Conserving & restoring waterways can mitigate extreme urban heat in Bangladesh
August 21st, 2024
Via Mongabay, a look at how conserving & restoring waterways can mitigate extreme urban heat in Bangladesh: Conserving existing wetlands and restoring urban waterways can be an effective way for urban planners to protect city residents from extreme heat. In Dhaka, as in other large cities, paved urban landscapes absorb heat and intensify the risk […]
Read more »The Mirror Roofs Cooling Homes In Freetown
August 18th, 2024
Via The Guardian, a look at initial results showing homes in Sierra Leone’s capital fitted with heat-reflective roofing sheets can be up to 6C cooler: Mohamed Koroma has lived in the Kroo Bay waterfront community in Freetown for more than 50 years but cannot remember a time when the weather has been as hot as […]
Read more »Parks for Tomorrow: Harnessing Nature To Cool Cities
August 17th, 2024
Via Harvard Magazine, a look at one landscape architects efforts to use nature to cool cities: In 2009, Bas Smets walked across an old industrial plaza in Arles, France. Entirely concrete, the space posed a problem. The area was being transformed into a large art complex, but in the intense summer sun, the ground reflected […]
Read more »New Plan To Protect California’s Coast Against A Rising Ocean: Tidal Wetlands
August 16th, 2024
Via The Mercury News, a look at a new oceanfront wetland on California’s farmland to help reduce the risk of flooding during storms Recent raging winter storms have caved in streets, wrecked piers, collapsed homes and apartment buildings, and submerged property up and down California’s coastline. Now, as sea levels continue to rise from climate […]
Read more »Faced With Heavier Rains, Cities Scramble to Control Polluted Runoff
August 16th, 2024
Via Yale’s e360, a look at how – to manage contaminated stormwater – Philadelphia went all in on “green” infrastructure, like rain gardens and permeable pavement. But an increase in extreme rain events is spurring other U.S. cities to double down on traditional sewer upgrades that can handle the overflow. In 2011, Philadelphia’s city-owned water […]
Read more »Head Above the Water: Today’s Blueprints for Building Tomorrow’s Floating Cities
August 15th, 2024
Via Architizer, an article on structural and environmental techniques that prove floating structures are a real possibility in our world of rising sea levels, and not just a vision from a sci-fi future: With an estimated 2.5 billion people living within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of a coastline, rising sea levels pose a significant risk […]
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.