Cooling Murals to Reduce Surface Temperature
July 13th, 2026 Now this is a cool project! Students and volunteers from the Yale and New Haven communities recently painted a “cooling mural” on the basketball court at Kimberly Field in the city’s Hill [...]
A Home Battery Revolution Is Reshaping the Power Grid
July 2nd, 2026 Via Yale Environment 360, a look at how – as residential batteries have become more energy dense, cheaper, and smaller – more households are storing their excess solar power. Now, [...]
Traditional Home Insurance Is Collapsing. Here’s What Could Fill the Gap
June 16th, 2026 Via Wired, a report on a new, AI-assisted model of insurance is quietly exploding in disaster-prone areas—and may be coming for FEMA too. Is it the answer to climate change, or a trap? In 2019, [...]
The Tiny Solar Panel That Could Change America
June 14th, 2026 Courtesy of the New York Times, commentary on plug-in, balcony or garden solar: It’s not so easy to harvest the sunshine if you live in America. Homeowners can hire someone to install solar on [...]
No Shade, but Cities Aren’t Planting Enough Trees
June 7th, 2026 Via Grist, a look at how the solution to urban heat could be much, much simpler than many people think: Johnny Appleseed was ahead of his time. Not because he fed so many people by planting apple [...]
Trees and Greenery Can Cool Cities by as Much as 18°C – but Only If It’s the Right Type
May 31st, 2026 Via The Conversation, a report on the potential for trees and greenery to cool cities: Cities around the world are planting more trees to cope with rising urban heat. But our research shows trees [...]

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.