Urban Forestry: Climate Infrastructure Hiding In Plain Sight
March 5th, 2026
Via Harvard’s Salata Institute, a report on how Boston and Cambridge treat trees as a public system, not decoration. Three contributors to these cities’ urban forest plans explain how heat and historic disinvestment are guiding where canopy goes next – amid pressure to add housing and density. On a hot July afternoon, the most effective […]
Read more »Many State Flood Maps Are Not Up to Date. Connecticut Is Trying to Fix That
February 26th, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at a new tool offers the public detailed estimates of their flood exposure, but some worry risk disclosure will impact home values: Connecticut is taking an unusual step to confront a growing national problem: flood maps that lag reality. The state has launched a public climate-risk mapping tool where residents can see the […]
Read more »Boston: Piloting a New Type of Heat Pump that is as Easy To Install as a Window AC
February 17th, 2026
Via WBUR, a report on how Boston is piloting a new type of heat pump that’s as easy to install as a window AC: Boston, like many cities in the Northeast, has a building problem. More specifically, its buildings have a problem: They emit tons of climate pollution every year. In Boston, buildings account for […]
Read more »Insurance: At the Eye of the Climate Storm
February 10th, 2026
Watch this breakout session from the 2025 Harvard Climate Symposium. Featuring Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School; Dave Jones, Climate Risk Initiative; Barney Schauble, greenthread; and Ishita Sen, Harvard Business School. As climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of natural disasters, it is reshaping one of the world’s most vital yet often overlooked sectors: insurance. […]
Read more »Growing Greenery: The Rise of Urban Green Space
February 9th, 2026
Via Triple Pundit, a look at how green space provides abundant advantages to urbanites, from cutting air pollution and managing heat islands to increasing physical activity. Planners in major cities like London, Singapore and Berlin are capitalizing on these benefits to improve quality of life for residents. In 1634, the first public park in the […]
Read more »Advancing Adaptation: Mapping Costs From Cooling To Coastal Defenses
January 7th, 2026
Via McKinsey, a new report on how the benefits of adaptation far outweigh its costs. Yet, the world today spends just one-third of the amount needed to protect everyone exposed to hazards to developed-economy standards. What would it cost to adapt as the Earth warms, and how much will get spent? At a glance Societies […]
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.