A New Textile Designed To Combat Urban Heat Island Effect Cools Down by 16+ Degrees
June 20th, 2024
Via Fast Company, a report on a new textile was designed to combat the urban heat island effect, reflecting both the sun’s heat and the heat that bounces off of buildings and streets: When a heat wave hits a city, the sidewalks, roads, and buildings end up making the air feel even hotter. Thanks to the urban […]
Read more »Harnessing Nature To Cool Cities: Parks For Tomorrow
June 18th, 2024
Via Harvard Magazine, an article on how nature can help cool cities: IN 2009, Bas Smets walked across an old industrial plaza in Arles, France. Entirely concrete, the space posed a problem. The area was being transformed into a large art complex, but in the intense summer sun, the ground reflected the heat, doubly baking […]
Read more »Can Mirrors Help Fight Extreme Urban Heat?
June 18th, 2024
Via BBC, a look at the potential for mirrors to help fight the threat of extreme heat: When the inside of your home feels as hot as an oven, it can be impossible to cope. During the dry season, that was the daily reality for Khadija Kamara, living in the Kroo Bay settlement of Freetown, […]
Read more »Extreme Heat Driving Innovation In Municipal Heat Resilience
June 17th, 2024
Via Smart Cities Dive, a report on how extreme heat is driving innovation in municipal heat resilience: As 2024 sets record highs for early summertime temperatures, city leaders once again find themselves at the frontline, grappling with the impacts of extreme heat on their communities. Historically, local governments have been behind the curve in implementing comprehensive strategies […]
Read more »Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housing
June 17th, 2024
Via Wired, a report on how extreme weather threatens the investment value of many properties, but financing for climate mitigation efforts are only just getting going: Rising sea levels, biodiversity collapse, extreme weather—these are the grisly horsemen of climate apocalypse. But don’t forget the fretting loan officers. A study published earlier this year found that US mortgage […]
Read more »How to Cool Down Parks in Hot Cities
June 17th, 2024
Courtesy of Bloomberg, a look at how researchers at Princeton University are devising ways to transform green spaces into outdoor cooling centers: The drive to be outside, even in hot weather, is hard to overcome. People without air conditioning would be more likely to seek relief at their local park, according to Elie Bou-Zeid, a […]
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.