Here's the thing about environmental policy rollbacks: they sound great for short-term economic interests, but the numbers tell a different story. Global temperatures keep climbing, U.S. carbon emissions are spiking, yet longtime climate advocate Bill McKibben spotted something unexpected during a cold snap recently—a genuine glimmer of hope emerging from an unlikely place. It's a reminder that the broader conversation around environmental regulation and market forces is far more nuanced than pure deregulation narratives suggest. The real tension isn't between growth and climate action; it's between short-term cost-cutting and long-term systemic risk. Whether that hope McKibben identified sticks around depends on whether markets and policymakers start pricing in what we actually know about climate economics.