* The Case for the Three Mile Island Cleanup (1983)
* Inside Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster (1988)
* The Nuclear Power Dilemma (1989)
* The Great Atlantic Garbage Patch (1991)
* The Green Conspiracy: Reality and Fantasy in the Politics of the Environment (1992)
* Losing Paradise: The Growing Threat to Our Oceans and How to Save Them (1993)
* Farewell to the Ivory Tower: English and the Rise of the Public University (1995)
* Environmentalism and the Future of Progress (2000)
* The End of the World as We Know It: What Climate Change Means for Our Future (2002)
* The Unseen World: Revelations from the Vast, Unseen Realm at the Heart of Creation (2005)
* God and the Mind: The Future of Faith in the Age of Neuroscience (2011)
* Living in the Endless City: The Urban Age Project by The Atlantic (2013)
* Future Shock: Ten Lessons for Surviving the 21st Century (2016)
* Utopia or Apocalypse: The Future We Choose (2019)
Essays and articles:
* "The Case for the Three Mile Island Cleanup" (The New York Times, 1983)
* "Inside Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster" (The Washington Post, 1988)
* "The Nuclear Power Dilemma" (The Atlantic Monthly, 1989)
* "The Great Atlantic Garbage Patch" (National Geographic, 1991)
* "The Green Conspiracy: Reality and Fantasy in the Politics of the Environment" (The New York Times, 1992)
* "Losing Paradise: The Growing Threat to Our Oceans and How to Save Them" (The Atlantic Monthly, 1993)
* "Farewell to the Ivory Tower: English and the Rise of the Public University" (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1995)
* "Environmentalism and the Future of Progress" (The New York Times, 2000)
* "The End of the World as We Know It: What Climate Change Means for Our Future" (The Atlantic Monthly, 2002)
* "The Unseen World: Revelations from the Vast, Unseen Realm at the Heart of Creation" (The New York Times, 2005)
* "God and the Mind: The Future of Faith in the Age of Neuroscience" (The Atlantic Monthly, 2011)
* "Living in the Endless City: The Urban Age Project by The Atlantic" (The Atlantic, 2013)
* "Future Shock: Ten Lessons for Surviving the 21st Century" (The Atlantic, 2016)
* "Utopia or Apocalypse: The Future We Choose" (The Atlantic, 2019)