The Promise of Passive House Design
February 5th, 2024
Via Yale Climate Connections, a look at the promise of passive design – the extraordinarily energy-efficient building method slashes climate pollution from homes, hospitals, schools, and high rises: Imagine a home so efficient that it could be heated with a hair dryer. That’s the promise of a passive house, a design standard that’s becoming increasingly […]
Read more »Going Dutch: An Approach to Flood Control Flows into Charleston
February 5th, 2024
Via Charleston City Paper, a look at how Charleston is borrowing flood control techniques from the Dutch: The Dutch solution to flood control is not confined to its iconic 17th century crescent-shaped network of canals lined with skinny houses and flat houseboats that form an inner-city drainage and transportation system in Amsterdam’s historic core. In […]
Read more »Coastal Cities Brace for Climate Change
February 4th, 2024
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on how coastal cities are bracing for climate change: Over the past few weeks, flooding from storms has battered cities in the South and the East Coast, from Louisiana to New Jersey. Overlapping atmospheric rivers over the West Coast have brought heavy rains that are likely to come back in the next […]
Read more »Extreme Heat: Which Cities Will Be Ready for Summer 2024?
February 3rd, 2024
Via Smart Cities Dive, an article on measures cities are undertaking to be ready for summer 2024: Asking what Miami-Dade County’s chief heat officer does in the winter is like asking what Santa Claus does in the summer. Immediate extreme heat response might not be needed, but numerous plans and preparations are in the works […]
Read more »UK Heatwave Plan Urgently Needed to Save Lives, say MPs
February 3rd, 2024
Courtesy of The Guardian, an article on the urgent need for nature-based solutions such as parks and ponds as part of Britain’s heatwave adaptation plan: The UK urgently needs a plan to prevent thousands of heatwave deaths a year as the climate continues to warm, a cross-party committee of MPs has warned. More than 4,500 […]
Read more »Why New Mexico Is Partnering with Google to Hunt Down Leaky Pipes
February 3rd, 2024
Via Fast Company, a look at New Mexico’s 50-year plan for conserving water and developing new sources: New Mexico is teaming up with Google to hunt for leaky water pipes using satellite imagery as the drought-stricken state prepares for a future in which growing demand puts more pressure on already dwindling drinking water supplies. State […]
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.