Romm, Joseph J.

Joseph J. Romm (born June 27, 1960 – September 14, 2026) was an American researcher, author, editor, physicist and climate expert. He advocated for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming and increasing energy security through energy efficiency and green energy technologies. In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine named Romm to its list of "100 People Who Are Changing America," and Time magazine named him one of its "Heroes of the Environment (2009)," calling him "The Web's most influential climate-change blogger." Romm was a senior research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media. In 2019, he founded and served as the first editor-in-chief of progressive news aggregator Front Page Live. He wrote for various energy and news sources, and he was the chief science advisor for the documentary series Years of Living Dangerously, which won the 2014 Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. At the Center for American Progress, where he was a senior fellow, he founded the blog Climate Progress in 2006, which became part of the Think Progress website. Time magazine named Romm's blog one of the "Top 15 Green Websites." In 2009, Thomas L. Friedman, in The New York Times, called Climate Progress "the indispensable blog," and Time included it in a list of the 25 "Best Blogs of 2010." In the 1990s, Romm served at the U.S. Department of Energy including, for six months, as Acting Assistant Secretary. Romm published ten books and many articles on global warming, clean energy and communications. His 2006 book Hell and High Water summarizes observations and forecasts of climate change, discussed technology and policy solutions, and criticized political disinformation used to undermine climate science. His 2015 book, Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know, covers basic climate science in a Q&A format. He also wrote books on how scientists and activists can communicate more persuasively to explain science and policy to the public. His 2012 book, Language Intelligence, concerns the effective use of rhetoric, and his 2018 book, How to Go Viral and Reach Millions, discusses how to tell scientific stories in ways that draw attention and connect with people emotionally. His 2025 revised edition of The Hype About Hydrogen decries what he calls "false promises" made by the fossil fuel industry and sets forth the solutions that Romm says can save the climate.