Menu

Search

Ted Steinberg

Ted Steinberg

Professor of History, Case Western Reserve University
Ted Steinberg has worked as a U.S. historian for more than 25 years. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1961, Steinberg received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1989 under the supervision of David Hackett Fischer, Donald Worster, and Morton Horwitz. He spent three years at the Michigan Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996. He has also received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2006 he was the B. Benjamin Zucker Fellow at Yale University.

Steinberg’s publications have focused on the intersection of environmental, social, and legal history. His books are: "American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn" (W. W. Norton, 2006); "Down to Earth: Nature’s Role in American History" (Oxford University Press, 2002; 2nd ed., 2009; 3rd ed., 2013; National Outdoor Book Award; Pulitzer Prize Nominee in History); "Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America" (Oxford University Press, 2000; 2nd ed., 2006; Ohio Academy of History Outstanding Publication Award; Pulitzer Prize Nominee in General Non-Fiction); "Slide Mountain or the Folly of Owning Nature" (University of California Press, 1995); and "Nature Incorporated: Industrialization and the Waters of New England" (Cambridge University Press, 1991; Willard Hurst Prize in American Legal History; Old Sturbridge Village E. Harold Hugo Memorial Book Prize).

Steinberg has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Natural History, Orion, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Guardian and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including Radio Times With Marty Moss-Coane, The Leonard Lopate Show, The Dennis Prager Show, The Michael Smerconish Show, Marketplace Money,You Bet Your Garden, The Jerry Doyle Show, The Mischke Broadcast, Martha Stewart Living Radio, To the Best of Our Knowledge, Penn and Teller: Bullshit and CBS Sunday Morning. His work has been discussed in print by Malcolm Gladwell, Ellen Goodman, Elizabeth Kolbert, Jeff Sharlet, and Margaret Talbot.

Steinberg’s latest book is titled "Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York" (Simon & Schuster, 2014). It examines the ecological changes that have made New York the city that it is today.

1 

Economy

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Minimum wage for South African farm workers: study shows 2013 hike helped reduce poverty even though compliance was poor

Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. In a recent paper, we consider the...

Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy

The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...

South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed

The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...

Politics

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections

Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote....

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global...

What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP

By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...

Science

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

Technology

Altcoins a ‘Relatively Huge’ Risk as Big Returns Fade, Analysts Warn Investors

Analysts caution that altcoins now represent a relatively huge risk, with the days of massive returns fading. Markus Thielen of 10xResearch suggests the high-reward era is over as crypto market narratives...

Bitcoin Has Best Day in 2 Months as SHIB to Get More Scarce with Shibarium

Bitcoin experienced its largest single-day rise in nearly two months, while ShibaSwaps expansion to Shibarium is set to increase SHIBs scarcity by boosting its burn rate. ShibaSwap Launches on Shibarium, Increasing SHIB...

Kia's Electric Pickup Spotted in US Testing, Targets Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning

Kias upcoming electric pickup, designed to rival the Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T, and Ford F-150 Lightning, has been spotted testing in the U.S., marking a significant step in its development. Kias Strategic Move into...

OpenAI Strikes Deal with Reddit to Bring Content to ChatGPT, Boosting Stocks

OpenAI and Reddit announced a partnership on May 16 to integrate Reddit content into ChatGPT, enhancing the chatbots capabilities and driving Reddits stock up 12% in extended trading. Reddit Diversifies Beyond...
  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.