Converting Brown Offices to Green Apartments
August 10th, 2023
A detailed NBER report, that examines the conversion of brown office buildings to green apartments as a means of contributing towards a solution to three pressing issues: oversupply of office in a hybrid-and-remote-work world, shortage of housing, and excessive greenhouse gas emissions. The paper proposes a set of criteria to identify commercial office properties that […]
Read more »This Butterfly-Inspired Paint Could Keep Cars and Houses Cool
August 10th, 2023
Via Fast Company, a look at a nature-inspired cooling technology: Scientists have designed a thin film that mimics a butterfly’s wings to help keep surfaces cool. The vivid blue color of morpho butterflies doesn’t come from pigment but from tiny nanostructures on their wings that bend and reflect light. In a recent study, scientists designed […]
Read more »The Functionality of Green Infrastructure
August 10th, 2023
Via The Waterfront Alliance, a report on green infrastructure: Have you ever walked down the street and noticed a blossoming garden between the curb and sidewalk? You may have thought this bioswale brightened up the block, but beneath its flourishing exterior it also works to absorb, slow, and filter stormwater flows. In other words, it is a […]
Read more »China: An Adaptation Advantage?
August 10th, 2023
Courtesy of The Wire China, a look at China’s efforts to mobilize to adapt and thrive in a rapidly warming world. If it succeeds, the geopolitical consequences will be profound. Is America ready? On an August day last year, Xi Jinping visited Saihanba National Forest Park to inspect the trees and flowers. Spanning nearly 200,000 acres northwest of […]
Read more »Greening America’s Cities
August 9th, 2023
Via Bezos Earth Fund, positive news on a new commitment to addressing U.S. cities’ green deserts challenge: The Bezos Earth Fund firmly believes that living in a city should not have to mean living without nature. Green spaces such as parks, community gardens, nature trails, and tree canopies along city blocks are vital to the […]
Read more »One of Europe’s Hottest Cities Rediscovers an Old Cooling Technique
August 9th, 2023
Via Bloomberg, a look at how one of Europe’s hottest cities has revitalized an old cooling technique: The streets of Seville in southern Spain were so hot that July afternoon that it felt almost impossible to walk outdoors. As temperatures approached 42C (108F), people scrambled to find shelter in air-conditioned homes, offices and public buildings. […]
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.