We Built Our World For A Climate That No Longer Exists
July 13th, 2024
Via CNN, commentary on the growing tension between climate change and existing urban infrastructure: Earlier this week, the Third Avenue Bridge in Manhattan had to be shut down because the bridge – which pivots to allow ships to pass – wouldn’t close correctly. Why? Because it was so hot in New York City that day the […]
Read more »Four-Fifths of Cities Report Significant Climate Hazards
July 10th, 2024
Via Cities Today, a report that four-fifths of cities report significant climate hazards: Flooding and extreme heat are the most widespread impacts of climate change facing cities across all continents, new data insights reveal. A non-profit which runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions, CDP, released the data saying that 83 […]
Read more »The Biochar King of Minneapolis
July 5th, 2024
Courtesy of Heatmap, a report on one of the first municipally owned carbon removal programs: Minneapolis may be the only city in the country with a carbon sequestration program manager on staff. Now, Jim Doten — who holds that title — is about to realize his dream of starting up one of the first municipally […]
Read more »Despite Struggling To Make Use Of A Boom In Energy Storage, China Calls For More
July 5th, 2024
Via Reuters, a look at China’s focus on energy storage: Rows of what look like thin, white shipping containers are lined up on a barren dirt field in China’s Shandong province. Filled with batteries, they form a 795 megawatt (MW) plant that can hold up to 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity – enough to power […]
Read more »Building Electrification: Department of Energy Defines Zero-Emissions Buildings
July 4th, 2024
Via Utility Dive, a look at new US Department of Energy regulations that will bring clarity to support decarbonization efforts and enable clean energy technologies that can make U.S. buildings more comfortable: The U.S. Department of Energy on June 6 released the first part of a national definition of a zero-emissions building intended to provide guidance that […]
Read more »Climate Havens: Can Some Cities Provide A Refuge From Extreme Weather?
July 1st, 2024
Via BBC, a report on whether those cities which are advertising themselves as ‘climate havens’ actually protect residents from extreme weather: Over the past few years, the city of Buffalo, New York, has been all over the headlines. But instead of US media focusing only on the city’s occasional epic snowstorm, Buffalo is making news […]
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.