Taking Action: Reducing Buildings’ Carbon Footprint
October 19th, 2023
Via Semafor, a report on an urgent climate problem finally getting some attention: A sector responsible for around a quarter of energy-related carbon emissions could drastically reduce its footprint with solutions that are well-known, inexpensive, and easily deployable. So why doesn’t it? That is the question vexing experts and officials about the so-called built environment […]
Read more »Amassing Fans: Mass Timber Shifting How Commercial Buildings Are Built In East Texas
October 19th, 2023
Via The Texas Tribune, a report on how mass timber is growing in popularity – globally, mass timber construction projects are expected to reach more than 24,000 by 2034 – and, so far, at least 134 mass timber projects are in progress or completed in Texas. The first such project was a six-story office building […]
Read more »Designing For Disaster: Tsunami House
October 19th, 2023
Via HeatMap, a look at how an architect built a house to withstand mudslides: Dan Nelson has inadvertently become an expert in resilient design because of where he lives and builds houses: Washington state. His architecture firm, Designs Northwest Architects, specializes in complex residential projects in and around the Puget Sound where earthquake risk runs […]
Read more »Systemic Cooling Poverty: A New Facet of Deprivation Emerging In A Warming World
October 11th, 2023
Via Phys.org, a new study underscoring the rising “cooling gap” and an increase in cooling poverty, highlighting growing equity issues arising as the climate warms. The study showed that “The poorest and most disadvantaged people, who contributed the least to global warming, are the ones bearing the most severe consequences of extreme heat because of […]
Read more »Come Hell or High Water: Building Community Resilience to Floods, Droughts and Water Contamination
October 11th, 2023
Courtesy of ImpactAlpha, a look at building community resilience to floods, droughts and water contamination: Water — too little, too much or too dirty — isn’t simply emerging as a climate consideration. It’s forcing its way into the conversation. Water professionals say it’s high time. “This is water’s moment,” Radhika Fox, the Environmental Protection Agency’s […]
Read more »Boston Skyscraper Named World’s Biggest ‘Passive House’ Office
October 11th, 2023
Via Canary Media, an article on a Boston building, which will use far less energy than a conventional design, as the latest example of the efficiency standard’s growing popularity: A new Boston skyscraper has a climate-friendly claim to fame. Last week, it became the largest office space in the world certified to the extremely energy-efficient ?“Passive House” […]
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.