Stay Cool: NYC Planting Thousands of New Trees To Maximize Foliage Impact
November 30th, 2023
Via The Guardian, a report on New York City’s plan to plant thousands of trees using new tech to maximize foliage impact: New York City is poised to get a lot more trees. Last month, the city council passed a measure calling for 30% canopy cover by 2035, up from its current cover of 22% […]
Read more »Extreme Heat Will Bake America’s Cities
November 28th, 2023
Via The Economist, a look at the impact of extreme heat on U.S. cities and how they may prepare: The monsoon is late again. Without the almost biblical rains, there is nothing to break the heat during a long stretch of days above 43°C (109°F). The pavement is scalding. Hospital wards are filling with burn victims. […]
Read more »After its Hottest Summer On Record, Phoenix’s Mayor Outlines the City’s Future
November 13th, 2023
Via Inside Climate News, an interview with Phoenix’s Mayor Kate Gallego, looking at how the city is looking to address extreme heat and drought to build a more sustainable city: The Phoenix summer of 2023 was one for the record books. For 54 days straight—36 more than the previous record—the hottest city in the country had […]
Read more »Can ACs Cool the World Without Warming it?
November 1st, 2023
Courtesy of Grist, a look at if/how ACs can cool the world without warming it: A warm breeze brushes your arms as you sit lazily on the balcony. You wave to your elderly neighbor, Roy, across the way. He’s always yelling at you to “close the door; you’re wasting energy” — no matter your patient […]
Read more »Paving Pakistan’s Pathway to Efficient Cooling
October 27th, 2023
Via CLASP, a look at how – as Pakistan’s growing population tries to cope with rising temperatures – the demand for cooling is soaring. CLASP is supporting the country’s first Cooling Action Plan to give communities access to efficient cooling appliances while controlling emissions and reducing the strain on power grids. Pakistan endures some of […]
Read more »Sustainable AC is Possible, Even with Covid Ventilation
October 25th, 2023
Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at how it is possible to cool a ventilated building below outside temperatures using an uninsulated roof that sends heat to the sky day and night, while regularly changing indoor air for health: Sweltering temperatures due to climate change are prompting an increasing number of people around the world to […]
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.