2,343,792 votes).
=== 2022 California gubernatorial election ===
Shellenberger ran as an independent in the 2022 gubernatorial election on a platform calling for homelessness reform via removal of encampments and mandatory treatment for drug addiction and mental illness,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-13 |title=In governor's race, challengers attack Newsom's record on homelessness |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-13/california-governor-election-challengers-attack-newsom-record-homelessness |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> advocating for water desalination as an answer to California's water shortage,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-06 |title=Arizona and California have been transformed by climate change {{!}} Masada Siegel |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/arizona-california-drought-climate-change-b2073311.html |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510045847/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/arizona-california-drought-climate-change-b2073311.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and increasing use of nuclear power, specifically by keeping the Diablo Canyon Power Plant open and building new power plants.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-04 |title=California governor warms up to nuclear reactors |url=https://thebulletin.org/2022/05/california-governor-warms-up-to-nuclear-reactors/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |language=en-US |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506063519/https://thebulletin.org/2022/05/california-governor-warms-up-to-nuclear-reactors/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Shellenberger placed third in a field of twenty-six with 4.1% of the vote. A ''HuffPost'' profile called Shellenberger a centrist, arguing that "Shellenberger instead is closer in character to figures like New York Mayor Eric Adams (D), a moderate critic of certain left-wing dogmas".<ref name="Marans@HuffPost" /> The same article noted his support for "abortion rights, universal health care, gun safety regulation, a $15 minimum wage, collective bargaining rights, and alternatives to incarceration for drug-related crimes".<ref name="Marans@HuffPost">{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2022 |first=Daniel |last=Marans |title=Why Centrist Michael Shellenberger Is Challenging California Gov. Gavin Newsom |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-shellenberger-centrist-california-governor-election-gavin-newsom_n_624a6134e4b098174502afe4 |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=HuffPost |language=en |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510045847/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-shellenberger-centrist-california-governor-election-gavin-newsom_n_624a6134e4b098174502afe4 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Wall Street Journal'' wrote that Shellenberger is a proponent of school choice initiatives.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Finley |first=Allysia |date=2022-05-09 |title=Opinion {{!}} Can Michael Shellenberger Beat Gavin Newsom? |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-shellenberger-beat-gavin-newsom-california-governor-gubernatorial-election-housing-energy-homelessness-school-choice-11652107572 |access-date=2022-05-10 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510171652/https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-shellenberger-beat-gavin-newsom-california-governor-gubernatorial-election-housing-energy-homelessness-school-choice-11652107572 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Personal life == Shellenberger resides in Berkeley, California, with his wife, sociologist Helen Lee.<ref name="Marans@HuffPost" /> Raised by Mennonite parents,<ref name="Anger" /> in adulthood he became irreligious and an existentialist. While writing his book ''Apocalypse Never'', he returned to the Christian faith, seeing the religion as a solution to society's "intense hatred and anger".<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.christianpost.com/news/michael-shellenberger-tells-joe-rogan-why-hes-a-christian.html| title= Michael Shellenberger tells Joe Rogan he returned to Christianity in response to societal 'hatred, anger'| work= The Christian Post| date= April 10, 2023| access-date= | archive-date= July 10, 2023| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230710225308/https://www.christianpost.com/news/michael-shellenberger-tells-joe-rogan-why-hes-a-christian.html| url-status= live}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://shellenberger.org/ Official website] * {{Twitter|shellenberger}} * {{C-SPAN|1026823}} * {{YouTube|gDFnWjC206E|"Michael Shellenberger: Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All"}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shellenberger, Michael}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American journalists Category:21st-century American male writers Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:American Mennonites Category:American non-fiction environmental writers Category:American political writers Category:Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Category:Candidates in the 2022 United States elections Category:California independents Category:Earlham College alumni Category:Environmental skepticism Category:American organization founders Category:Radical centrist writers Category:University of California, Santa Cruz alumni Category:Writers from Berkeley, California Category:Writers from Colorado