Three Bets in a 1.5°C+ World
Via Todd Cort’s Real Price of Risk, an interesting forecast of which parts of the global economy will bear the cost of rising temperatures and which parts will capture value from managing it: [...]
Comeback Cities: Part of Future Proofing
Via Chris Taylor’s Futureproofing Us, an interesting look at how a a dead river comes back, how a highway can be unbuilt without exiling the neighborhood beneath it, and how an old city can [...]
Urban Heat’s Overlooked Fix: Greening the Land Upwind of Cities
Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at a recent study published in Nature Cities which suggests that forests placed strategically outside urban cores can lower temperatures across much of a city: [...]
Excessive Air Conditioning Use May Cause Cities to Heat Up — and Passive Cooling Techniques Could Be the Future
Via Discover, a report on new research that reveals how passive cooling techniques are going to be increasingly important to reduce energy use and cool urban areas. Learn more about them. In a [...]
The Anti-Flood City Is Finally Taking Shape
Via Curbed, a look at how – from concrete walls to hilly landscapes – New York can see its early defenses against future catastrophe: One evening a few months ago, during the kind of [...]
New York City Embarks on Study to Build Thermal Energy Network around Subway Stations
Via ThinkGeoenergy, a report that New York City has announced a feasibility study for the implementation of thermal energy networks to cool subway stations and heat municipal buildings: A study will [...]

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.