Michael Shellenberger Books

Climate change is a pressing issue, but it is not our most critical environmental challenge. Michael Shellenberger, a veteran environmental activist, has dedicated decades to promoting a greener planet, from saving unprotected redwoods to co-creating the precursor to the Green New Deal. He successfully advocated for the continued operation of nuclear plants, helping to prevent a surge in emissions. However, in 2019, amidst alarming claims that "billions of people are going to die," he felt compelled to clarify the distinction between science and fiction, especially for the sake of his teenage daughter and the rising anxiety among young people. Despite extensive media coverage, many remain unaware of key facts: carbon emissions have peaked and are declining in most developed nations, extreme weather-related deaths have dropped 90% in the last 40 years, and the likelihood of severe global warming is diminishing due to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas. Alarmists often resist practical solutions, raising questions about the motivations behind apocalyptic environmentalism. These include powerful financial interests, a quest for status, and a spiritual yearning for transcendence. While this impulse can be positive, the current narrative of fear and guilt fails to address our deeper psychological and existential needs.

National bestselling author of APOCALYPSE NEVER skewers progressives for the mishandling of America's faltering cities. Progressives claimed they knew how to solve homelessness, inequality, and crime. But in cities they control, progressives made those problems worse. Michael Shellenberger has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for thirty years. During that time, he advocated for the decriminalization of drugs, affordable housing, and alternatives to jail and prison. But as homeless encampments spread, and overdose deaths skyrocketed, Shellenberger decided to take a closer look at the problem. What he discovered shocked him. The problems had grown worse not despite but because of progressive policies. San Francisco and other West Coast cities - Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland - had gone beyond merely tolerating homelessness, drug dealing, and crime to actively enabling them. San Fransicko reveals that the underlying problem isn't a lack of housing or money for social programs. The real problem is an ideology that designates some people, by identity or experience, as victims entitled to destructive behaviors. The result is an undermining of the values that make cities, and civilization itself, possible.