L.A. County Looks to Require Rental Units to Stay Cool in Summer
January 30th, 2024
Via the Los Angeles Times, a report that L.A. County is considering establishing a maximum temperature for rental units in the county: This winter, renters in frigid Los Angeles apartments have some ammo when they complain to their landlord about busted heating and drafty rooms: Legally speaking, rental units aren’t supposed to dip below a […]
Read more »Cool Roofing Initiative to Address Record-Breaking Heat in Arizona
January 30th, 2024
Via Environment and Energy Leader, an article on cool roofing initiative designed to address record heat in Arizona: NanoTech Materials and Cool Roof Coating Systems are joining forces to install cool roof coatings as a durable, low-maintenance solution to combat high indoor temperatures in Arizona. NanoTech’s cool roof coat offers an alternative to costly roof replacements, […]
Read more »Bump in the Road: Climate Change’s Surprising Impact on Potholes and the Revolutionary Solutions Ahead
January 28th, 2024
Via One Green Planet, a look at climate change’s surprising impact on potholes and the revolutionary solutions on the horizon: Climate change isn’t just about rising seas and scorching heatwaves; it’s also unleashing a pothole plague on our roads! In 2023, the UK reported nearly 630,000 pothole complaints – a shocking five-year peak. Across the pond, the USA […]
Read more »Coping With Climate Change Could Be A Matter of what Building You’re In
January 26th, 2024
Via Nature, a new publication emphasizing the importance of beefing up building codes to help to save lives in extreme heat or cold: Three years after the 1978 Miyagi earthquake, a magnitude-7.4 event that caused extensive damage to the city of Sendai, Japan overhauled its building codes to better protect people against quakes. The country’s […]
Read more »Hot Sun, Cool Paths
January 26th, 2024
Via Australia’s The Age, a look at Australian efforts to tackle extreme heat: If you look closely when you hop off the tram at the Australian Open, you’ll notice the platform is painted light grey. It’s a surface coating called CoolSeal, a product designed to reduce ambient temperatures by reflecting the sun to produce cooler […]
Read more »London: Underprepared For Extreme Weather
January 21st, 2024
Via BBC, a report on London’s lack of preparedness for extreme weather: London is “underprepared” for the impact of climate change such as severe flooding and extreme heat, a climate research group has found. The London Climate Resilience Review has also said this lack of planning will create a “lethal risk” to the most vulnerable […]
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.