Underwater: Exploring the Map of the World in 2100
February 15th, 2024
Courtesy of Hasan Jasim, an interesting set of maps that anticipates – and graphically shows – the impact of sea level rise in decades ahead: Alright, not of the entire world, but a large part of it. In this alarming future scenario drawn up by Jay Simons, the sea level has risen drastically and is […]
Read more »The Unloved L.A. River Just Prevented A Flood Disaster. Can More Of Its Water Be Saved?
February 14th, 2024
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, a look at the Los Angeles River and possibilities for more stormwater capture: As intense atmospheric rivers become more common in a warming world, so too do questions about stormwater capture in Los Angeles. Each year, when rain pours down and the L.A. River roars back to life, Angelenos want […]
Read more »Heat Pumps: Still Hot In The U.S.
February 12th, 2024
Via MIT Technology Review, a report on heat pumps, whose sales slowed in 2023, but are gaining ground on fossil fuels: Heat pumps are still a hot technology, though sales in the US, one of the world’s largest markets, fell in 2023. Even with the drop, the appliances beat out gas furnaces for the second […]
Read more »The Hidden Threat From Rising Coastal Groundwater
February 11th, 2024
Via Maven’s Notebook, a report on the threat that sea level rise won’t hit just homes on shorefronts, but also the infrastructure beneath our feet: When people think about sea level rise, many picture scenarios like flooded coastlines in Florida or Bangladesh, and beachfront homes succumbing to erosion on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. […]
Read more »Is This The Most Energy-Efficient Way To Build Homes?
February 11th, 2024
Via MIT Technology Review, a report on how passive homes – airtight and super-insulated – use around 90% less energy: When the Canadian engineer Harold Orr and his colleagues began designing an ultra-efficient home in Saskatchewan in the late ’70s, responding to a provincial conservation mandate during the oil embargo, they knew that the trick […]
Read more »Boston’s First Networked Geothermal Project Will Electrify 7 Public Buildings
February 10th, 2024
Via Smart Cities Dive, a report on how geothermal systems are a promising approach to transitioning communities off fossil fuels for heating and cooling: Dive Brief: Boston will electrify seven federal public housing buildings with the city’s first networked geothermal pilot project, Mayor Michelle Wu announced on Jan. 25. Networked geothermal uses underground pipes to heat and cool buildings in […]
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.