About the Author

Jay Turner’s training is in environmental history and environmental studies. His first book, The Promise of Wilderness: American Environmental Politics since 1964 (2012), focused on debates over public lands protection in the United States. His second book, The Republican Reversal: Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump (2018, co-authored) detailed the evolution of conservative opposition to environmental reform, culminating with the Trump administration. Jay’s new book, Charged, stems from his courses on environmental policy, climate change, and the future of energy.  Jay is a professor in the Environmental Studies Department at Wellesley College.

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Jay is engaged in sustainability initiatives at home, in his community, and at Wellesley College. In 2015, he renovated his family’s home to be a grid-tied, all-electric, and net-zero house — it generates 20 percent more energy than it uses each year. He is excited to add battery back-up to his home soon. In 2016 and 2017 he helped lead a community solar campaign in Natick, Massachusetts that resulted in more than 150 new solar installations. And at Wellesley College, Jay has been involved in campus sustainability initiatives, especially related to energy and climate change.  

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Jay has a PhD in history from Princeton University and completed a certificate in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.  He received funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities to support this research.

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Jay enjoys giving lectures and leading discussions related to climate change, climate action, and prospects for a clean-energy transition. His contact information is available here.  You can see some of his presentations here.