Why Cities Are Getting More Rainy
September 10th, 2024
Via Washington Post, a report on a new study has found most cities receive significantly more rain than nearby rural regions, an effect that has become more pronounced over the past two decades: Cities are hot. The fact that urban areas tend to be warmer than their surrounding region — a phenomenon called the heat island […]
Read more »Fossil Fueled Comfort—The History and Cost of Air Conditioning in Bahrain
September 6th, 2024
Via the Middle East Research and Information Project, an interesting look at the history, cost, and social inequities of air conditioning in Bahrain where the first air conditioner in the Gulf was installed in the oil town of Awali: The town had been built by Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco)—a creation of the Standard Oil Company […]
Read more »Electric School Buses: The Future We Deserve
September 6th, 2024
Via Vox, a look at how the largest mass transit system in the United States – school buses – is overdue for an upgrade: Riding an electric school bus seems like it would be an uncanny experience. As a kid, I remember the bus being a loud and smoggy place that left me smelling like […]
Read more »When Cities Were Nature’s Haven
September 6th, 2024
Via Illuminem, a look at how cities and nature are not exclusive from one another: We tend to think that nature and cities are polar opposites. Yet this is not true. As my research on Bangalore or Bengaluru – India’s IT hub – shows, for centuries, the population of this region grew because of nature, not despite it. In my book Nature in the […]
Read more »The Future of Urban Housing Is Energy-Efficient Refrigerators
September 6th, 2024
Via MIT Technology Review, an article on how adapting old, energy-inefficient buildings is less sexy but far greener than many high-tech solutions: The scars and pockmarks of the aging apartments and housing units under the purview of the New York City Housing Authority don’t immediately communicate the idea of innovation. The largest landlord in the […]
Read more »Climate Change Can Cause Bridges to ‘Fall Apart Like Tinkertoys,’ Experts Say
September 5th, 2024
Courtesy of the New York Times, a look at how extreme heat and flooding are accelerating the deterioration of bridges, engineers say, posing a quiet but growing threat: On a 95-degree day this summer, New York City’s Third Avenue Bridge, connecting the Bronx and Manhattan, got stuck in the open position for hours. As heat […]
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.