Gregg E. Easterbrook
Credentials
- Master’s Degree in journalism, Northwestern University (1977).1“Gregg Easterbrook: Contributor Profile,” The Atlantic Online. Accessed December 7, 2011.
- Bachelor’s degree in political science, Colorado College (1976).2“Author Gregg Easterbrook to speak at BYU forum,” Deseret News, September 16, 2011.
Background
Gregg Easterbrook is a writer, lecturer, and a senior editor of The New Republic. He was a fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C. think tank. Gregg Easterbrook is no longer a skeptic of man-made climate change.3“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
In 2006, Easterbrook changed his views regarding global warming. He believes that “though there could be benefits to a warming world, the bad is likely to outweigh the good.”4Gregg Easterbrook. “Case Closed: The Debate about Global Warming is Over” (PDF), Issues in Governance Studies, Number 3 (June 2006).
Gregg Easterbrook’s biographical note states that he is “a senior editor of The New Republic, a contributing editor of The Atlantic Monthly, a contributing editor of The Washington Monthly, and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.5“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
Stance on Climate Change
“Yes: the science has changed from ambiguous to near-unanimous. As an environmental commentator, I have a long record of opposing alarmism. But based on the data I’m now switching sides regarding global warming, from skeptic to convert… .
“Many greenhouse uncertainties remain, including whether rising temperatures would necessarily be bad. A warming world might moderate global energy demand: the rise in temperature so far has mostly expressed itself as milder winters, not hotter summers. Warming might open vast areas of Alaska, Canada and Russia to development… .
“Scientific substantiation of a warming world is not necessarily reason for gloom. Greenhouse gases are an air pollution problem, and all air pollution problems of the past have cost significantly less to fix than critics projected, and the solutions have worked faster than expected.”6Gregg Easterbrook. “Finally Feeling the Heat,” The New York Times, May 24, 2006.
Key Quotes
“… the consensus of the scientific community has shifted from skepticism to near-unanimous acceptance of the evidence of an artificial greenhouse effect. Second, while artificial climate change may have some beneficial effects, the odds are we’re not going to like it. Third, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases may turn out to be much more practical and affordable than currently assumed.”7Gregg Easterbrook. “Case Closed: The Debate about Global Warming is Over” (PDF), Issues in Governance Studies, Number 3 (June 2006).
“Though environmental orthodoxy holds that Third World deforestation is caused by rapacious clear-cutters and ruthless cattle barons, penniless peasants seeking fuel wood may be the greatest threat to our forests.”8Joel Bleifuss. “Covering The Earth With ‘Green PR,‘ Mendocino Environmental Center.
“If our goal in legislating against carbon releases is not simply punishing the West and its power companies but truly trying to reduce the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, the main event will be in the developing world. We must use the smartest possible economics, and that means investing in China and India.”9“The Greenness of Al Gore.” The New York Times, March 16, 2007.
Key Deeds
January 2001
The Smith Richardson Foundation made a grant of $67,500 to the Brookings Institution for Easterbrook to research and write a book Is Life Getting Better?.
Media Transparency noted that the book “will assess whether the quality of life in America is improving. He will analyze data on social and economic indicators, such as crime rates, living standards, health outcomes, and environmental quality, and consider some of the normative questions of how quality of life is defined.”
April 1995
Easterbrook published the book A Moment on the Earth on Earth Day, 1995. The book is described on Easterbrook’s homepage:
“Subtitled ‘the coming age of environmental optimism,’ this book anticipated by nearly a decade the current evidence that in the Western nations, all forms of pollution except greenhouse gases are declining.”
Some reviews accused Easterbrook’s book of mischaracterizing data concerning environmental health, using faulty logic, and being overly optimistic.10Watkins, T.H. “In the company of scolds,” Issues in Science & Technology, Vol. 11 Issue 4 (Summer, 1995), p80.
Affiliations
- Brookings Institution — Visiting Fellow.11“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- Society of Environmental Journalists — Member, Board of Advisors.12“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, and The Washington Monthly — Contributing Editor.13“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- BeliefNet.com — Columnist.14“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- Fulbright Foundation — Distinguished Fellow.15“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
Social Media
- @EasterbrookG on Twitter.
Publications
According to a search of Google Scholar, Gregg Easterbrook has not published any article sin peer reviewed journals on the subject of climate. He has published numerous newspaper articles and books on the subject:
Books
- Gregg Easterbrook. Sonic Boom: A Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the New Global Economy. Random House Publishing Group, January 2011.
- Gregg Easterbrook. A Moment on the Earth: The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism. New York: Viking, 1995.
- Gregg Easterbrook. The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. Random House; 1st edition (November 25, 2003).
Articles
- “Case Closed: The Debate about Global Warming Is Over” (PDF) The Brookings Institute, May 2006.
- Gregg Easterbrook. “Global Warming: Who Loses—and Who Wins?” The Atlantic, April 2007.
- Gregg Easterbrook. “Finally Feeling the Heat,” The New York Times, May 24, 2006
Other Resources
Resources
- 1“Gregg Easterbrook: Contributor Profile,” The Atlantic Online. Accessed December 7, 2011.
- 2“Author Gregg Easterbrook to speak at BYU forum,” Deseret News, September 16, 2011.
- 3“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- 4Gregg Easterbrook. “Case Closed: The Debate about Global Warming is Over” (PDF), Issues in Governance Studies, Number 3 (June 2006).
- 5“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- 6Gregg Easterbrook. “Finally Feeling the Heat,” The New York Times, May 24, 2006.
- 7Gregg Easterbrook. “Case Closed: The Debate about Global Warming is Over” (PDF), Issues in Governance Studies, Number 3 (June 2006).
- 8Joel Bleifuss. “Covering The Earth With ‘Green PR,‘ Mendocino Environmental Center.
- 9“The Greenness of Al Gore.” The New York Times, March 16, 2007.
- 10Watkins, T.H. “In the company of scolds,” Issues in Science & Technology, Vol. 11 Issue 4 (Summer, 1995), p80.
- 11“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- 12“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- 13“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- 14“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
- 15“BIO,” GreggEasterbrook.com. Archived June 4, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yzqVO
