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Michael Shellenberger
michaelshellenberger.substack.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2021
Michael Shellenberger, an author and environmental writer, covers energy, nuclear power, homelessness, drugs, and critiques of climate activism on Substack.
What HN saysHN commenters cite his posts on Sri Lanka's fertilizer ban and homelessness, and recommend his nuclear power TED talk; one commenter's wording about activists is sharply critical.
23HN people shared it
8linked it in comments
20stories submitted
276story points
4 years agolast shared
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Most-shared posts
- 1Green Dogma Behind Fall of Sri Lanka2 people · 51 points · first shared 2022 · 42 comments on HN
- 2Infantilization of the Apocalypse2 people · 24 points · first shared 2022 · 8 comments on HN
- 3Why Everything We Thought About Drugs Was Wrong2 people · 22 points · first shared 2021 · 18 comments on HN
- 4How to Solve the Homeless Problem, Once and for All2 people · 20 points · first shared 2021 · 52 comments on HN
- 5Why Everything They Said About Solar Was Wrong2 people · 8 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 6No, Humans Are Not Causing a “Sixth Mass Extinction”2 people · 3 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 7Finally they admit renewables dont2 people · first shared 2021
- 8German Government Lied About Nuclear1 people · 62 points · first shared 2022 · 36 comments on HN
- 9Media lying about climate and hurricanes1 people · 27 points · first shared 2022 · 21 comments on HN
- 10I Am Not a Progressive1 people · 19 points · first shared 2021 · 16 comments on HN
- 11Why San Francisco Is Denying Reality1 people · 17 points · first shared 2022 · 2 comments on HN
- 12China Made Solar Cheap with Coal, Subsidies, and “Slave” Labor – Not Efficiency1 people · 8 points · first shared 2022 · discussion on HN
- 13The drug liberalization experiment is immoral and must end1 people · 5 points · first shared 2021 · 1 comments on HN
- 14German Electricity Emissions Rose 25% in First Half of '21 Due to Lack of Wind1 people · 4 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 15World catches up with Apocalypse Never: interview with Swiss newspaper Weltwoche1 people · 2 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
asabjorn · 2022-08-11
One-third of Sri Lanka’s farm lands were dormant in 2021 due to the fertilizer ban. Over 90% of Sri Lanka’s farmers had used chemical fertilizers before they were banned. After they were banned, an astonishing 85% experienced crop losses.
The numbers are shocking. After the fertilizer ban, rice production fell 20% and prices skyrocketed 50 percent in just six months. Sri Lanka had to import $450 million worth of rice despite having been self-sufficient in the grain just months earlier. The price of carrots and tomatoes rose five-fold.
While there are just 2 million farmers in Sri Lanka, 15 million of the country’s 22 million people are directly or indirectly dependent on farming.
This article should give you the context and data points showing you do not have all the information
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/green-dogma-behind-fall-of…
throwawaysea · 2021-10-13
Michael Shellenberger's TED talk from 2017, "Why I changed my mind about nuclear power", is still relevant:
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shellenberger_why_i_changed_my_mind_…
He also has a great Substack where he writes on a variety of topics, including nuclear power. He just wrote an article titled "Nations Go Nuclear As Prices Spike & Renewables Fail" that is timely: https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/nations-go-nuclear-as-pric…
JPKab · 2022-10-27
You're not wrong.
Apparently activists of this variety tend to be highly narcissistic, with movements that engage in highly ineffective, yet high publicity activities like this being deeply attractive to these types.
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/infantilization-of-the-apo…
dongobongo · 2022-09-27
sien · 2022-05-31
NYC runs shelters rather than housing first. NYC has a larger homeless population than LA.
In LA 3 times more homeless people died than in NYC.
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/three-times-more-homeless-…
ZeroGravitas · 2022-05-24
There's a whole prepackaged narrative for right wing types about drug harm reducement being so bad it's counterproductive.
Example headlines:
Why We Must Arrest Drug Addicts
This is revealing as to where they are coming from:
> People who want to kill themselves in the privacy of their own homes by smoking fentanyl should be free to do so. But people who use drugs, camp publicly, and break other laws stemming from their addictions, such as shoplifting, should be arrested.
And a big part of it is lying about how other countries deal with drugs to try to paint liberal American cities in a bad light.
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-we-must-arrest-drug-ad…
refurb · 2022-01-14
When you’ve got a Head of Homeless Services who see the homeless as a part of class warfare you realize they don’t want the problem fixed. They’re fighting capitalism by making the problem bigger, not smaller.
“Why do they do it? Radical anti-system ideology. “There’s a San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness hat which says, ‘Coalition on Homelessness: On The Frontlines of Class Warfare,’” said the insider. “They feel like they’re fighting class warfare. They tell people to not take shelter.””
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/san-francisco-homeless-ins…
olivermarks · 2021-12-22
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/netherlands-goes-nuclear-i…
Holland is building two new reactors, and
'Energy and electricity prices are at record levels due to Europe’s over-reliance on renewables, inadequate supplies of nuclear energy, and shortages of oil and gas due to under-investment in oil and gas exploration and production. Carbon emissions in Germany rose 25% in the first half of 2020 due in large part to a 25% decline in wind, underscoring the unreliable nature of weather-dependent renewables. In response, both France and Britain have promised a major expansion of nuclear energy.'
Very turbulent times in EU energy markets.