March 3, 2026

sic transition gloria mundi

Dear friends,

I have a recollection of a book called How to Profit from the Coming Apocalypse that sat on my father’s nightstand when I was a teenager. I’ve looked for it in library collections, but I can’t find it. Instead, I found a humor book, published in 1981, called How to Prosper in the Coming Apocalypse.

I guess I’m relieved that it wasn’t a how-to guide, but I’m also a little surprised. A follower of economist Milton Friedman, my dad invested in the futures markets, rooting (it seemed to me) for the crises that would drive up the prices of the commodities he was betting on.

At dark moments, when shit is falling apart and the volatility of the financial markets penetrates my consciousness, I think of my dad. I feel bad about this.

This morning, the banner headline on the New York Times was “Markets Fall and Oil Prices Surge as US Warns of Extended War.”

It can be hard to deliver good news during the rolling disaster of Trump 2.0, but I am a connoisseur of silver linings, green shoots, and slivers of hope. This is probably one of the reasons that my dad found me foolish.

A few days before the current war began, David Wallace-Wells wrote a piece in which he called himself a “transition optimist,” a role he describes as “a pretty straightforward job”; he was referring to the phaseout of the fossil fuel economy.

Read Don’t Look Now, but the Green Transition Is Still Happening.

Wallace-Wells acknowledges the tremendous setbacks for climate action under Trump, before pointing to the massive growth in the share of renewable energy produced.

In 2024, 92.5 percent of new power capacity installed around the world was renewable. In 2025, it’s believed, global green installations were even greater. And even in Trump’s United States, which has been behaving in many ways like a petrostate, more than 92 percent of utility-scale electricity capacity planned for 2026 is green.

Tell Governor Hochul to fund public renewables! This quick action is from Public Power NY.

As I said, Wallace-Wells wrote this before the US and Israel started a war with Iraq, and his hopeful conclusion seems unlikely:

In 2026, the world may well spend more on green energy in total than it devotes to military spending. And if not this year, it seems safe to say, it will probably happen soon.

Here’s the weird twist on disaster capitalism: Trump’s decision to attack Iran could have surprising benefits for the growth of renewable energy.

Paasha Mahdavi, an associate professor and energy expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said “there’s a clear positive sign for clean energy” after the strikes in Iran, adding the conflict could lead to more switching “away from the volatility and vicissitudes of fossil fuel markets.”

The effect is slated to be the most pronounced in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Qatar’s state-owned energy company said it would halt production of LNG, a major global source of the fuel. The country exports gas through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran said was closed Monday, rattling energy markets.

It is already true that the fossil fuel industry receives and relies on huge subsidies. What if the best way to profit from the current war is to build renewable energy capacity and phase out fossil fuels?

War is still bad. Tell Congress to pass War Powers Resolutions to block war on Iran.

Here’s some good news that has already happened: a federal judge has ruled that Trump's Department of Transportation cannot revoke federal approval for congestion pricing in NYC.

According to a recent MTA report, the toll has led to some 27 million fewer vehicles coming into the heart of Manhattan, resulting in 22% less air pollution and 23% faster commute times.

Congestion pricing has also generated $550 million for public transit.

Demand that the EPA respect climate science and the law, uphold the endangerment finding, and protect people from dangerous vehicle pollution. A quick action from National Resources Defense Council.

Okay, this is somewhat bonkers. You may have read about the state of Kansas revoking driving licenses from people whose sex-assigned-at-birth does not align with their gender identity. This is not good news, of course, but part of a broader assault on trans people.

Here’s the little sliver of hope: in the tradition of the Underground Railroad, there is now a Trans Continental Pipeline, to assist

2SLGBTQIA+ individuals move from unsafe situations and political climates to the great state of Colorado.

Learn more about the Trans Continental Pipeline, a grassroots mutual aid initiative, and support their work.

I have a number of friends who are currently doing advocacy against deportations with the New Sanctuary Coalition. There’s a benefit next Tuesday in Brooklyn Heights with performances by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and Young@Heart Chorus.

Come out to support New Sanctuary Coalition with friends and neighbors on Tuesday, 3/10!

My high school Latin has not held up well over time, but the phrase sic transit gloria mundi came to mind today. Who knows why?

Anyway, it means “thus passes the glory of the world.” My view is more hopeful. Change is inexorable. We don’t know what’s ahead, but we will go forward together.

with love,

L