The Hidden Threat of Rising Coastal Groundwater
November 27th, 2024
Via Knowable Magazine, an article on the impact that sea level rise will have on 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. But some of the most […]
Read more »Europe’s Cities Should Prepare for Hotter, More Hazardous Days Ahead
November 27th, 2024
Via WRI, commentary on how European cities should prepare for hotter days ahead: Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent, which is severely impacting cities and leading to tens of thousands of deaths, rising hospitalizations, school closures and people adjusting their lives to avoid inhospitable outdoor conditions. The oppressive heat is being felt across the continent from […]
Read more »How To See If Your City Is Poised To Bounce Back From The Next Climate Disaster
November 25th, 2024
Via The Washington Post, an article on how to see if your city is poised to bounce back from the next climate disaster: How do you pick a safe place to live? Climate scientists predict an intensifying barrage of hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, flooding and sea-level rise in many places. These disasters are already threatening, and even demolishing, homes. But risk is not all. Resilience, the […]
Read more »To Cope with Extreme Heat, Paris Will Swap Parking Spaces for Trees
November 19th, 2024
Via Yale e360, a report on Paris’s plan to swap parking spaces for trees: Paris aims to replace 60,000 parking spaces across the city with trees by the end of this decade, according to its newly released climate plan. The plan, which must still be approved by the Council of Paris, lays out steps to help […]
Read more »How Urban Planners Can Use Trees To Cool Entire Cities
November 5th, 2024
Via Terra Daily, a look at how urban planners can use trees to cool entire cities: Cities worldwide face rising temperatures, with urban areas particularly vulnerable due to heat absorption by concrete and asphalt. Tree-planting programs are a popular strategy to counteract urban heat, yet these initiatives often rely on estimates rather than precise science. […]
Read more »The Passive Home Trend Is Booming
November 1st, 2024
Courtesy of The Washington Post, a look at passive homes, green homes designed to be as energy efficient as possible. New incentives aim to make them more budget-friendly. On the morning of June 7, 2023, New York City woke to a sky of orange haze as the smoke from Canadian wildfires blew in from hundreds […]
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.