Why Are All of America’s Biggest Cities Sinking?
May 8th, 2025
Via Grist, a report on a new study finds that the country’s 28 most populous metros are losing elevation, from New York City to Seattle. Cities sit unmoving on the landscape — a sprawling collection of roads, sidewalks, and buildings designed to last for generations. But across the United States, urban areas are silently shifting: […]
Read more »Are China’s Battery Swap Stations The Future of Electric Cars?
May 7th, 2025
Via BBC, a look at China’s swap stations, where drivers can get new fully charged EV battery in five minutes: At a battery swap station near the Beijing Olympics Sports Centre, the owner of a Nio car watches as a fully charged battery is placed into his vehicle. The station’s staff drive his car onto […]
Read more »Balcony Solar Took Off in Germany. Why Not the US?
April 25th, 2025
Via Grist, commentary on how – from breaker-masking to voltage mismatches – America’s grid isn’t ready for balcony solar — yet: Raymond Ward wants to see solar panels draped over every balcony in the United States and doesn’t understand why that isn’t happening. The technology couldn’t be easier to use — simply hang one or […]
Read more »Larry Fink, Did You Know that 84% of CK Hutchison Ports are Vulnerable to Just 1m of Sea Level Rise?
April 24th, 2025
Via China Water Risk, analysis of which CK Hutchison ports are vulnerable to sea level rise riks, and if ports in the Americas are more vulnerable than in Europe: 84% of the 43 CK Hutchison ports are vulnerable to just 1m of sea level rise which given current high emissions could happen in the next […]
Read more »Managed Retreat: Preparing Coastal Cities For Sea Level Rise
April 24th, 2025
Via China Water Risk, a look at how – given the rapid rate of sea level rise – perhaps a ‘managed retreat’ is the best option. The Authors of The Ocean Climate Platform & Sea’ties latest report breakdown the pros & cons of this adaptation strategy: Sea levels could rise by >1m without drastic GHG […]
Read more »Reforesting the Elm City
April 21st, 2025
Via Yale Alumni Magazine, a report on the Urban Resources Initiative is planting thousands of trees to make New Haven a cooler city: At first, planting street trees in New Haven was nothing more than a job for William “The Muscle” Tisdale. “I never paid too much attention to trees,” he says. He appreciated steady work […]
Read more »'Black Swans' are highly improbable events that come as a surprise, have major disruptive effects, and that are often rationalized after the fact as if they had been predictable to begin with. In our rapidly warming world, such events are occurring ever more frequently and include wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and drought.
'Green Shoots' is a term used to describe signs of economic recovery or positive data during a downturn. It references a period of growth and recovery, when plants start to show signs of health and life, and, therefore, has been employed as a metaphor for a recovering economy.
It is my hope that Black Swans / Green Shoots will help readers understand both climate-activated risk and opportunity so that you may invest in, advise, or lead organizations in the context of increasing pressures of global urbanization, resource scarcity, and perils relating to climate change. I believe that the tools of business and finance can help individuals, businesses, and global society make informed choices about who and what to protect, and I hope that this blog provides some insight into the policy and private sector tools used to assess investments in resilient reinforcement, response, or recovery.