Built Areas and Infrastructure: Stretching the Boundaries of Sustainability
July 11th, 2023 Via Earth.org, a look at the impact that built urban areas and infrastructure has upon sustainability: Globally, built areas account for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Three materials – [...]
Climate Disasters Daily? Welcome to the ‘New Normal.’
July 11th, 2023 Courtesy of The New York Times, a look at how  – around the United States – dangerous floods, heat and storms are happening more frequently: Catastrophic floods in the Hudson Valley. An [...]
Lighter Pavement Really Does Cool Cities When It’s Done Right
July 10th, 2023 Via The Conversation, a look at how lighter pavement really does cool cities when it’s done right: When heat waves hit, people start looking for anything that might lower the temperature. One [...]
Biden’s Climate Law Will Supercharge Emerging Green Tech Globally
July 9th, 2023 Via Bloomberg, a look at how the Inflation Reduction Act gave a boost to sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen and direct air capture: In addition to supercharging the US solar, wind and EV [...]
It’s Time for Buildings To Stop Using A Third of US Energy
July 8th, 2023 Via Stateline, an article on the potential for improving building energy efficiency as a key tool in combatting climate change: That building looming on the corner? With a few tweaks, it might help [...]
Time to Go All In on Heat Pumps
July 8th, 2023 Via RMI, new analysis which shows that – in all 48 continental states, replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump could reduce climate pollution by up to 93 percent: Replacing fossil [...]

ABOUT
BLACK SWANS GREEN SHOOTS
Black Swans / Green Shoots examines the collision between urbanization and resource scarcity in a world affected by climate change, identifying opportunities to build sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure through the use of revolutionary capital, increased awareness, innovative technologies, and smart design to make a difference in the face of global and local climate perils.

'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.