Crossing a grim threshold: over $50 billion extra spent by Americans on gasoline & diesel, above the pre-war February price, due to Trump's choice to attack Iran. That's $50Bil we could have spent, as a country, on national parks, NASA, college loans, bridges, & more iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

meanwhile, still seething over how nearly every elite/media response to the Green New Deal ideas in 2019/20 was "how are we gonna pay for it?"

Crossing a grim threshold: over $50 billion extra spent by Americans on gasoline & diesel, above the pre-war February price, due to Trump's choice to attack Iran. That's $50Bil we could have spent, as a country, on national parks, NASA, college loans, bridges, & more iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

Once again: German universities were the envy of the world before the Nazis rose to power and took an ideological wrecking ball to the entire enterprise. If you want to know how long it took for German universities to recover… they haven’t.

It remains baffling to me that we have a clear constitutional requirement that the president can't enrich himself on the job, something we had no problem enforcing strictly for hundreds of years, and then this sweaty conman came by and the nation just sorta shrugged it off.

I spoke with John Friedman on Trending Globally, the @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social podcast, about the energy costs to US consumers of the war in Iran. We dug into the numbers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsKV...

"And tennis, a sport that this week in Paris has seemed at best unready and at worst unserious to meet the challenges of an increasingly hot planet and an ever more physical sport, does not appear to be coming to the rescue." www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

NEW: The Iran War has cost Americans nearly $50 billion at the gas pump. "The economic damage from this conflict is already done." @jeffcolgan.bsky.social of @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social:

James Talarico is developing a new kind of politics for the era of Late Stage Trumpism. He treats it as fundamental that Trump/MAGA are wrecking our civic life at a profound moral and spiritual level. His message: A better society, a better future, is possible. newrepublic.com/article/2109...

Paired with the news that Canada is opting against buying US surveillance aircraft, this news out of Norway further underscores the extent to which allies are hedging against an increasingly unreliable and even predatory US. www.reuters.com/world/norway...

As Tony Blair advises dropping Net Zero in the midst of a record setting UK heatwave, perhaps it's worth reminding folks of the non-realism of "climate realism", as @fgenovese.bsky.social and I wrote last fall ... www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

This is the right image to use for a heat wave; not one of children playing in the fountain or people frolicking on the beach.

You no longer have rule of law if ICE can block oversight activities and pepper spray a sitting Senator with impunity.

www.theguardian.com/environment/... time for windfall taxes and transition off this toxic stuff.

Lindsay is 💯 correct. If and when the Strait reopens, depending on the price Iran extracts for doing so, it might barely be said to get USA back to the scrimmage line from Feb 28, with a huge cost in lives, weapons, and dollars.

... aaaaaaaaaaaaand we are back. The cycle begins anew!

We haven't had to fire any shots so it's not obvious but a blockade of this magnitude would generally be considered an act of war. We did not do this in the 1962 missile crisis, we allowed ships not carrying weapons to proceed to Cuba

Sure looks like a reliable, sustained peace deal to me. 🙄

The first thing wasn’t an issue prior to the war. The second thing is an agreement to continue a pre-existing conversation. The third thing is the carrot to get the first and second things. That’s a great job of bargaining, just first rate stuff. 🙄

With Trump’s war stalemated, more sticker shock coming for working Americans being punished at the gas pump. Featuring @jeffcolgan.bsky.social. soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

Have a listen to this great interview with @ianmastersmedia.bsky.social and @jeffcolgan.bsky.social. They discuss the escalating Persian Gulf conflict, Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade and the global economic fallout from soaring oil prices. Find it online here: www.backgroundbriefing.org

Two months ago. [March 15]

FT covers our new brief with the Costs of War project, showing that US fuel costs from the Iran War now top $41 billion, more than the estimated cost of redoing the entire air traffic control system or the 2024 federal Bridge Investment Program (Gift link) as.ft.com/r/9091dbb9-4...

While chatting with some friends, it occurred to me that other people could benefit from a summary understanding of what's going on in the oil and gas markets. Here are some little pictures to give you the big picture. 🧵

Right, right, I think we all remember how the inflation under Biden was because he raised tariffs, attacked Iran, and closed Hormuz ... 🙄 www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/b...

When will oil inventories actually run out continues to be a crucial and slippery question 🛢️ www.wsj.com/business/ene...

"Despite claiming to be the party of national security, the Republicans have proved to be poor shepherds of the national interest." (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/o...

Once again, there are only two solutions to our authoritarian problem, & both involve a lot more Republicans having the courage to do what @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social has done these last years. The <entire> reason we’re here is that too few have followed his example: bsky.app/profile/mcop...

(Taps sign)

5 million households in the Northeast burn heating oil to heat space or water. Due to Trump's Iran war, heating oil prices are up 60% over last year. Risks are high of more severe price spikes this fall/winter. These households should switch to electric heat pumps this summer. States should help.

"According to our analysis, Americans in the bottom 18 percent have had to spend at least half a week’s income to pay off the higher price of fuel since the end of February." @jeffcolgan.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/o...

My oped: the Iran war gasoline price hikes are walloping the working class in the United States. As summer driving season begins, US consumers are paying huge sums for a war that most of them didn't want. 🛢️ www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/o...

Great conversation this week on “Climate, War, and Energy Security” led by @jenniferhadden.bsky.social with participation from @jeffcolgan.bsky.social and fellow panelists exploring geopolitics and energy transition in an era of conflict. Watch the discussion here: drive.google.com/file/d/13j5q...

This is simply bonkers. The White House is in active discussions with DOJ about settling Trump's lawsuit against the IRS in his favor, *precisely because* a judge might soon throw it out. WH apparently wants DOJ to agree to "settle" the lawsuit *before* that happens. Utter insanity.

This would constitute one of the most brazen, most appalling acts of corruption in U.S. history. I know we’re numb to all of this but this is a seven-alarm fire. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/b...

CSL Director @jeffcolgan.bsky.social spoke with @nytimes.com about the national security advantages of renewable energy in the face of geopolitical turmoil www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/o...

Um, North Korean cult of personality much? WTF

Again, allow me to invite you to compare the breathless, nonstop JOE BIDEN FAILED IN 🇦🇫 coverage in Aug/Sep 2021, to this "just the facts & maybe also things didn't go quite as expected" coverage of Trump's orders-of-magnitude worse epic strategic & tactical failure now: bsky.app/profile/mcop...

As suspending the federal gas tax gains traction in Washington, a prescient reminder from our Senior Fellow @pkrugman.bsky.social: gas tax holidays are largely a windfall for producers that barely move prices at the pump for the consumers suffering from inflation.

Pleased to contribute to this NYT piece along with @leahstokes.bsky.social @michaelgerrard.bsky.social @janrosenow.bsky.social and other smart energy experts

“For the second time in five years,” @jeffcolgan.bsky.social sed, "geopolitics is creating a crisis for fossil fuels — but the price of sunshine and wind remain free. Renewables have a national security advantage over fossil fuels" Yep. Self-destructive man. Gift www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/o...

Top 10 reasons why Democrats need to talk about climate change now: 🧵

New: the Iran war's price hikes on gasoline and diesel alone have already cost American households $278 each (on avg), more than a household's average cost of a week's groceries. A total of $36 billion & rising! Check out the Tracker @climatesollab.bsky.social : iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

Wind and Solar have saved the UK £1.7bn in gas imports since the Iran war began. Record renewables pushed gas generation to historic lows in March and April. Wind and solar have now outproduced fossil fuels for 15 months straight, Carbon Brief analysis reveals. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-win...

Wind and solar have now beaten fossil fuels in Great Britain for a record 15 months in a row Just a decade ago, fossil fuels were generating four times more than wind + solar Now that's flipped: Since the Iran war, wind and solar generated twice as much as fossil fuels

Well, four if you count the humiliation after escalation.

It's a whole Greek tragedy in three tweets, @profsaunders.bsky.social @sbmitche.bsky.social

Let's see, the traditional start of summer roadtrips in the US is about a month from now, you say? 🤔🛢️

We usually think of the resource curse in terms of oil. But what if compute is the new crude? If AI allows states to generate massive wealth without needing a productive, tax-paying middle class, the democratic social contract starts to look very fragile. My latest for @foreignpolicy.com.