Slow Water: Can We Tame Urban Floods By Going With The Flow?
April 12th, 2024
Via The Guardian, a look at urban flooding: After epic floods in India, South Africa, Germany, New York and Canada killed hundreds in the past year, droughts are now parching landscapes and wilting crops across the western US, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. The responses have included calls for higher levees, bigger drains and longer aqueducts. But these concrete interventions aimed at controlling water are […]
Read more »Global Warming Is Coming For Your Home
April 12th, 2024
Via The Economist, a report on climate change’s impact on housing: Think about the places vulnerable to climate change, and you might picture rice paddies in Bangladesh or low-lying islands in the Pacific. But another, more surprising answer ought to be your own house. About a tenth of the world’s residential property by value is under threat from global […]
Read more »Two Sides of the Equator: Extreme Heat in the Southern Hemisphere
April 11th, 2024
Via the Clean Cooling Collaborative, a report on extreme heat in the southern hemisphere: In the colder months of winter, it is understandable to let global temperature rise and the risks of extreme heat temporarily slip our minds. In the Northern Hemisphere, October to May can often provide a welcomed respite, with the heat of […]
Read more »Mexico City’s Metro System Is Sinking Fast. Yours Could Be Next
April 10th, 2024
Via Wired, a report on how subsidence is causing parts of Mexico City to sink, and it’s happening at an uneven rate. That’s bad news for its sprawling public transportation system: WITH ITS EXPANSE of buildings and concrete, Mexico City may not look squishy—but it is. Ever since the Spanish conquistadors drained Lake Texcoco to make […]
Read more »Schools Close and Crops Wither as ‘Historic’ Heatwave Hits Southeast Asia
April 5th, 2024
Via The Guardian, a report on the southeast Asia’s historic heatwave what has left governments across region grappling for response as temperatures soar to unseasonable highs: Thousands of schools in the Philippines have stopped in-person classes due to unbearable heat. In Indonesia, prolonged dry weather has caused rice prices to soar. In Thailand’s waters, temperatures are so […]
Read more »In Florida, Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Test Resolve of Homeowners in Risky Areas
March 31st, 2024
Courtesy of Inside Climate News, an article on new research showing the soaring costs hint at widespread, unpriced risk as the global climate warms, with states like California, Florida and Louisiana hit hardest: For most of his life, Cory Infinger has lived down a hill and along a bend in the Little Wekiva River, a […]
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.