List of American non-fiction environmental writers

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This is a list of American non-fiction environmental writers.

AuthorSexLifespanTheme(s)Selected bookCategory
Edward Abbey M1927–1989Various themes The Monkey Wrench Gang
Virginia Abernethy F1934– Carrying capacity Population Politics: The Choices that Shape our Future
Terry L. Anderson Mfl. 2000s Free-market environmentalism Free Market Environmentalism (co-authored)
Ron Arnold M1937– Natural resources
Ed Ayres Mb.1941Various themesGod's Last Offer: Negotiating for a Sustainable Future
Ronald Bailey M1953– Global warming
Bruce Barcott Mfl. 1990s-2000s Wildlife The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier
Peter Barnes Mb.1940 Carbon emissions Climate Solutions: A Citizen's Guide
Albert Bates M1947–Various themesClimate in Crisis
Art Bell M1945–2018 Climate change The Coming Global Superstorm
Tom Bender Mfl. 1970s-2000s Green architecture Environmental Design Primer
Wendell Berry M1934– Sustainable agriculture, Agrarianism, Conservation The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
Henry Beston M1888–1968 Natural history The Outermost House
Robert O. Binnewies M1937– Environmental protection Palisades: 100,000 acres in 100 years
Brian Black MVarious themesPetrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom
H. Emerson Blake M Ecology
Murray Bookchin M1921–2006 Social ecology Our Synthetic Environment (pseudonymously)
Stewart Brand M1938–Various themes Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto
Lester R. Brown M1934–Various themes World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse
Marilyn A. Brown FVarious themes Climate Change and Global Energy Security
Michael Brune MVarious themesComing Clean: Breaking America's Addiction to Oil and Coal
Robert Bryce MVarious themes Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future
Ernest Callenbach M1929– Simple living
David George Campbell M1949–Tropical wildlifeA Land of Ghosts
Archie Carr M1909–1987 Sea turtle conservationA Naturalist in Florida
Donald Eaton Carr M1903–1986Air and water pollution Death of the Sweet Waters
Rachel Carson F1907–1964 Environmental impact of pesticides Silent Spring
Steve Chase M Environmental justice
Ward Churchill M1947– Indigenous land rights Struggle for the Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Colonization
Theo Colborn M Endocrine disruptors Our Stolen Future : How We Are Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival (co-authored)
Melissa Coleman F1969– Back-to-the-land movement This Life Is in Your Hands: One Dream, Sixty Acres, and a Family Undone
Barry Commoner M1917–2012 Ecology Making Peace with the Planet
Philip Connors M Wilderness Fire Season: Field Notes From a Wilderness Lookout
Erik M. Conway M
Joseph Bharat Cornell M Outdoor education Sharing Nature with Children
Greg Craven M Climate change What's the Worst That Could Happen?: A Rational Response to the Climate Change Debate
Heidi Cullen F Climate change The Weather of the Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes From a Climate-Changed Planet
E. Kyle Datta M Renewable energy Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profits, Jobs and Security (co-authored)
Laurie David M1958– Climate change Stop Global Warming: The Solution Is You!
Osha Gray Davidson M1954– Natural history The Enchanted Braid: Coming to Terms with Nature on the Coral Reef
Kenneth S. Deffeyes M Peak oil Hubbert's Peak
Mark DerrM Environment of Florida Some kind of paradise : a chronicle of man and the land in Florida
Nate Dickinson M1932–2011 Wildlife management Common Sense Wildlife Management: Discourses on Personal Experiences
Marjory Stoneman Douglas F1890–1998 Everglades The Everglades: River of Grass
Morgan Downey MOil Oil 101
K. Eric Drexler M1955– Molecular nanotechnology Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (not the foreword)
Curtis Ebbesmeyer M1943– Flotsam Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man's Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science
Anne H. Ehrlich F1933– Human overpopulation The Stork and The Plow: The Equity Answer to the Human Dilemma (co-authored)
Paul R. Ehrlich M1932– Human overpopulation Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment (co-authored)
Daniel C. Esty MEnvironment of ConnecticutGreen to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Dan Fagin M1963– Environmental health Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation
Arthur Firstenberg M1950– Microwave engineering Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution
Christopher Flavin M Natural resources Power Surge: Guide to the Coming Energy Revolution
Paul Fleischmann M1952– Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines
David Foreman M1947– Wilderness Ecodefense: A Field Guide To Monkeywrenching (not the foreword)
Hilary French F Environmental analysis
Thomas Friedman M1953–Various themes Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America
Howard Friel MVarious themes Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming
Buckminster Fuller M1895–1983Approaching the Benign Environment (co-authored) Category:Books by Buckminster Fuller
Medard Gabel Various themesEnvironmental Design Science Primer
Ross Gelbspan M1939–2024 Global warming The Heat Is On
Harold Gilliam M San Francisco Bay Area Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Bay: The Struggle to Save San Francisco Bay
Juan Gonzalez M1947–Various themesFallout: The Environmental Consequences of the World Trade Center Collapse
Jeff Goodell M Energy Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
David Goodstein M1939–2024 Fossil fuels Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil
Al Gore M1948– Climate change An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It Category:Books by Al Gore
Dan Haifley M Oceanography
John D. Hamaker M1914–1994Various themes
Terri Crawford Hansen F1953– Indigenous rights
Garrett Hardin M1915–2003 Human overpopulation Living Within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos
Jonathan Harr M Water pollution A Civil Action
Jonathan Baxter Harrison M1835–1907 Forests
Paul Hawken M1946– Environmental justice Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
Richard Heinberg M Oil depletion The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies
Lawrence Joseph Henderson M1878– Environmental science The Fitness of the Environment
Julia Butterfly Hill F1974– Clearcutting The Legacy of Luna
Erich Hoyt M1950– Conservation: cetaceans Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
Wes Jackson M1936– Polyculture
Derrick Jensen M1960– Civilization A Language Older Than Words
Van Jones M1968– Environmental economics The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
Lierre Keith F1964–Various themesThe Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability
Kevin Kelly M1952– Conservation movement Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. M1954– Environmental law Crimes Against Nature : How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
Bruce Kershner M1950–2007 Old-growth forests Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests of the Northeast
Gilbert Klingel M1908–1983 Chesapeake Bay The Bay
Elizabeth Kolbert F1961–Various themes Field Notes from a Catastrophe
David Korten M1937– Globalization When Corporations Rule the World
Joel Kovel M1936– Eco-socialism The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?
Bernie Krause M1938– Acoustic ecology The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places
James Howard Kunstler M1948–Various themes The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape
Joseph LaDou M1938– Occupational and environmental medicine Current Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Winona LaDuke F1959– Indigenous land rights All our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life
Richard Lamm M1935–The Angry West: A Vulnerable Land and Its Future
Aldo Leopold M1887–1948 Land ethic A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There
Amory Lovins M1947– Energy policy Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era (co-authored) Category:Books by Amory Lovins
Benton MacKaye M1879–1975 Conservation movement The New Exploration: A Philosophy of Regional Planning
Charles C. Mann M1955– Science 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
Michael E. Mann M1965–Climate change The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines
Richard Manning M1951–American prairie Rewilding the West: Restoration in a Prairie Landscape
Emma Marris F1979– Environmentalism Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World
George Perkins Marsh M1801–1882 Conservationism The Earth as Modified by Human Action
Anne Matthews FVarious themesWhere the Buffalo Roam: Restoring America's Great Plains
Timothy R. McClanahan M Ecology: coral reefs Coral Reefs of the Indian Ocean: Their Ecology and Conservation
Michael J. McGuire M1947– Drinking water quality standards
Stephen McIntyre M1947– Temperature record of the past 1000 years
Bill McKibben M1960– Global warming The End of Nature
Barbara McMartin F1931–2005 Adirondack Park The Great Forest of the Adirondacks
Tom McNamee M1947– Conservation biology Nature First: Keeping Our Wild Places and Wild Creatures Wild
John McPhee M1931–Various themes The Control of Nature
Dennis Meadows M1942– Environmental economics The Limits to Growth (co-authored)
Donella Meadows F1941–2001 The Limits to Growth (co-authored)
George J. Mitchell M1933–World on Fire: Saving an Endangered Earth
Chris Mooney M1977–Various themes Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming
Ted Nace M1956– Coal industry Climate Hope: On the Front Lines of the Fight Against Coal
Ralph Nader M1934– Environmental economics Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile Category:Works by Ralph Nader
Richard B. Norgaard M1943– Ecological economics An Introduction to Ecological Economics
Naomi Oreskes F Global warming Merchants of Doubt (co-authored)
Henry Fairfield Osborn, Jr. M1887–1969 Conservation movement Our Plundered Planet
Riki Ott F Aquatic toxicology Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
David Naguib Pellow M1969–Various themesGarbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago
Ron Pernick M Clean technology The Clean Tech Revolution (co-authored)
Frederik Pohl M1919– Our Angry Earth: A Ticking Ecological Bomb (co-authored) Category:Books by Frederik Pohl
Michael Pollan M1955– Food The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Category:Books by Michael Pollan
Carl Pope MVarious themesStrategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress (co-authored)
Richard Posner M1939–Various themes Catastrophe: Risk and Response
Sandra Postel F Fresh water
Robert Michael Pyle M1947– Forests Wintergreen
Stephen J. Pyne M Forests: wildfires Awful Splendour: A Fire History of Canada
Ray Raphael M1943– Environment of California Edges: Human Ecology of the Backcountry
Paul Rauber MStrategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress
Andrew Revkin M Global warming The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World
Jeremy Rifkin M1945–Various themesThe Green Lifestyle Handbook: 1001 Ways to Heal the Earth (edited by Rifkin)
Paul Roberts MVarious themes The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World
Joseph J. Romm M1960– Energy The Hype about Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate
Jonathan F.P. Rose M1952–Various themesThe Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations, and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life
Donald K. Ross M
William Ruddiman M Paleoclimatology Plows, Plagues and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate
Kirkpatrick Sale M1937–Various themesThe Green Revolution: The American Environmental Movement
Jonathan Schell M1943– Nuclear weapons The Gift of Time: The Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons Now
Auden Schendler M Sustainability Getting Green Done
J. Michael Scott M1941– Wildlife
Julian Simon M1932–1998 Carrying capacity The Ultimate Resource
Fred Singer M1924– Air pollution The Greenhouse Debate Continued
Alexander Skutch M1904–2004 Natural history Helpers at Birds’ Nests: A Worldwide Survey of Cooperative Breeding and Related Behavior
Ted Smith M1945– Electronic waste Challenging the Chip (co-authored)
Gary Snyder M1930– Deep ecology
David A Sonnenfeld M Environmental social science Challenging the Chip (co-authored)
James Gustave Speth M1942–Various themes Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment
Sandra Steingraber F1959– Pollution Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment
Thomas H. Stoner, Jr. M1960– Sustainable development Small Change Big Gains: Reflections of an Energy Entrepreneur
John Tallmadge M Nature Reading Under the Sign of Nature: New Essays in Ecocriticism (co-edited)
Sarah McFarland Taylor FVarious themesGreen Sisters: A Spiritual Ecology
Henry David Thoreau M1817–1862Various themes Category:Books by Henry David Thoreau
Karen J. Warren F1947–Various themes
Arthur Waskow M1933–Various themesTorah of the Earth: Exploring 4,000 Years of Ecology in Jewish Thought
Harvey Wasserman M1945– Anti-nuclear movement in the United States Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America’s Experience with Atomic Radiation (co-authored)
Spencer R. Weart M1942–Global warming The Discovery of Global Warming
Linda Weintraub FVarious themes Eco Art in Pursuit of a Sustainable Planet
Alan Weisman M1947– Human extinction The World Without Us
Adam Werbach M1973–
Tom Wessels M Conservation biology The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future
Rex Weyler M1947–Various themesGreenpeace: The Inside Story
Clint Wilder M Clean technology The Clean Tech Revolution (co-authored)
E. O. Wilson M1929– Biodiversity The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth
Bruce Yandle M Free-market environmentalism Taking the Environment Seriously
Daniel Yergin M1947– Energy The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power
Ozzie Zehner M Renewable energy and consumption Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism

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