Blue Water Factories in China: The Future of Wastewater Treatment
October 3rd, 2023
Via The Source, a look at how sustainable wastewater treatment can contribute to China’s resourceful future: Since the 1980s, China’s urban water infrastructure has grown and developed steadily, with wastewater treatment coverage and capacity reaching up to 97.5% and around 190 million m3/d as of 2020. However, China’s wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are also facing […]
Read more »Heat-Proofing India
October 3rd, 2023
Via Science.org, a report on how cities in India are testing measures that could help urban populations worldwide cope with rising temperatures: In Lal Matti, an informal settlement of tin-roofed homes in this coastal city, summer can be unbearable. Before the monsoon rains arrive, temperatures can top 37°C, with humidity at a sweltering 95%. The […]
Read more »Worried About Living In A Flood Zone? Try A House That Floats.
September 30th, 2023
Courtesy of The New York Times, a look at how coastal cities threatened with rising tides and bigger storms could use not just the waterfront, but also the water, as places to build housing: As sea levels rise and storms worsen, threatening the planet’s fragile coastlines, some architects and developers are looking to the water […]
Read more »Why New York and Other Cities Still Aren’t Prepared For Floods
September 30th, 2023
Via The Verge, commentary on why cities shouldn’t be caught off guard but often are with floods: New York City came to a grinding halt Friday as floods shut down roads and subways and inundated schools in one of the biggest storm-related emergencies since the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit in 2021. It isn’t a problem that’s unique to […]
Read more »New York’s Bluebelt Program
September 30th, 2023
As New York City experiences intense rainfall, it is instructive to look at Staten Island and one of the really successful measures that has been accomplished: the blue belt network. It’s a really great solution for handling intense rainfall and filtering water and water quality and biodiversity. But it’s not the kind of thing that […]
Read more »New York Needs to Get Spongier—or Get Used to More Floods
September 29th, 2023
Via Wired, a report on how devastating deluges around the world point to the metropolis of tomorrow: the “sponge city.” Think more parks and fewer parking lots. TWO YEARS AFTER the remnants of Hurricane Ian dumped up to 10 inches of rain on New York City in just two hours, the metropolis is once again inundated today by extreme […]
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.