A possible alternative to the accelerating universe is proposed, which shows that the diminished brightness of the high red shift Type Ia supernovae can be explained by assuming light travels with reduced speed through the dark energy of intergalactic space. It is also shown that support for the model from baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) studies can also be accommodated by the model. Two tables are given that compare the model with apparent magnitude differences and length differences between the universe and the Einstein-de Sitter universe, and they show that the model yields these differences quite accurately. A third table comparing the apparent magnitude difference between and a universe with is also given. It exhibits poor agreement with the model, and hence the model favors the need for dark energy, albeit without negative pressure. As a new approach to the “why now?” problem, and its apparent challenge to the Copernican principle, it is proposed that dark energy is a condensed form of dark matter caused by expansion cooling, rather than a different substance. A motivation for an alternative to is presented based on a principle that rules out the cosmological term.