Cities: To Build Or Not To Build Homes In Risky Places
November 7th, 2023
Via NPR, a look at three (3) how a growing number of local governments are considering limits on homebuilding in the face of floods, droughts and wildfires driven by climate change: With climate-fueled disasters killing hundreds of Americans annually and costing communities billions of dollars, a growing number of local governments are asking a basic […]
Read more »Ecosystems as Infrastructure: A New Way of Looking at Climate Resilience
November 7th, 2023
Via Yale e360, a look at how landscape architect Kate Orff works on rebuilding natural systems to help communities and cities reduce their climate risks: When people think of landscape architecture, small-scale recreational spaces like urban parks, gardens, and golf courses may come to mind. MacArthur “Genius Award” winner Kate Orff has a grander and […]
Read more »Buildings That Can Stand Up To Hurricanes and Sharply Cut Emissions Too
November 7th, 2023
Via AP News, a report on how some houses are being built to stand up to hurricanes and sharply cut emissions, too: When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, […]
Read more »How An 8-Acre Green Roof Is Boosting New York City’s Biodiversity and Resilience
November 6th, 2023
Via GreenRoofs.com, a look at how an 8-acre Green Roof Atop the Javits Center is Boosting NYC’s biodiversity and resilience: Photo: Jacob Javits Convention Center. Rosemary Misdary of Gothamist writes: It’s migratory bird season, and ecologists are cataloging the large number of birds that stop and refuel in New York during journeys that can reach up […]
Read more »A Climate Change Success Story? Look at Hoboken.
November 5th, 2023
Via The New York Times, a look at how this flood-prone city on the Hudson River has bundled water-absorbing infrastructure into benefits residents asked for, like parks and safer streets: The city of Hoboken, N.J., once a marshy outcropping that the Lenape inhabited only seasonally, hugs the Hudson River. Three-quarters of it occupies a flood […]
Read more »How Cities Can Fight Climate Change?
November 4th, 2023
Courtesy of Knowable Magazine, a look at how urban activities — think construction, transportation, heating, cooling and more — are major sources of greenhouse-gas emissions but, today, a growing number of cities are striving to slash their emission to net zero: Global temperatures are on the rise — up by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the […]
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.