Archive for October, 2023

The Scorching Divide: How Extreme Heat Inflames Gender Inequalities in Health and Income

Courtesy of the Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center, a new report that examines the impact of climate-driven extreme heat on women’s unpaid domestic labor, paid employment, and health in India, Nigeria, and the United States—paving the way for gender-informed interventions, investments, policies, and research: Extreme heat exposes stark gender inequalities Extreme heat affects us all, but it does […]

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Cities Eye Tech, Transit On Path To Environmental Resilience

Via Deloitte, a report on Deloitte”s Urban rethink which surveyed 200 city leaders and 2000 citizens globally, and delves into ways in which cities can achieve equitable climate actions: In an effort to help tackle the growing challenges of pollution, flooding, and water scarcity, urban leaders are emphasizing environmental resilience.  Most cities surveyed report reduction […]

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Systemic Cooling Poverty: A New Facet of Deprivation Emerging In A Warming World

Via Phys.org, a new study underscoring the rising “cooling gap” and an increase in cooling poverty, highlighting growing equity issues arising as the climate warms.  The study showed that “The poorest and most disadvantaged people, who contributed the least to global warming, are the ones bearing the most severe consequences of extreme heat because of […]

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Singapore Is Fighting Rising Seas to Save $50 Billion in Real Estate

Via Bloomberg, a look at Singapore’s efforts to prepare for – and battle – rising seas: During a half-century of independence, Singapore has fought to expand its territory, inch by hard-won inch. On the tip of the Malaysian peninsula, the island city-state piled up sand to expand its coastline and reclaim land from the sea. […]

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These Places Could Become ‘Unlivable’ As Earth Warms

Courtesy of The Washington Post, an article on the hottest parts of the world where high temperatures and humidity will, for longer stretches, surpass a threshold that even young and healthy people could struggle to survive as the planet warms: Heat waves can already be deadly for the most vulnerable people — but in a […]

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Come Hell or High Water: Building Community Resilience to Floods, Droughts and Water Contamination

Courtesy of ImpactAlpha, a look at building community resilience to floods, droughts and water contamination: Water — too little, too much or too dirty — isn’t simply emerging as a climate consideration. It’s forcing its way into the conversation. Water professionals say it’s high time. “This is water’s moment,” Radhika Fox, the Environmental Protection Agency’s […]

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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.