Michael Shellenberger

Michael Shellenberger, a Time Magazine "Hero of the Environment" and Green Book Award winner, is well known for his work as an author and environmental activist. His best-selling books, "San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities" and "Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All," have garnered significant attention and generated diverse reactions.

Shellenberger's career has seen him break major stories on various topics, from the World Economic Forum’s conflicts of interest and secretive finances to San Francisco’s supervised drug consumption site and the U.S. government's support for fracking. His work as a journalist now includes writing for The Free Press and founding Public, a Substack publication.

As an energy expert, Shellenberger regularly advises governments worldwide, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. On numerous occasions, he has testified to the U.S. Congress, discussing topics related to nuclear energy, climate change, health, agriculture, electrical grid failures, and the global energy crisis. His perspectives on environmental policies, such as his advocacy for GMOs, fracking, and nuclear power, have sparked significant debate and received mixed responses from the scientific community and media.

Shellenberger is the founder and president of Environmental Progress, an independent nonprofit research organization. He also co-founded the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental research center, and the California Peace Coalition, an alliance of parents of children killed by fentanyl, parents of homeless addicts, and recovering addicts. His activism extends to issues of censorship and free speech, as evidenced by his signing of the Westminster Declaration in October 2023 and his role as the first endowed professor at the University of Austin, serving as the CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech.

Throughout his career, Shellenberger has also been involved in public debates and discussions about environmental policies, particularly advocating for nuclear power. His advocacy and activism have helped save nuclear reactors around the world, preventing an increase in air pollution equivalent to adding over 24 million cars to the road. Shellenberger has run as a California governor challenger in 2018 and 2022, with platforms highlighting issues like homelessness, water desalination, and energy policy.

Shellenberger lives in Berkeley, California and travels widely, often contributing to public forums such as speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Forum in October 2023, a Genspect conference in November 2023, and an event titled "Can Science Save the World?" alongside Bill Nye, hosted by the New College of Florida in September 2024.