# Bill McKibben

> Bill McKibben is an American environmental writer and organizer whose 1989 book The End of Nature brought global warming to a general readership. After years of reporting, he helped turn climate concern into collective action through Step It Up and 350.org, then founded Third Act to organize Americans over 60. His newsletter, The Crucial Years, and his 2025 book Here Comes the Sun pair an unvarnished account of climate danger with a practical case for rapidly expanding solar power.

- **Role:** Founder of Third Act and Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College
- **Organizations:** Third Act, 350.org, Middlebury College, The Crucial Years, The New Yorker, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- **From:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Harvard University
- **Known for:** Wrote The End of Nature, published in 1989 and translated into 24 languages., Co-founded 350.org, whose climate actions reached every continent, including Antarctica., Helped lead opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and launch the fossil-fuel divestment campaign.

## Career timeline

- **1981** — Served as president of The Harvard Crimson.
- **1982** — Graduated from Harvard and joined The New Yorker, where he wrote Talk of the Town pieces for five years.
- **1989** — Published The End of Nature, widely regarded as the first book about global warming for a general audience.
- **2001** — Joined Middlebury College as scholar in residence; he later became Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies.
- **2006** — Helped organize a five-day walk across Vermont calling for major carbon-emissions reductions.
- **2007** — Worked with Middlebury students on Step It Up, which coordinated more than 1,400 events across all 50 states.
- **2008** — Helped launch 350.org with recent Middlebury graduates, building a global grassroots climate campaign around the 350 ppm threshold.
- **2011** — Helped lead civil disobedience against the Keystone XL pipeline in Washington, D.C.
- **2012** — His Rolling Stone article Global Warming's Terrifying New Math helped catalyze the fossil-fuel divestment campaign.
- **2014** — McKibben and 350.org received the Right Livelihood Award for mobilizing public support for climate action.
- **2020** — Left the 350.org board and his volunteer senior-adviser role, taking emeritus status.
- **2021** — Founded Third Act and started The Crucial Years newsletter.
- **2025** — Published Here Comes the Sun and helped organize Sun Day, a mobilization celebrating solar and wind power.
- **2026** — Delivered the TED talk Our Last, Best Chance to Cool the Earth and marked five years of The Crucial Years.

## Achievements

- Wrote The End of Nature, published in 1989 and translated into 24 languages.
- Co-founded 350.org, whose climate actions reached every continent, including Antarctica.
- Helped lead opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and launch the fossil-fuel divestment campaign.
- Received the 2014 Right Livelihood Award jointly with 350.org.
- Received the Gandhi Peace Award and the Thomas Merton Award.
- Elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Awarded honorary degrees by 20 colleges and universities, according to his official biography.
- Named to Foreign Policy's inaugural list of 100 leading global thinkers.
- Founded Third Act, which reports more than 70,000 members over age 60.
- Received Covering Climate Now's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Continued publishing The Crucial Years, with recent posts examining climate, energy, data centers and politics.
- **2026-08** — Marked the fifth anniversary of The Crucial Years, noting more than 300 editions since the newsletter began in 2021.
- **2026-04** — Delivered the TED2026 talk Our Last, Best Chance to Cool the Earth about the rapidly falling cost of clean energy.
- **2026-01** — Demonstrated newly installed plug-in solar panels at his Vermont home and discussed electricity costs and renewable-energy competition with the Associated Press.
- **2025-09** — Published Here Comes the Sun and helped organize Sun Day, a national celebration and mobilization for solar and wind energy.

## Links

- Website: https://billmckibben.com/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/billmckibben
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/billmckibben.bsky.social

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/bill-mckibben
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Last updated: 2026-09-05