Going Dutch: An Approach to Flood Control Flows into Charleston
February 5th, 2024
Via Charleston City Paper, a look at how Charleston is borrowing flood control techniques from the Dutch: The Dutch solution to flood control is not confined to its iconic 17th century crescent-shaped network of canals lined with skinny houses and flat houseboats that form an inner-city drainage and transportation system in Amsterdam’s historic core. In […]
Read more »Extreme Heat: Which Cities Will Be Ready for Summer 2024?
February 3rd, 2024
Via Smart Cities Dive, an article on measures cities are undertaking to be ready for summer 2024: Asking what Miami-Dade County’s chief heat officer does in the winter is like asking what Santa Claus does in the summer. Immediate extreme heat response might not be needed, but numerous plans and preparations are in the works […]
Read more »UK Heatwave Plan Urgently Needed to Save Lives, say MPs
February 3rd, 2024
Courtesy of The Guardian, an article on the urgent need for nature-based solutions such as parks and ponds as part of Britain’s heatwave adaptation plan: The UK urgently needs a plan to prevent thousands of heatwave deaths a year as the climate continues to warm, a cross-party committee of MPs has warned. More than 4,500 […]
Read more »Climate Resolve Launches ‘Shine On’ Initiative to Combat Climate Change Through Cool Surface Solutions
February 3rd, 2024
Via Informed Infrastructure, a report on a new initiative to help scale up the adoption of cool surfaces as an essential strategy for combating climate change: Climate Resolve, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, has launched Shine On, a new initiative funded by the Grantham Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation’s Clean Cooling Collaborative (CCC). This innovative program […]
Read more »Should More Homes and Buildings Be Built Using Straw?
February 3rd, 2024
Via BBC, a look at the potential use of straw in construction: When packed into panels straw is highly insulating This year, straw from Lithuania will envelop a building in the quiet town of Todmorden, West Yorkshire. Barbara Jones and her colleagues at Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub have hatched a plan to clad […]
Read more »Zum Raises $140 Million for School Bus Batteries on Wheels
February 2nd, 2024
Via ImpactAlpha, an article on a company raising money to use school buses as batteries on wheels: School buses are the largest source of mass transit in the US, transporting over 20 million students to and from school daily. Most run on diesel fuel, which spew toxic fumes that are harmful to human health and […]
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.