Schalk_Cloete_3

Hi, I’m Schalk

A research scientist dedicated to sustainable development

I live a simple life. No big house, fancy car, or kids running around. This simplicity helped me save and invest most of my income for the first decade of my career, reaching financial freedom back in 2019. Never having to work again is pure gold for research because it frees your work from financial bias. I can now focus exclusively on what I feel will have the greatest long-term impact instead of what I think could get funded. Currently, this creative freedom gets poured into technology, policy insights, and lifestyle design strategies for addressing our great 21st century sustainability challenge: Give every world citizen a fair shot at a decent life without destroying the ecological carrying capacity of our planet. 

The H-index is the number of publications with at least that same number of citations. For example, an H-index of 30 means I have 30 papers with at least 30 citations each. Growing the H-index at a rate of 1 per year is good, 2 per year is excellent, and 3 per year is exceptional. The i10-index is the number of papers having received at least 10 citations.
The H-index is the number of publications with at least that same number of citations. For example, an H-index of 30 means I have 30 papers with at least 30 citations each. Growing the H-index at a rate of 1 per year is good, 2 per year is excellent, and 3 per year is exceptional. The i10-index is the number of papers having received at least 10 citations.

Journal Papers

Peer-reviewed papers and citations are to research scientists what traditionally published books and rave reviews are to regular authors. 

Thanks to many dedicated co-authors and many hours of overtime, my publication record grew nicely in recent years. The three different platforms linked below contain all the details. 

My progress over time is shown on the left. Hopefully, I can keep the exponential citation growth going for a few more years. 

Popular Science Articles

Peer-reviewed papers are not exactly the most appealing reading material. It is therefore important to find other ways to make scientific insights more accessible to the public. 

My popular science writing is focused on the great 21st century sustainability challenge: how to best give each of the 4.7 billion people still living on less than $10/day a fair shot at a decent life without permanently degrading the vital planetary systems that sustain us. 

This work can be viewed on the technology-neutral energy discussion forums linked below. 

The growing gap between global emissions and climate science recommendations.
Our slow progress in lifting more people above the very modest threshold of $10/day.

HHWPS Blog

Building a sustainable and equitable world will require a massive global effort. The more people who are willing and able to contribute to this effort the better.

To do my little bit, I maintain a blog exploring what I like to call “Life Efficiency.” The idea is very simple: the best way to build a sustainable and equitable society is for individuals to build happy, healthy, wealthy, and productive lives. 

The HHWPS blog covers all the main areas involved in Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Productive, and Sustainable living. I also recently published an online calculator where you can quickly and easily estimate your own Life Efficiency. 

Last updated: 01/01/2023