A Conversation with Dr. Kongjian Yu on Restoring Our “Sponge Planet”
July 22nd, 2025
Via China Water Risk, an interview with the “Father of Sponge Cities to see how concrete cities can become better-equipped for extreme rainfall & flash floods: After witnessing grey infrastructure collapse in the 1998 Yangtze floods, Dr. Yu developed the idea of a “sponge city” to restore water’s natural flows; Today it’s been adopted as […]
Read more »Cities Are Heating Up. Better Infrastructure Can Cool Them Down.
July 20th, 2025
Via WRI, a look at how better infrastructure can help cool cities: In a city, a grassy park might be a place to stretch out with a book, an asphalt road your route to work, a building wall a canvas for a mural. But beyond their familiar roles, each of these surfaces plays a critical […]
Read more »Atlanta Embracing A Cheap, Effective Way To Beat Urban Heat: ‘Cool Roofs’
July 7th, 2025
Via Grist, a look at how – with white or reflective roofs significantly reducing temperatures – Atlanta is the latest city to mandate their adoption: Walk outside into 100-degree heat wearing a black shirt, and you’ll feel a whole lot hotter than if you were wearing white. Now think about your roof: If it’s also […]
Read more »Cities Are Heating Up Planet: How They Can Do More To Fight Climate Change
July 4th, 2025
Via Illuminem, a look at how cities are heating up the planet – how they can do more to fight climate change: Cities have a central role to play tackling climate change. They contribute 67–72% of the greenhouse gas emissions which are heating up the planet. At the same time, cities are increasingly at risk from global warming. Flood, […]
Read more »California Is Running Out of Safe Places to Build Homes Due to Fires, Rising Seas
July 4th, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a look at how climate-related risks hamper the state’s ability to solve a housing crunch. It’s not alone. California, gripped by a housing shortage that is forcing families from the state, wants to build 2.5 million homes. But it’s running out of safe places to put them. Much of the land best suited for […]
Read more »This Paint Sweats To Cool Off Buildings. No Energy Required.
June 25th, 2025
Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at an innovative paint that replenishes its water supply by absorbing rain and water vapor. Its porous structure holds the water and then slowly releases it much like sweat. Ultra-bright white paints are the go-to when it comes to cooling buildings. Those paints work by reflecting as much of the sun as […]
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.