22 Facts About Michael Shellenberger

Michael D Shellenberger was born on June 16,1971 and is an American author and journalist who writes on a wide range of topics including free speech, homelessness, and the environment.

Michael Shellenberger is the first endowed professor at the University of Austin, serving as CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech.

Michael Shellenberger contends that while global warming is a concern, it is "not the end of the world", and advocates for the use of Genetically Modified Organisms, industrial agriculture, fracking, and nuclear power as tools for environmental protection.

Michael Shellenberger ran for governor of California in 2018 and 2022 but was unsuccessful in both campaigns.

Michael Shellenberger was born and raised in Colorado to Mennonite parents.

Michael Shellenberger is a 1989 graduate of Greeley Central High School.

Michael Shellenberger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Peace and Global Studies program at Earlham College in 1993.

Michael Shellenberger worked to burnish the reputations of prominent clients including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

In February 2016, Michael Shellenberger left Breakthrough and founded Environmental Progress, which is behind several public campaigns to keep nuclear power plants in operation.

Michael Shellenberger has been called by conservative lawmakers to testify before the US Congress about climate change and in favor of nuclear energy.

In December 2022, Michael Shellenberger was one of the authors who released sections of annotated internal Twitter Files authorized by new owner Elon Musk.

In October 2023, Michael Shellenberger was among the signatories of the Westminster Declaration, warning the public of theoretical increasing censorship by governments, media companies and NGOs, that signatories alleged would endanger freedom of speech and undermine the foundational principles of democracy.

Also in November 2023, Michael Shellenberger was the key note speaker at a Genspect conference.

Michael 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".

In June 2020, Michael Shellenberger published Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, in which the author argues that climate change is not the existential threat it is portrayed to be in popular media and activism.

Michael Shellenberger 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.

In 2021, Michael Shellenberger published San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities, a criticism of progressive social policies.

Michael Shellenberger has publicly said that he wants to "end access to all gender-affirming surgeries".

Michael Shellenberger was the keynote speaker for Genspect's 2022 conference in Denver.

Critics accused Michael Shellenberger of working with Genspect to release out of context and biased information about transgender people.

Michael 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, advocating for water desalination as an answer to California's water shortage, and increasing use of nuclear power, specifically by keeping the Diablo Canyon Power Plant open and building new power plants.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that Michael Shellenberger is a proponent of school choice initiatives.