Innovative Cooling Solutions for Overheated Cities
August 3rd, 2023
Via Inhabitat, a look at some innovative solutions for overheated cities: With climate change ramping up and an El Nino weather pattern in effect for the western hemisphere, heat island effect has become a real problem for cities sweltering under the summer sun. GAF created a product called Streetbond Pavement Coating that aims to turn that heat […]
Read more »US Cities Are Suffocating In The Heat. Now They Want Retribution
August 2nd, 2023
Via The Guardian, an article on how Baltimore is suing major oil and gas companies for spurring the climate crisis and the rising temperatures that have an outsized impact on low-income, urban areas: For years, an elderly man stood as a regular fixture around his East Baltimore neighborhood for the way he would wander the streets […]
Read more »In Washington State, A new Initiative To Boost Urban Tree Cover
August 2nd, 2023
Via Grist, an article on the Washington Tree Equity Collaborative which aims to bring more greenery to underserved communities: Urban trees bring clean air and shade to many city dwellers — but those trees aren’t always equitably distributed between rich and poor neighborhoods. In Washington state, a first-of-its-kind effort is underway to fix that. Representatives from […]
Read more »Medellín’s Interconnected Green Corridors
August 2nd, 2023
Via C40, a look at Medellin’s green corridor initiative: Since 2016, Medellín has created 30 ‘Corredores Verdes,’ an interconnected network of greenery across the city. This ambitious initiative adds to and further connects existing green spaces, improves urban biodiversity, reduces the city’s urban heat island effect, soaks up air pollutants, and sequesters a significant amount […]
Read more »San Francisco Greening its Streets
August 1st, 2023
Via Robert Brears, a report on one of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) flagship green street projects as part of its 2050 stormwater management goal: In most communities, streets make up a significant percentage of publicly owned land. Green streets use a variety of green infrastructure solutions, including vegetated curb extensions, sidewalk planters, […]
Read more »Hamburg: A Future-Proof, Climate-Resilient City
August 1st, 2023
Via Robert Brears, a look at how leading cities are future-proofing themselves with nature-based solutions that enhance resilience and promote biodiversity. One city leading the way is Hamburg, with green roofs sprouting up across the city: A future-proof city is a city that is resilient to climatic shocks and stresses including floods, droughts, and heatwaves. […]
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.