Excessive Air Conditioning Use May Cause Cities to Heat Up — and Passive Cooling Techniques Could Be the Future
August 20th, 2026
Via Discover, a report on new research that reveals how passive cooling techniques are going to be increasingly important to reduce energy use and cool urban areas. Learn more about them. In a burning hot city in the middle of the summer, when you can practically see the heat rising off the asphalt roads, an […]
Read more »The Anti-Flood City Is Finally Taking Shape
August 14th, 2026
Via Curbed, a look at how – from concrete walls to hilly landscapes – New York can see its early defenses against future catastrophe: One evening a few months ago, during the kind of brief but explosive rainstorm that has become almost routine, a woman in a fuchsia yoga outfit stepped off a bus on […]
Read more »New York City Embarks on Study to Build Thermal Energy Network around Subway Stations
August 13th, 2026
Via ThinkGeoenergy, a report that New York City has announced a feasibility study for the implementation of thermal energy networks to cool subway stations and heat municipal buildings: A study will soon be launched to evaluate the use how a thermal energy network can reduce extreme heat on subway platforms in New York City, while […]
Read more »How An Atlanta Ordinance Could Help the City Cool Off
August 13th, 2026
Via Yale Climate Connections, a brief on a new Atlanta ordinance that requires new construction and major renovations to use reflective roofs that can cool neighborhoods by as much as six degrees: Summers in Atlanta are hot – and getting hotter as the climate warms. To stay safe in the heat, residents often spend a […]
Read more »Cooling Murals to Reduce Surface Temperature
July 13th, 2026
Now this is a cool project! Students and volunteers from the Yale and New Haven communities recently painted a “cooling mural” on the basketball court at Kimberly Field in the city’s Hill neighborhood. Using a highly reflective paint, the mural reduces surface temperatures and offers some relief on steamy summer days. Enjoy the aerial footage! Led […]
Read more »A Home Battery Revolution Is Reshaping the Power Grid
July 2nd, 2026
Via Yale Environment 360, a look at how – as residential batteries have become more energy dense, cheaper, and smaller – more households are storing their excess solar power. Now, utilities and energy companies in dozens of countries are buying up those electrons, bundling them together, and using them to balance the grid: Home 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.