Koen Peters

Leaving X on 20 Jan 2025. Reason: Elon Musk's destructive hate and spite. Find me on Bluesky: @koenpeters.bsky.social

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

My farewell on X here too. I was wondering how to put in words why I feel I need to leave a media channel, but @GeorgeMonbiot did it already very well for me, so I'm just going to repost his thread. Goodbye and hope to see many of you on Bluesky (@[email protected])

[George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot]

This is my farewell post. I am not deleting this account, as I don’t want to lose the archive, and I don’t want my name taken by imposters. But, for as long as Musk owns the platform, I’ll no longer use it. I’m now posting at https://t.co/0iVBaQEKGy.

Since Elon Musk bought this site, he has transformed it from one on which millions could converse as equals into his personal megaphone. Now the world’s richest man uses it to wage his class war, transferring blame for the ills of capitalism onto vulnerable minorities, boosting the grimmest and most antisocial accounts while suppressing the humane voices with whom he disagrees.

He has used X not only to subvert the election for the US presidency, but to create a role for himself in US politics which, though he has never stood for election and would not be eligible, grants him immense power over the citizens of that nation. This site has been used as a tool to help replace democracy with oligarchy.

Musk claimed, on purchasing the platform, to be a “free speech absolutist”. He is in fact a prolific censor, suspending dissenting accounts and using lawsuits to shut down free speech, while employing an algorithm to increase the reach of his own posts 1,000-fold. He cannot abide a level playing field.

He has permitted or encouraged the growth of a ghost army of bots and trolls to degrade the experience of all who disagree with him. Their task is not just to abuse opponents but, perhaps more importantly, to drown intelligent conversation with a tsunami of stupidity. They respond to data with denial, expertise with execration, insight with insult, humour with hatred and thinking with thuggery. They suck the meaning out of everything. The stupidity trends in one direction: in the service of economic power. It is a weapon used to suppress the possibility of a better world.

Many years ago, when I lived in Brazil, I learnt that the military dictatorship had actively sought to suppress educational levels in schools, as it saw a well-informed population as a political threat. A confused, distracted and ignorant population is easy to manipulate. Now this counter-educational model is being rolled out worldwide, and Elon Musk is its primary sponsor.

I stayed here long after I first considered leaving, as I believed it was wrong to cede the ground to an oligarch and his minions. But I came to see that those of us who do not subscribe to Musk’s grim project are being used as groundbait: stimulating the feeding frenzy of 15-minute, 24-hour hate that now powers this platform. We can no longer build anything of value here. Brute force – the unmediated power of money – has beaten humanity, intelligence, humour and democracy.

On Bluesky I can be the person I want to be, a better person than I am on X, where it is almost impossible not to get dragged into the mud. I feel I can be understood because I am not confronting a deliberate effort to misunderstand me. So I can speak more quietly.

There is no guarantee that Bluesky will not also one day be monetised by its owners or captured by self-serving billionaires. But for now it remains a place in which interesting and enjoyable conversations can be had, kindness can be shown to strangers and a better world can be imagined. I hope to see you there.

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

Like many others, I'll be leaving Twitter on 20 Jan 2025. Reason: Elon Musk's cynical hate and spite turned this medium from a valuable channel for information and dialogue, into an instrument for chaos, lies and destruction. Find me on Bluesky: @koenpeters.bsky.social. So long!

[Dr. Rebekah Shirley @RebekahGShirley]

Hi friends! Finally, some data to help us tackle the question we've all been thinking - are African grids ready for a transition to electric vehicles? My latest study with @UMassAmherst colleagues was just published in @Nature Scientific Reports uses simulation modeling to answer

[Jesse Peltan @JessePeltan]

Nuclear Power Update: Fission vs Fusion

Fusion now generates 3/4 as much electricity as fission and is set to overtake fission in 2026.

Note: fusion data does not include generation from unregistered SMRs (small modular receivers). These may account for around 10% of total power generation in places like Pakistan.

[Renewables Now @SeeNewsRenew]

Engie bags EUR-500m green debt for renewables in emerging markets https://t.co/GYdGojTNvu

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

Goed interview met Mark van Baal van @followthis2015 over waarom aandeelhouders van olie bedrijven hun macht meer moeten gebruiken.

[Follow This @followthis2015]

Energiepodium interviewde Mark van Baal van Follow This.

"Technisch en economisch is verduurzamen geen probleem"

“Duurzaamheid wordt steeds lucratiever en de belachelijke winsten op fossiel zullen verdwijnen”

Lees meer: https://t.co/rnSlW7YguP

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

Ik heb dit burgerinitiatief getekend en roep de Tweede Kamer op om zich actief in te zetten voor een bindend internationaal verdrag om afscheid te nemen van fossiele energie! #AfscheidVanFossiel https://t.co/yCkVvYItP4

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

Climate journalist of the NL national broadcaster @NOS announces his departure as he can't stand the "Don't Look Up" approach of his employer anymore. He says the quality of news in western democracies is one of the biggest barriers to addressing the issues of our time. I agree.

[Rolf Schuttenhelm @RolfSchuttenh]

Bijgevoegd een foto van een penseelkever. Omdat het de taak is van journalisten het beestje bij de naam te noemen.

Ik heb mijn ontslag ingediend bij de NOS. Ik werk er met plezier, maar dat is triviaal. Het gaat erom dat we goed werk leveren - en de samenleving tot dienst zijn.

[NextBillion @NextBillion]

ATTN #JobSeekers: The Global Distributors Collective seeks a Remote Technical Research Consultant. Apply by July 12, 2024:

https://t.co/C7KPIirRsL

#RemoteWork #tech #research #employment #SocialImpact #distribution #consulting #LMICs #development #LastMile #apply #hiring

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

@SEforALLorg @StefanoMargucc1 @DamilolaSDG7 Congrats @StefanoMargucc1 with this exciting role; and @DamilolaSDG7 with this important new hire for SEforAll!

[Damilola Ogunbiyi @DamilolaSDG7]

In this piece, @MikeBloomberg points out that the USA's new plan to overhaul the voluntary carbon market #VCM can transform how the world views carbon credits and their role in fighting #climatechange.

https://t.co/FOr1HrbAXa

[Damilola Ogunbiyi @DamilolaSDG7]

I met @GOGLAssociation's Executive Director, @KJPPeters in the company of @Sarah_Malm.

We discussed the strong partnership between @SEforALLorg and GOGLA, emphasizing the value of GOGLA's policy knowledge and resources to inform dialogue with global and national policy-makers.

[World Bank Energy @WBG_Energy]

🇰🇪 In #Kenya, over 90% of electricity is generated by #RenewableEnergy, including #solar. Find out how people like barber John Masha Ngowa are benefiting: https://t.co/JAtRjVCX1e #LivablePlanet

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

‘Electricity is fundamental to quality of life’: the man bringing off-grid, pay-as-you-go power to Africa. Great article on @MansoorHamayun and his work at @BBOXX_HQ. https://t.co/GO6PT02spA

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

I find this a shocking picture. Had no idea it got this bad across so much of the continent. Note this is even before the currency devaluation in Argentina.

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

Great initiative by @cleancooking - urgently needed.

[Dymphna van der Lans @DymphnaVDL]

.@cleancooking just introduced the interim Principles for Responsible #CarbonFinance in clean cooking!

These Principles will promote confidence in #CleanCooking #CarbonMarkets, help improve market norms, and incentivize investment.

Learn more: https://t.co/cZhZ3o3qQJ

[GOGLA @GOGLAssociation]

A changing climate is producing more extreme weather events.

#OffGridSolar technologies can help the most climate-vulnerable become more resilient to them.

Learn more: ⬇️
https://t.co/lk5jKYY4WO

#Solar4Adaptation

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

@Power4All2025 @AshdenAwards @EASTAFRICANPOW1 @EnerGrowUG Congrats! @Power4All2025 @KristinaSkierka

[Drew Corbyn @DrewCorbyn]

As temperatures rise, solar fans are picking up in West Africa.

Lawal Sheriff Olakunle, a @SunKingGlobal customer, shares his experience in this article from @Forbes

[Koen Peters @KJPPeters]

Joined today's climate and justice march in Amsterdam with some 70k other concerned Dutch citizens. Great turn-out, giving hope for our elections and the future thereafter. #klimaatmars

[Klimaatmars @klimaatmars]

🙌 70.000(!) mensen and counting.. Dit is officieel onze grootste opkomst ooit. De politiek kan niet meer om ons heen. Politici, letten jullie op? Het signaal is duidelijk: de klimaatcrisis is nu en raakt ons allemaal. Nederland wil een eerlijke en groene toekomst! #klimaatmars