How Cities Can Prepare For Underground Climate Change
July 24th, 2023
Courtesy of Fast Company, an interesting report on a new study showing that soil is getting hotter, and our buildings are paying for it: The urban heat island effect has been thoroughly documented: Heat from the sun gets reflected and absorbed by buildings and roads, which heat up during the day and release heat at night, […]
Read more »Maine Increases State Heat Pump Goals After Hitting Milestone Two Years Early
July 24th, 2023
Via Maine Public Radio, a report on Maine’s quick success with heat pump deployments: Gov. Janet Mills has made heat pumps a cornerstone of her climate plan, as a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money on heating. Four years ago, at Kennebec Valley Community College, Mills pledged to have 100,000 heat pumps […]
Read more »The White Roofs Cooling Women’s Homes in Indian Slums
July 22nd, 2023
Courtesy of BBC’s Future Planet, a report on the white roofs cooling women’s homes in Indian slums: The roof in Pinky’s home in western India glistens in the bright sunlight. Covered in white solar reflective paint, it helps to limit the oppressive heat – which can reach 47.8C (118F) in June – from infiltrating her […]
Read more »Hot Cities Are Experimenting with Ways to Keep Cool
July 22nd, 2023
Via The Economist, a look at the sizzling US sunbelt and how – to stay liveable – hot cities are experimenting with ways to keep cool Amy Schwabenlender has a front-row seat to suffering. From the windows of her office in downtown Phoenix, she can see rows and rows of tents. Their inhabitants keep inside, […]
Read more »How Ancient ‘Skywells’ are Keeping Chinese Homes Cool
July 22nd, 2023
Via BBC Futures, a look at how – in the eras before air-conditioning – southern China’s skywells played a key role in keeping people’s homes cool. Could they do it again today? Ru Ling loves spending time in skywells. To her, these courtyards of old Chinese houses are the perfect place to be in on […]
Read more »How Texas is Racing to Thwart the Heat
July 22nd, 2023
Via BBC Future Planet, a look at how Texas is racing to thwart the heat: This summer, Texans have endured scorching temperatures as hot as 48C (119F), making the state one of the hottest places on Earth. The state is trapped under a “heat dome”, a phenomenon that happens when high pressure traps dry, hot air over an area, […]
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.