Engineers 3D Print Sturdy Glass Bricks For Building Structures
October 17th, 2024
Via MIT News, a look at innovative new glass bricks which can be repurposed many times over, and withstand similar pressures as their concrete counterparts: The team made strong, multilayered glass bricks, each in the shape of a figure eight, that are designed to interlock, much like LEGO bricks. Pictured is a glass brick being […]
Read more »DARPA Thinks Walls of Oysters Could Protect Shores Against Hurricanes
October 11th, 2024
Via Wired, a report on how the US defense research agency is funding three universities to engineer reef structures that will be colonized by corals and bivalves and absorb the power of future storms: On October 10, 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base on the Gulf of Mexico, a pillar of American air superiority, found itself under […]
Read more »Baltimore Is Investing in Wetlands Restoration, a Climate Line of Defense
September 28th, 2024
Via Inside Climate News, a report on wetlands restoration and shoreline rehabilitation efforts in South Baltimore which promise to make communities resilient against climate change and severe weather while spawning new green spaces. Scientists say it’s a new science that needs careful and closer scrutiny. Brad Rogers and Brett Berkley stepped carefully on the gravel […]
Read more »Green Roofs and Solar Chimneys Are Here
September 28th, 2024
Via The Guardian, a look at how builders already have the tools needed to build cooler homes for an increasingly hotter world: The US sweltered under record-breaking heat this year, with new research suggesting that air conditioning is no longer enough to keep homes cool. Spiraling energy demands and costs of indoor cooling now have planners looking […]
Read more »The Secret Ingredient In Biden’s Climate Law? City Trees.
September 24th, 2024
Via Grist, a report on efforts to plant trees in cities: You’ve probably heard that the Biden administration’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, gives people big rebates and tax credits to switch to a heat pump or electric vehicle. But the law also contains a much-less-talked-about provision that could save lives: $1.5 billion for […]
Read more »Colorful Paints Could Slash Heating and Cooling Energy Use
September 23rd, 2024
Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at new paints that – by reflecting infrared heat – could could keep buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter without using energy: In parts of the world with hot, sunny climates, it is common to see houses painted white to reflect sunlight and stay cool during […]
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.