Michael Levi’s Summer 2015 Democracy essay, “Fracking and the Climate Debate,” was recently discussed in The New York Times and on Vox.

On July 14, New York Times columnist Joe Nocera called Michael Levi one of his “‘go to’ sources” for climate information. He writes:

Levi believes in the power of facts. Though sensitive to the importance of dealing with climate change, he doesn’t indulge in the hyperbole that you sometimes hear from environmentalists. And while he appreciates the economic import of fracking and shale gas, he isn’t afraid to call out the industry on its problems.

For the latest issue of Democracy, a quarterly magazine focused on progressive ideas, Levi has written an article titled “Fracking and the Climate Debate,” which he described to me the other day as a kind of summing up of his views about the role of cheap natural gas and fracking in the fight against climate change.

At Vox, Brad Plumer wrote about Levi’s “[g]reen case for fracking.” He said:

These days, it’s tough to find an environmental group that supports fracking. Many groups now favor outright bans on the practice — a stance that New York state adopted last fall. The Environmental Defense Fund has argued that it’s better to focus on improving oversight and patching those methane leaks. But if anything, EDF is an outlier.

With that context in mind, it’s worth reading this long new essay in Democracy Journal by Michael Levi, an energy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. Levi essentially argues that environmentalists should rethink their opposition. Fracking and shale gas can still play an important role in killing off coal and easing the transition to a clean-energy future.

Read Levi’s essay here.