Clever Geek Handbook
12 February 2026

The Ten Rules of High Performance Living

Recommendation

Barnet Meltzer, M.D., a health advisor to Olympic athletes and an expert in the clinical practice of preventive medicine, has written a valuable, straightforward guide to a balanced, healthy and successful lifestyle. His book includes plenty of detailed information, advice, techniques and guidelines for physical and emotional wellness, absent any useless fluff or filler. GetAbstract.com recommends this tidy manual to everyone interested in achieving and maintaining a healthy, less stressful life. Ten rules, no waiting. As self-help goes, this is about as specific and on target as it gets.

Take-Aways

  • Rule One: Simplify Your Life.
  • Rule Two: Lighten Up Your Life.
  • Rule Three: Take Charge of Your Life.
  • Rule Four: Acquire the Habit of Happiness.
  • Rule Five: Cleanse Your Body Regularly.
  • Rule Six: Maintain Nutritional Balance.
  • Rule Seven: Develop the Habit of Physical Fitness and Keep Metabolically Fit.
  • Rule Eight: Heal Your Soul.
  • Rule Nine: Define Your Purpose in Life.
  • Rule Ten: Balance Your Lifestyle.

Summary

Introduction

"High performance living" can teach you how to stay healthy and prevent illness. The ten-part approach is based on prevention and teaches you to focus on your body and mind to achieve balance and well being - the exact opposite of the stressful, undesirable lifestyle of burnout, fatigue and disease. The key to good health and disease prevention is a strong immune system. Emotional stress, addictions, negative thinking, poor nutrition, depression and self-abusive behaviors actually degenerate and destroy your immune system. Reversing and preventing these blows to your health will strengthen and maintain your immune system so it can properly prevent and fight diseases, from the potentially fatal to the common cold. All ten rules of these rules support your vital immune system.

Rule One: Simplify Your Life

Simplifying your life begins with knowing how to recognize what has the greatest value to you. Then you can address and meet your needs and create a balanced, purposeful lifestyle. Remove clutter and confusion from your life, so you can come to know yourself, your needs and your priorities. This beginning is so important because - in the process of removing unhealthy elements from your life - you can come to terms with the emotional distractions, fears, weaknesses and stumbling blocks that devalue your life. Enriching your quality of life sets the stage for lasting wellness. Choose between simplification and self-abuse. That sounds drastic, but it’s true. Opt for simplification so you don’t find yourself mired in stress and unnecessary complications, which will compromise your health and well being.

“Stress is the lack of harmony between you and what is happening in your life.”

The benefits of simplifying your life also include attuning yourself to your real feelings and thoughts, discovering what you love to do, determining what is right for you and taking responsibility for your circumstances.

Rule Two: Lighten Up Your Life

The opposite of lightening up your life is wearing the heaviness of stress that strains your mind, leads to fatigue and burnout, harms your immune system and erodes your health. The keys to lightening up include balancing fulfillment and stress, preventing and coping with stressful situations, relaxation (passive, creative and active) and nurturing yourself.

Rule Three: Take Charge of Your Life

Taking charge of your life means "taking command" of your thoughts, intentions, actions and deeds; in other words, becoming the "captain of your destiny." You have choices. Taking charge is practical and goal-oriented. Develop a healthy and positive belief system and then act based on those principles. Your belief system is tied directly to your immune system. Positive belief systems enhance your health; negative ones destroy your health.

Rule Four: Acquire the Habit of Happiness

Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States, understood how important this issue is to well being when he proclaimed that every American should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is invigorating, inspiring and energizing. Depression, anxiety and unhappiness drain your life. Positive emotions are necessary for the optimal function of your mind and body. Sound, consistent emotional living makes happiness a reality. The essence of emotional consistency is having the courage to acknowledge and act upon your emotional convictions. This helps build self-confidence and emotional self-reliance. It also moves emotional truth on the top of your priority list.

Rule Five: Cleanse Your Body Regularly

In with the good, out with the bad. Strengthen your immune system and rejuvenate your metabolism by releasing physical and emotional toxins from your body.

Rule Six: Maintain Nutritional Balance

Nutritional balance builds and maintains a strong immune system, which in turn fortifies your body’s healing power and its ability to prevent disease. Follow a nutritionally balanced, health-promoting eating plan so you know what to eat and what not to eat. Take vitamins and other nutritional supplements. Given the level of stress and environmental toxicity in today’s world, an antioxidant supplement is vital.

Rule Seven: Develop the Habit of Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the key to more energy, higher spirits, improved digestion, stamina, a functioning immune system and an efficient metabolism, a healthy heart and countless other healthy barometers. Regular exercise is also an effective antidote to emotional and physical stress. Determine your level of physical fitness and create a program tailored to your needs.

Rule Eight: Heal Your Soul

Your soul is the spirit within your body. The light of that soul is the creative, life-giving energy vibrating and circulating within you. The Chinese call this energy chi; the Japanese call it gi and in the medical and spiritual tradition of India it’s called prana. The power of your soul gives you strength, drive and inner wisdom. Healing your soul means recognizing and being true to yourself, standing up for what you believe in, having a purposeful and balanced lifestyle, finding creative self-expression and having faith in your abilities and dreams. Peace of mind is the by-product of a healthy soul and the key ingredient for a healthy body and mind.

Rule Nine: Define Your Purpose in Life

Your purpose is your identity; it’s what means the most to you. Your purpose in life feeds your health and well being and sets the stage for happiness. Your purpose is "the invisible cement that keeps your ambition in harmony with your destiny." From a practical standpoint, it is the target of all your intentions, the fuel for your determination. Your purpose cannot and should not be defined by anyone but you. Each person has more than one purpose. Purposeful living is simply defined as "being the best at being yourself." Without being in touch with your purpose, you can’t sustain health, happiness or well being. To help you define your purpose (or purposes), ask yourself the following questions:

  • What is missing in your life?
  • What means more to you than anything else in your life?
  • In what area of life do you want to make a difference, more than any other?
  • What, more than anything else, do you want to do with your precious life?
  • How would you prefer to spend the majority of your time?
  • Do you wake up each morning with love in your heart, feeling enthusiastic and excited about a new day? If not, why?
  • If you were a millionaire and money was no object, how would you spend your time?
  • How would you spend the next six to nine months if you were told you only had that much longer to live?
  • What do you live for? What is your cause?
  • What are you trying to get people to understand?
  • What are the passions in your life?

Rule Ten: Balance Your Lifestyle

Your lifestyle is the way you choose to live your life:

  • How you spend your time;
  • Your values and priorities;
  • Your beliefs, attitudes and consciousness;
  • Your creativity and personal resources;
  • The manifestation of how you see life.
“The pursuit of wealth, power, technological efficiency, prosperity, financial security and corporate or personal achievement has created so much stress that the great majority of Americans over age 35 are struggling. They are either experiencing burnout, overload, confusion in their primary love relationships, or going through breakdowns in their family life.”

Your lifestyle is your "most obvious form of self-expression." It is also a measure of your pace of living. A balanced, meaningful lifestyle is the key to wellness and high performance. Your lifestyle is also a measure of your self-care. Does your lifestyle nourish or harm your mind, your body, your emotions and spirit? You have an inner lifestyle and an outer one. To determine the strengths and weaknesses of your lifestyle, ask yourself the following questions:

  • How many hours a day do you spend playing or having fun?
  • How much time do you spend at work? Do you have a work-related lifestyle?
  • How much time do you spend at home with your family, loved ones or friends?
  • How much time do you devote each day to yourself?
  • How much time do you budget each day for keeping yourself healthy and fit?
  • How often do you relax and for how long?

Creating a High Performance Life

The determining factors that lead you to create a high performance life are how much you value your own self-worth, how much you value your privacy and how much you value your freedom. Building the optimal lifestyle begins with imagining what is ideal for you at home, work and play. Begin by asking yourself the following questions:

  • What are the highest principles in your life?
  • What are the qualities you want in a soul mate?
  • What do you want to say with your life? What do you want to accomplish?
  • What qualities do you want to be known for?
  • What price are you willing to pay for good health and daily happiness? Are you willing to give up pain, suffering and negativity? What brings you the greatest happiness?
  • What are you ready to commit to?
  • What kind of work do you find most satisfying?
  • What are your priorities? Put them in order.
“The opposite of keeping it light is to wear the heaviness of emotional stress. This heaviness burdens the heart, weighs down the spirit, strains the mind and dulls the senses. Emotional distress leads to burnout and fatigue. It is destructive to your immune system and erodes your health.”

To create a balanced, high performance lifestyle in which you are healthy and happy, you must first accept that you have the power to do so. Then, keep it simple, keep it light and you can overcome any obstacles that you intend to conquer. Try the following formula:

  • Know who you are by being introspective and honest.
  • Determine the highest priorities in your life.
  • Make a full commitment to those priorities.
  • Take the responsibility for realizing your priorities.
  • Size up your lifetime goals and be specific.
  • Outline your ideal lifestyle.
  • Set up your lifetime goals and be specific.
  • Harmonize your priorities with your goals.
  • Become determined to overcome obstacles in a creative manner.
“Blocked feelings can also create uncomfortable stress levels in your target organs.”

Health, well being and happiness are not isolated from one another. Each affects your ability to attain the other. How many miserable people are truly healthy? How many unhealthy people feel a sense of well being and peace? How often have you heard the phrase, "my job (or friends, spouse, project or any other circumstance) is making me sick?" Your lifestyle is intertwined with your health and well being. Problems in one area will manifest in other areas. High performance living is for everyone, not just athletes, driven CEOs or other high-powered individuals. High performance is not about pushing your body or mind to ridiculous extremes, it’s about living your life the best way you can based on what’s important to you.

About the Authors

Barnet Meltzer, , M.D., is a pioneering authority in the field of clinical nutrition and is a health advisor to Olympic athletes. He has been a board-certified physician and surgeon for 25 years, a professor and radio talk show host. He now is in private practice in Del Mar, California.

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The Ten Rules of High Performance Living

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12 February 2026

Asian Godfathers

Recommendation

The Western world views the economies of Southeast Asia as “Asian tigers,” and sees Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines as hubs of free trade and innovation. Not so fast, warns Asia expert Joe Studwell. What appear to be sleek, streamlined economies are more like rickety old jalopies that creak with cronyism and secretive monopolies. In this enlightening, searing attack, Studwell pegs Asia’s ruling tycoons or “godfathers” as charming billionaire throwbacks who ruthlessly control business empires with the permission of corrupt, ever-shifting governments, prospering as the populace struggles. Studwell does a masterful job of synthesizing a sprawling topic. BooksInShort recommends his book to anyone who’s considering investing in or doing business in Southeast Asia.

Take-Aways

  • Southeast Asia cultivates a myth of free trade and economic openness. In fact, its governments support closed monopolies.
  • Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and other nations tightly control their domestic economies, benefiting the “godfathers,” and harming laborers and consumers.
  • Godfathers use cozy relationships with politicians to keep lucrative monopolies.
  • These tycoons control gambling, supermarkets, sugar and many more industries, including banking, which is nearly unregulated.
  • Godfathers aren’t organized crime figures, but they wield far-reaching power.
  • Godfathers are often charming polyglots who can navigate a variety of cultures.
  • These secretive billionaires create myths about their humble beginnings.
  • Godfathers set the vision for their empires, and then delegate the execution to either a “chief slave” or a foreign “gweilo running dog.”
  • The region’s stock markets perform poorly due to cronyism, corruption and a dearth of competition.
  • Southeast Asia’s political and economic systems are its real disease. The godfathers are the symptom.

Summary

Building Wealth for Billionaires While the Masses Struggle

The Southeast Asian nations of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines – plus the city of Hong Kong – have produced a large number of billionaires. Forbes magazine’s ranking of the world’s richest people lists eight Southeast Asians among the 25 wealthiest people on the planet. These titans of industry and finance include Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong, Robert Kuok of Malaysia, Dhanin Chearavanont of Thailand, Liem Sioe Liong of Indonesia and Kwek Leng Beng of Singapore. In recent decades, Southeast Asia has produced scads of billionaires and multimillionaires. Its capitals boast soaring skyscrapers, high-tech factories and every component of modern infrastructure, all reflecting the high growth rate of the “Asian tigers.”

“The structural sleight behind this book [is] using these colorful, obscenely rich and interesting people to tell a bigger story about history, economics and development.”

Indeed, the Asian tiger moniker helped create a myth of fast rising, efficiently run economies. Yet for all the economic success enjoyed by a few extremely wealthy oligarchs, the rising tide hasn’t lifted all boats. Most workers struggle. In Southeast Asia, a $500-a-month laborer is considered well-paid. Why is there such a contrast between the godfathers’ riches and their nations’ poverty? Blame Southeast Asia’s unusual path to economic development. In the U.S. and Europe, billionaires tend to get rich through innovation; they create brands or boost productivity, and vanquish their competitors. Then they are rewarded for their ability to succeed in a Darwinian capitalist environment. Not so in Southeast Asia. Innovation is rare, competition is scarce and cozy political relationships are the rule. The surest path to riches is to cultivate well-placed politicians who have the power to grant monopoly concessions.

“The godfathers are simply the products of Southeast Asia’s political environment and, ultimately, it is this environment that itself is the region’s big problem.”

The rise of the Southeast Asian godfathers follows the colonialism of the 19th and early 20th centuries, in which Europeans claimed to import a superior political and economic culture to Asia. In the past century, the rise of self-government in the region has created a less-than-ideal business climate where politicians do little to foster competitiveness. The U.S. endured a similarly imperfect structure in the early 20th century, when the robber barons ran roughshod over the national economy. Likewise, powerful men who profit from growth but don’t lead it now drive Southeast Asian economies. The godfathers aren’t tigers. Their publicly traded companies tend to underperform their competitors. Their corporations are not global brands. Instead, they satisfy themselves with renting the labor of their industrious citizenry to foreign-owned manufacturing plants.

“The Southeast Asian economy is the product of a relationship between political and economic power that developed in the colonial era.”

Unlike Don Corleone of The Godfather, these tycoons aren’t necessarily “godfathers” because of their ties to organized crime, although many of them own gambling enterprises and some have been tied to drug smuggling. Rather, they’re godfathers because of the “traditions of paternalism, male power, aloofness and mystique that are absolutely part of the Asian tycoon story.” Womanizing, bullying and back-room dealing – as well as cosmopolitan charm – are their indispensable weapons as they carry out four strategies that keep them dominant:

Godfather Strategy No. 1: “Get in Character”

Whether they speak many languages, perpetuate myths of humble birth or maintain strict secrecy, the Asian godfathers play roles that fall into easily defined patterns. They are masters at straddling cultural and political divides, relying heavily on the good graces of relevant political leaders. Since unstable regimes are Southeast Asia’s norm, the godfathers support current leaders in public, but do not pledge true loyalty. Thailand, for one, has had 18 coups and 33 prime ministers in its postcolonial era. A top executive for Thai godfather Dhanin Chearavanont puts it this way: “We back everyone.” So the godfather prominently displays a picture of the current military leader, and when that leader is overthrown, quickly replaces the picture.

“A political elite grants to members of an economic elite monopoly concessions...that enable the latter to extract enormous amounts of wealth without a requirement to...drive sustainable economic development.”

In Indonesia, where Suharto ruled 31 years, godfathers didn’t need to be quite so politically agile, but they did learn the risks of being too closely aligned with a despised ruler. Liem Sioe Liong made his wealth based on monopoly concessions granted by Suharto. But during the Asian financial crises, corruption-weary Indonesians stormed the godfather’s home, looted it and painted it with the words “Suharto’s dog.” In addition to political agility, godfathers must master cultural shape shifting. Immigration throughout the region has made multilingual skills necessary. Godfathers typically speak several languages – English, Mandarin, Cantonese, a couple of other Chinese regional languages, and Thai or Japanese. These tycoons also play the field sexually. While family is at the center of the godfather’s business structure, and the godfather’s children inevitably work in the family business, the loyalty doesn’t extend to the godfather’s wife. Henry Fok and Stanley Ho of Hong Kong both had numerous wives. Generally, godfather culture rewards hard work with “multiple mistresses and copious amounts of extramarital sex.”

“It is smaller-scale local businesses, and the hard work and thrift of ordinary Southeast Asians that has driven development.”

These tycoons create myths that invariably portray them as coming from humble backgrounds, and rising to success based on pluck and hard work. In reality, the godfathers were scarcely shoeshine boys who rose to the top. They started out in privileged positions and maneuvered their way to even greater riches by learning to play a corrupt system. Myths aside, the godfathers typically are part of a four-generation cycle. In the first generation, the godfather’s father establishes a toehold that offers entrée into high society. The second generation – the godfather himself – parlays these advantages into wealth. The third generation – the godfather’s children – struggles to maintain what the godfather has built. And by the fourth generation – the godfather’s grandchildren – the empire crumbles. Godfathers also have been known to marry into moneyed families. Hong Kong godfather Cheng Yu-tung married into a jewelry fortune. Opportunistic, yes. Rags-to-riches, no.

“The Asian godfathers reflect rather than shape local economies.”

The godfathers are experts at strict secrecy and not just for security reasons. They grant little media access and, when they do open up, they expect fawning coverage. Even as they portray themselves as financial geniuses, their fortunes often rely on monopoly control of various industries. With such constant role playing, the godfathers face an identity crisis, manifested to a degree in their preoccupation with status and titles. Hong Kong tycoons Fok and Ho make employees call them “Dr. Fok” and “Dr. Ho.” They are partial to evangelical Christianity. Today, certain billionaires from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia proudly call themselves born-again Christians.

Godfather Strategy No. 2: Find the Cash Flow

With their towering skyscrapers and bustling ports, Southeast Asian nations present a face of modernity and rigorous competition. Yet, contrary to the carefully cultivated myth that portrays the godfathers as innovators, most build their empires by planting themselves firmly in the gushing spigot of lucrative businesses that throw off cash without interference from pesky competitors. Many Asian godfathers rely on gambling monopolies. Fok and Ho years ago obtained the gambling licenses for Macau, which became the world’s third-richest gaming center. Malaysian godfathers Ananda Krishnan and Vincent Tan also built their wealth on gambling monopolies. Krishnan controlled racetrack betting; Tan ran a lottery.

“At the heart of the average godfather’s empire is a concession or license that gives rise to a monopoly.”

Gambling isn’t the only monopoly activity that generates money for the godfathers. Such basics as agricultural products and food also enjoy government protection that dates to the first days of independence. Competition is rare in any segment of the region’s markets. Cartels and tight government controls are the rule. Ironically, the outside world views these economies as bastions of free trade. No less a personage than Nobel economist Milton Friedman once lauded Hong Kong’s commitment to economic freedom. True, goods shipped through Hong Kong are free from tariffs and exchange controls, but its domestic economy is “a patchwork of de facto cartels.”

“The big domestic businesses run by the Asian godfathers grew up on a diet of protected markets, cartels and noncompetitive tenders for public works.”

Take the supermarket cartel, for instance. K.S. Li’s “PARKnSHOP” and one other chain control Hong Kong’s grocery business. Li and one other chain likewise dominate drugstores. When French grocer Carrefour tried to crack the duopoly, it quickly learned that competition wasn’t welcome. Apartments and office buildings controlled by Li refused to allow Carrefour’s trucks to make deliveries. The duopolists warned their suppliers that if they did business with Carrefour, they would lose the business of the dominant chains. After $120 million in losses, Carrefour had little choice but to give up its attempt to break into the Hong Kong market.

“The truly great godfather never allows himself to be identified with only one side of a potential political argument.”

In Singapore, also, the economy’s reputation for encouraging free trade doesn’t transfer to the products its citizens buy every day. Monopolists tightly control electricity, gas, water, telecommunications and even banking. In Singapore and Hong Kong, the lack of competition in the banking industry means banks can charge high fees and provide subpar service.

“Culturally, the godfathers are chameleons who tend to be well-educated, cosmopolitan, polylingual and thoroughly insulated from the humdrum cares of their supposed kinsmen.”

Once a godfather nails down his cash flow, he can turn his attention to other matters. Malaysia’s Krishnan has masterfully parlayed his gambling wealth and power into bigger deals. He’s the dealmaker behind the 88-story Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. In a masterly stroke, Krishnan gained a 48% stake in the real estate development, valued at billions, without putting up a penny of his own money. Godfathers often use their monopoly cash cows as platforms for vertical integration. Malaysian sugar baron Robert Kuok grows sugar, refines sugar, makes sugar-packing bags, trades sugar and ships sugar. Vertical integration also allows tax dodges. Kuok can reroute income from the tax-paying sugar industry into the untaxed shipping business.

Godfather Strategy No. 3: Hire a Consigliere

Delegation is another crucial task for godfathers. They put in long, sometimes superhuman hours, but they also tend to focus on the big picture. The godfathers set strategy and schmooze, guiding the direction of their far-flung concerns and lubricating the political relationships that fuel their empires. They attend weddings and funerals. Much of their deal making happens on the golf course. Hong Kong tycoons Li and Cheng Yu-tung, as well as Malaysia’s Kuok, among others, are avid golfers for whom the links serve as a sort of workplace. But when it comes to executing the details of their overarching visions, the godfathers delegate to trusted advisers, who fit one of two descriptions:

  • “The chief slave” – This person, who comes from the godfather’s ethnic group, puts in extreme hours as the tycoon’s go-to guy and chief hatchet man. The godfather thinks nothing of phoning the chief slave at 3 a.m., but he also rewards his factotum with a pay package worth millions, not to mention a “sense of power and proximity to the godfather.” The hours take their toll. Kuok’s chief slave died at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.
  • “The gweilo running dog” – This consigliere is a European or American (gweilo, the Cantonese word for “ghost man,” is a nickname for a foreigner). Though many godfathers hire gweilos and pay them well, not every tycoon can bring himself to trust an outsider. Li, an exception, has hired numerous gweilos to run his various interests. Instead of being suspicious of outsiders, he looks at how they can enhance his wealth.
“Their job, like that of any businessman, is to make as much money as possible, with as little fuss as possible, in the environment that prevails.”

While these lieutenants are well-remunerated, the vast majority of the godfathers’ workers are only “corporate cannon fodder.” Given the lack of competition in their industries, the tycoons have little incentive to hire and cultivate motivated employees. Their business model hinges on finding a monopoly that provides cash and then slashing costs.

Godfather Strategy No. 4: Dip a Hand in the Till

The tycoons’ brilliant deals include winning permission to open their own banks. These financial institutions become “personal piggy banks,” with the added bonus that depositors fill their coffers. This is a rich opportunity, partly due to Asia’s high savings rates. Depositors save in spite of low returns. Meantime, the government’s minimal oversight of banking lets tycoons waste depositors’ cash in questionable ways. In the Philippines, illegal insider lending has spurred cascades of bank crises, yet no one has been prosecuted.

“In a region where US$500 a month is a very good wage, this embarrassment of riches of the few provides a remarkable contrast.”

Southeast Asia’s too-cozy banking system also explains why its stock markets routinely underperform the rest of the world. The availability of cheap capital from the godfathers’ banks has spoiled the markets. The godfathers have little incentive to provide investors with appreciating stock prices or dividends. Tycoons who are adept at fleecing shareholders dominate the markets. The godfathers give profitable deals to their private companies and share the dregs with their shareholders. Kuok’s Singapore-listed Pacific Carriers, Ltd., once earned such poor returns that wags said its acronym stood for “Please Cut Losses.” After hurting shareholders with subpar returns and driving down PCL’s value, Kuok discounted its value and took it private in 2001. Two years later, he took a chunk of it public again in Kuala Lumpur.

About the Author

Journalist Joe Studwell edits the China Economic Quarterly and is a director of a research firm. He has covered China for The Economist and wrote The China Dream: The Elusive Quest for the Greatest Untapped Market on Earth.

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Asian Godfathers

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12 February 2026

Ten Technologies to Save the Planet

Recommendation

The geographical characteristics of an area dictate which renewable energy sources will work best. Because renewable energy is inherently, though predictably, intermittent, governments will need to build supplementary systems. Basically, no single technology will answer all of the world’s needs. However, a “portfolio” of technologies should do the trick. Businessman and climate change expert Chris Goodall describes 10 technologies in intricate detail, from the well-known to the obscure, and explains clearly which will work where, and why. Each technology has the potential to reduce the world’s annual carbon dioxide output by 10%. Although quite technical, BooksInShort recommends this book to businesspeople, plant managers, home owners and others who value social responsibility and sustainability.

Take-Aways

  • Renewable energy will mitigate climate change, as prices continue to drop and global understanding of today’s unsustainable energy situation grows.
  • Until the price of alternative fuels becomes competitive with petroleum, governments must encourage innovation, rapid adoption and reduction of carbon emissions.
  • Developed countries will need to spend 5% more annually on energy for the next ten years to halt climate change.
  • Different climates require different portfolios of renewable technologies.
  • Wind, solar and wave energy will gain prominence as their technologies improve.
  • Better insulated, more airtight homes will lower emissions and save on heating bills.
  • Transition to electric-powered cars is inevitable.
  • Industries will use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which traps carbon emissions underground, only when governments give them an incentive to do so.
  • Simple technologies such as burning wood to create charcoal hold promise for sequestering carbon and slowing forest destruction.
  • Improving land usage will help the world meet its fuel and food needs.

Summary

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Although the prospect of slowing global warming sometimes seems hopeless, the world in fact has the ability to build low-carbon economies with lower energy prices. However, renewable technologies are in their infancies and will require lots of capitalization to fulfill their potential. Until the price of alternative fuels becomes competitive with petroleum, governments must encourage innovation, rapid adoption and reduction of carbon emissions. Halting climate change would require developed countries to spend an additional 5% annually on energy for about the next decade. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Each country has different energy needs. Countries should mix-and-match from the following 10 technologies to mitigate their individual carbon footprints:

1. “Capturing the Wind”

Despite price spikes in 2006-2007 for turbine materials and a temporary inability to fulfill an overwhelming worldwide demand, wind power looks set to deliver decreasing costs in the near future. It already attracts plenty of investment and turns a profit. It is approaching cost competitiveness with traditional energy generation, not including subsidies, which enhance its attractiveness. If countries installed turbines on every optimal spot on the earth, wind could provide thirty times the world’s energy needs. And once you construct the turbines, wind energy is virtually free.

“Once we have got over the humps in the road, everybody will wonder why we took so long to switch to pollution-free, easy-to-maintain, super-efficient battery cars.”

Wind is not consistent, so matching the output of coal-fired power plants requires thousands of turbines. But “microgeneration” of energy using small wind turbines lacks important economies of scale. Rooftop turbines can capture only a fraction of the energy that a commercial-scale turbine can. However, the new “vertical axis wind turbine” can take better advantage of urban wind conditions and will make microgeneration more attractive. The device plus installation costs around $5,000 and can generate about half the electricity required for the average European house (but much less for an average American house). Community wind farms would pay for themselves in half the time microgeneration would.

“Simply put, 600 million cars are competing with six billion people for the products of the land.”

Offshore turbines minimize aesthetic and environmental objections associated with wind power generation, but they pose challenging engineering problems, including the manufacture of parts that are sturdy enough to withstand rough conditions at sea. Whether their power potential will outweigh their initial cost is unknown. Wind is predictable enough to provide reliable energy. Using “better electricity grids, greater energy storage and load shedding,” providers can compensate for variations in wind levels.

2. “Solar Energy”

Each day, the Earth receives enough sunlight to generate 7,000 times more power than the daily consumption of fossil fuels. Solar power offers the best long-term value for emerging economies in warm climates.

“One of wind’s primary but underestimated virtues is that it delivers electricity without...financial volatility. The output of a wind farm may be uncertain, but the cost is not.”

Photovoltaic (PV) cells made of highly purified silicon convert sunlight to electricity. The efficiency and cost of PV solar generation has improved, but problems remain. Recently the price of refined silicon shot up. This should subside once more refineries come on line. Demand for solar energy is still high, as many governments offer subsidies, but taxpayers will not support this technology forever. PV manufacturers are racing to develop PV cells that will achieve “grid parity” and rival the current costs of fossil fuel. Some companies are working to increase the efficiency of PV panels, which at best convert about 20% of the energy that hits them. Other companies, like NanoSolar, are betting on “printing” large volumes of nanoengineered PV materials, which are easy and cheap to mass manufacture. Both approaches will slash prices. Maintenance costs for PV cells are negligible, but PV cell design is proprietary, which may hamper the speed of deployment.

“Solar energy is likely to be the best way of balancing wind supply...because of the inverse relationship between the amount of wind energy available and the strength of the sun.”

“Concentrated solar thermal power” (CSP) is a promising large-scale solar technology. Sunlight boils water, which causes steam turbines to turn and generate electricity. Using CSP, a plant in the Sahara desert could power all of Europe. CSP does not use scarce resources as PV technology does, but it does have drawbacks. It requires a large supply of water in dry regions and the capacity to transmit energy over long distances. The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, which represents investor nations in Europe and the Middle East, believes that both of these challenges are easy to overcome. A bigger barrier may be cultivating the crossborder cooperation necessary to implement such a large project.

3. “Electricity from the Oceans”

“Barrages” are large dam-like contraptions that capture incoming tidal waters and release energy using the force of the outgoing tide. A network of coastal barrages and other tidal collectors could provide stable, continuous electricity, with predictable variations throughout the seasons. However, barrages may cause ecological damage and construction costs are high.

“Tidal power is concentrated in a small number of areas, but wave power is widely spread around the globe.”

Underwater turbines can capture tidal energy using technology similar to that of wind turbines. Engineers have designed the turbine rotors to move slowly so they don’t damage sea creatures, and tidal collectors on a sea bed are less environmentally intrusive than barrages. Transmitting the power from underwater turbines is a challenge, as sea beds are remotely located, and even more problematic is the worldwide shortage of ships capable of doing industrial deep-sea work. Sea power is strong and predictable, but the technology to capture it is nascent, and venture capitalists are unwilling to invest in untried technology. Fortunately, governments are subsidizing the development of ocean power, and the private sector is also making some progress.

4. “Combined Heat and Power”

At best, fossil fuel-based energy plants convert about 60% of the energy they burn to electricity. The remainder escapes as heat in what companies consider to be a wasteful by-product. But, what if a power station could transmit this heat to meet the warming needs for nearby homes? This is the idea behind the combined heat and power system: Small, microgeneration plants would produce electricity on-site and capture the waste heat energy with fuel cells, which neighboring houses could use.

“The amount of energy Britons use to drive their cars each day is eight or ten times the caloric value of the food they eat. In the U.S., the multiple is about twentyfold.”

One Australian company, Ceramic Fuel Cells, builds “home power plants” that use solid-oxide ceramic core batteries. These extract about 50% of the energy from natural gas as electricity and reutilize the heat, thus making use of about 85% of the original energy. However, the system is very expensive and parts require frequent replacement. Ceramic Fuel Cells sells its units to energy providers, which lease them to customers.

5. “Superefficient Homes”

Lots of energy goes into managing the temperatures of interior spaces. In fact, this may be the top emitter of damaging greenhouse gases. People now waste much of the energy they use to control their interior climates because of inefficient design. “Passivhaus” principles of airtight construction with forced-air ventilation underpins most new advances in eco-friendly architecture. A Passivhaus requires no heating in cold climates and little air conditioning in hot ones. However, Passivhaus construction has some drawbacks: Passivhauses are so airtight that, with windows closed, residents cannot hear any outside sounds. In the winter, the air becomes very dry because of the combined effects of the ventilation system and the building’s airtightness. Some designs rely on electricity for supplemental heat, which adds more in terms of carbon dioxide emissions to the air than oil or gas. A Passivhaus can cost more to construct because of the extra insulation it requires, but it returns savings year after year.

“Biodiesel from algae involves few, if any, of the problems of biofuels made from foodstuffs.”

The U.K. has legislated a “zero-carbon” standard for 2016, meaning that homes will have to balance any emissions with renewable sources. This will require even more airtightness and insulation than Passivhaus standards. The extra carbon savings may not be worth the substantial construction-cost increase; upgrading existing structures to reduce emissions is probably a more efficient use of money. Simply installing “foil-faced insulation” can reduce heat loss by 30% and block heat in the summer. Germany, in contrast to the U.K., encourages the renovation of existing structures as part of its overall approach to mitigating climate change.

6. “Electric Cars”

Hydrogen-fueled cars are unlikely to emerge as the automobiles of the future because they would require an entirely new infrastructure. Biofuels look like they will not significantly reduce emissions, no matter how efficient engines become. Electric motors can work at 80% efficiency, compared to the internal combustion engine’s 30%. Thus, the shift to all-electric cars is inevitable. The simplicity of an all-electric design means vehicles will be light-weight and low-maintenance. Lithium-ion batteries will give electric vehicles greater range, although lithium supplies could become a problem. Nanotechnology could significantly reduce charging time, although not battery weight.

7. “Motor Fuels from Cellulose”

Most of the world’s machines run on petroleum, a liquid fuel. While switching to battery power requires retooling motor vehicles, ethanol or diesel fuel is usable right now, with no need to replace the internal combustion engines most machines rely on. The trouble is, whether you’re talking about corn and sugar to make ethanol or rapeseed, or palm oil to make diesel, biofuels compete with food for agricultural lands and ultimately cause more ecological and economic harm than good. However, improving land usage and extracting ethanol from agricultural wastes and fast-growing cellulosic materials such as switchgrass, hold promise.

8. “Capturing Carbon”

Although the world should strive to use renewable fuels, the cheapest and most abundant fuel on earth is coal. Coal-powered plants will be a reality for a while, even though they emit a large volume of carbon dioxide. Thus, carbon capture and storage (CCS), which traps gas underground, is an important technology. The ability to filter carbon dioxide and transport it over distances is already in place. However, without a high carbon tax to discourage companies from emitting carbon dioxide, they have no financial incentive to use this technology.

“Arresting the loss of trees may be the cheapest of all techniques for carbon capture and will also improve the long-term ability of the world to feed itself and support its rural populations.”

Another cheap way to capture carbon is through “biofixation,” using algae to synthesize carbon dioxide into useful byproducts. Global Research Technologies in Arizona has developed a plastic that extracts carbon dioxide from the air. Primarily targeting commercial horticultural use, this method may eventually rival other methods for efficiency and costs.

9. “Biochar”

Another simple way of “sequestering” carbon is to burn wood to create charcoal, which people then return to the soil as a fertilizer. Fuel-efficient stoves that burn wood and produce biochar would diminish the amount of wood people cut down for fuel in developing countries, while improving crop yields. The technology is so simple that no large international corporation has figured out how to profit from it. Therefore, biochar stoves are underfunded. The best way to develop this technology seems to be to organize and compensate experts in poor countries to create and bury biochar. This solution also would boost the local economies of less-developed states.

10. “Soil and Forests”

Only half the carbon human activity creates each year ends up in the atmosphere. The world’s lands and oceans absorb the rest. However, many scientists believe the Earth’s ability to absorb carbon is diminishing. “Zero-till” farming methods that preserve soil integrity and techniques to revive “brittle” rangelands into fertile grasslands would provide the land necessary to meet world demands. Improving cooking methods around the world with solar, biogas and biochar stoves will help protect forests and improve air quality. Sorting out a balance in land use between fuel needs and food needs is a significant challenge. As the world’s economies grow, so does the demand for farmed meat, and in turn, pressure to cultivate forested lands.

“Sensible taxation policy needs to keep the cost of carbon-based energy high and increasing, whatever the market price of oil or coal.”

While all these renewable technologies will become less expensive over time, nuclear power plant construction is growing more expensive. Of all the other good reasons not to invest in nuclear power – including radioactive waste storage and nuclear weapons proliferation – its lack of cost competitiveness is probably the most compelling.

About the Author

Chris Goodall is an expert on climate change issues. He edits the Carbon Commentary Web site and wrote How to Live a Low-Carbon Life.

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Ten Technologies to Save the Planet

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