Why Heat Pumps Are the Future, and How Your Home Could Use One
April 14th, 2024
Via the New York Times, a report on heat pumps, highly efficient devices considered by many to be powerful tools in combating climate change: Heat pumps, which both warm and cool buildings and are powered by electricity, have been touted as the answer to curbing greenhouse gas emissions produced by homes, businesses and office buildings, […]
Read more »Toronto Wants to Manage Storms and Floods—With a Rain Tax
April 14th, 2024
Via Canada’s National Observer, an article on the outcry in Toronto that reached such a crescendo last week that the city canceled public hearings on the tax, which is intended to help offset the hundreds of millions spent managing stormwater and basement flooding: A plan to charge Toronto homeowners and businesses for paved surfaces on […]
Read more »Inside the Rise of Groundwater-Based Geothermal Heat Pumps
April 12th, 2024
Via Utility Dive, an article on the rise of groundwater-based geothermal heat pumps: The technology, which is cost-effective across 75% of the U.S. landmass and ideal for space-constrained users, could eventually displace utility gas service, proponents say. A few steps from the front door of Rochester, Minnesota’s city hall, two newly drilled wells plunge hundreds […]
Read more »Voltpost Launches EV Charging Solution Integrated Into Lampposts
April 12th, 2024
Via Energy & Environment Leader, a report on a new start up deploying EV charging solutions into lampposts: Voltpost, an electric vehicle (EV) charging company, has unveiled its commercial-ready, curbside EV charging solution. Aimed at transforming urban mobility, Voltpost is rolling out its unique EV charging projects across several major U.S. metropolitan areas this spring, […]
Read more »Slow Water: Can We Tame Urban Floods By Going With The Flow?
April 12th, 2024
Via The Guardian, a look at urban flooding: After epic floods in India, South Africa, Germany, New York and Canada killed hundreds in the past year, droughts are now parching landscapes and wilting crops across the western US, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. The responses have included calls for higher levees, bigger drains and longer aqueducts. But these concrete interventions aimed at controlling water are […]
Read more »Global Warming Is Coming For Your Home
April 12th, 2024
Via The Economist, a report on climate change’s impact on housing: Think about the places vulnerable to climate change, and you might picture rice paddies in Bangladesh or low-lying islands in the Pacific. But another, more surprising answer ought to be your own house. About a tenth of the world’s residential property by value is under threat from global […]
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.