Awesome Progress and Atrocities

The contrast is hard to process

One of the best authors on Substack today is Sam Matey-Coste. His updates on the development of the “electrostate” - the amazing projects around the world that are leading the planet to a better future are enlightening and inspiring. The U.S. may be acting foolishly and destructively, but it’s great to know about the huge advances in Climate Crisis control all over the planet.

In India, clean energy is powering a mega-nation’s rise like never before. Installed solar capacity has been rising by 40% per year, passing 150 gigawatts in March 2026.

Sam also writes for Climate Action Now. Read, learn, enjoy!

And! Sam tells about the wonderful accomplishments of nations working on ecosystems, restoring habitats and rescuing species from extinction. It is absolutely awesome and uplifting writing. Read the Weekly Anthropocene!

Papua New Guinea has announced plans for a historically gigantic marine protected area, with the new Western Manus MPA set to cover 200,000 km² of Coral Triangle seas (an area larger than Great Britain!) with a strict no-take zone! These waters are lush with life, home to thriving coral reefs, hammerhead and gulper sharks, Cuvier’s beaked whales, orcas, manta rays, dolphins, seabirds, sea turtles, the colossal yokozuna slickhead fish, and much more.

I call Sam’s posts my “optimism infusion”. Like a patient getting a pint of fresh and desperately needed blood. It rejuvenates my mood and my general sense of well being.

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BUT.

Worth $1 Trillion

Sam just wrote something incredibly important. Dark, Evil, Historic Depravity.

He titled it “Atrocity”. I call it Mass Murder. One evil man empowered by one insane man has killed over 780,000 people. With one act. And the death toll has only begun. This is soon to be on the “Holocaust Scale” of crimes.

IMO, Elon Musk is the American equivalent of Adolph Eichmann.

No food, no water, no medicine. Imminent death.

Millions of our fellow humans are starving and being deprived of the essentials of life. The U.S. has condemned them to a miserable, agonizing death. And simultaneously, we can find a billion dollars a day to bomb a nation that we previously had a functioning agreement with?

We bombed this school. Over 150 dead. 120 were children.

Over a $100 billion wasted and Iran is still in charge of the Strait of Hormuz, still threatens the region, still has an iron grip on its citizens, and still has nuclear fuel. Iran won the war the day it shut down 20% of the world’s traffic in oil, gas and fertilizer.

Congress created USAID as “soft power” - helping other nations survive the ravages of war and climate catastrophes. It was a proud and fine thing.

The annual budget for the United States AID program for the food and medical assistance portion about was $11 billion. It had bipartisan support. Life saving money halted by Musk’s DOGE.

All this stupidity and cruelty exists because our president is a deranged, sundowning, incompetent narcissist who is desperately trying to distract us from his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the multiple credible accusations of sexual abuse including rape. Of women and children - over decades.

So. Read Atrocity. Then for your metal health, read and perhaps subscribe to Sam’s newsletter to keep your optimism. That’s our “yin and Yang” for today.