Why Batteries Might — Might! — Solve America’s Power-Line Shortage
September 22nd, 2023
Via HeatMap, a look at whether solar plus storage can fix one of the thorniest problems of the energy transition: To talk about renewable energy these days is to talk about power lines. “No transition without transmission” has become something of a mantra among a legion of energy wonks. And following the passage of the […]
Read more »New York City’s $52B Plan To Save Itself From The Sea
September 20th, 2023
Courtesy of The Guardian, an article on New York City’s plan to protect the region from rising waters: The retired FDNY firefighter Patrick Kilgallen remembers the night well. In late October 2012, the approach of Hurricane Sandy up the US Eastern Seaboard coincided with a spring tide, propelling a surge of storm water that crashed into New […]
Read more »A Building’s Carbon Footprint Is Much Bigger Than It Looks At First Glance
September 20th, 2023
Via Quartz, a look at how indirect emissions like using electricity can triple a building’s carbon footprint: While buildings only contribute to 6% of global emissions, accounting for the use of more electricity and a structure’s materials can triple the size of a building’s carbon footprint, according to a new report by Generation, a sustainable investment firm. […]
Read more »Heat Action Platform
September 19th, 2023
Useful to see Arsht-Rock’s newly launched Heat Action Platform which people can use to assess their city’s heat resilience and find the solutions that work for their community. Reflecting input from cities, community-serving organizations, extreme heat risk and resilience experts, the platform has nine heat resilience modules filled with the data-informed and tested solutions, materials, […]
Read more »In Miami, It’s No Coincidence Marginalized Neighborhoods Are Hotter
September 18th, 2023
Via Inside Climate News, a report on new research that suggests the problem traces to a historical federal program that was turned against those who needed it most, through a practice known as redlining. On another hot September day here, Bereatha Howard sat sipping water in the dappled shade of a leafy tree. The high […]
Read more »How Cities Are Working To Improve ‘Tree Equity’
September 14th, 2023
Via Grist, a report on how data reveals the division of tree cover along racial and income lines in cities — and can also help them fix it: The vision “We know that there are actual real-life impacts between communities that don’t have access to the health benefits of trees and those that do.” Benita […]
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.