Beyond the Yuck Factor: Cities Turn to ‘Extreme’ Water Recycling
July 22nd, 2023
Via Yale e360, a report on how San Francisco is at the forefront of a movement to recycle wastewater from commercial buildings, homes, and neighborhoods and use it for toilets and landscaping. This decentralized approach, proponents say, will drive down demand in an era of increasing water scarcity. In downtown San Francisco, in a cavernous […]
Read more »California’s Electric Cars Can Feed the Grid and Help Avoid Brownouts
July 21st, 2023
Courtesy of Jefferson Public Radio, a look at how – through bidirectional charging – owners of electric cars can sell energy to the grid or use it to power their homes: An electric school bus is charging at Grant Union High School in Sacramento on July 20, 2023. The chargers are bidirectional, which means they […]
Read more »Iran’s Ancient ‘Wind Catchers’ Beat The Heat Naturally
July 20th, 2023
Via Al Monitor, a look at UNESCO-listed Yazd, a World Heritage Site described as a ‘living testimony to intelligent use of limited available resources in the desert for survival’: Tall, chimney-like towers rise from centuries-old adobe houses in Iran’s desert city of Yazd, drawing in a pleasant breeze for residents of one of the hottest […]
Read more »Las Vegas Plans To Plant 60,000 Trees To Help Combat Urban Heat
July 20th, 2023
Via Las Vegas Sun, an article on Las Vegas’ plan to plant 60,000 trees over the coming three decades to help combat the urban heat island effect: The city of Las Vegas has a lofty goal when it comes to greenery: Plant 60,000 trees over the coming three decades. The Las Vegas Tree Initiative is […]
Read more »Wood Is Not the Climate-friendly Building Material Some Claim it to Be
July 20th, 2023
Via World Resources Institute, a new report suggesting that wood is not the climate-friendly building material some claim: Because concrete and steel used to construct buildings are a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions, there is growing interest in “mass timber” — a supposedly lower-carbon option — to replace them. New ways of gluing […]
Read more »Designing for Planetary Boundary Cities
July 18th, 2023
Only 3% of Earth’s surface is occupied by cities. But they are responsible for 70% of global CO2 emissions. Cities rely heavily on Earth’s systems to support urban life. Fertile soils enable food production. Rivers, lakes and oceans enable transport and provide core resources. Forests regulate and purify water supplies while protecting against flooding. Nature […]
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.