How Four Cities Are Cooling Down Creatively
August 2nd, 2024
Via Reasons To Be Cheerful, a look at how cities around the world are trying everything from reflective paint to underground water channels to manage the hotter days ahead: In the middle of a summer of record-breaking heat, just stepping outside is enough to remind us that the world is experiencing rising temperatures due to […]
Read more »As London Swelters, Adaptation To Heat Extremes Is ‘Urgent’
August 1st, 2024
Via Climate Resilience for All, commentary on the need for adaptation to heat extremes in urban cities such as London: In July 2022, London experienced a temperature shock: two days of unprecedented 40 degree Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) heat that buckled rail lines, put pressure on hospitals and the ambulances, overwhelmed air conditioning systems and […]
Read more »The Safest Places in the U.S. from Extreme Weather
July 20th, 2024
Via Medium, commentary on some of the safest places in the U.S. from extreme weather: Screenshot of U.S. map created by author of safe places to live away from natural disasters Well, the time has come. After decades of sh*tting on the planet, Mother Earth has finally had enough. Just the other day I was lurking in […]
Read more »Extreme Weather Prompts Growth of Parametric Insurance
July 18th, 2024
Via Cipher News, a look at how extreme weather prompts growth of parametric insurance, offering faster, more flexible payments after disasters: Joemar Flores, a spindly 28-year-old, gestured across his family’s farmland, nestled between a steep hill and a river, and expressed gratitude for the rice paddies in the distance. They’re still there, producing food and […]
Read more »Protecting London A Matter of ‘National Security’ If Extreme Weather Hits
July 17th, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a look at how climate preparation must be embedded into government’s growth strategy to avoid ‘catastrophic’ impacts: Protecting London from extreme weather is a matter of “national security”, according to an independent report, which found that flooding, drought and wildfires were putting the UK capital’s economy and citizens at risk. […]
Read more »The Critical Role Trees Play During Heat Waves
July 17th, 2024
Via Time, an article on the critical role that trees play during heat waves: My two-year-old is too young to know about climate change. He doesn’t understand what an “urban heat island” is either. He just knows that his papa keeps saying “No” because it’s too hot out to go to our local park in […]
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.