How To Stop A State From Sinking
April 15th, 2024
Via MIT Technology Review, a look at how Louisiana’s southwestern coastline faces some of the most severe climate predictions in the US. Can a government-led project build the area up and out of crisis? Many of the mobile homes, Creole cottages, and other dwellings that have been flagged for flood risk along Louisiana’s low-lying coastline […]
Read more »Toronto Wants to Manage Storms and Floods—With a Rain Tax
April 14th, 2024
Via Canada’s National Observer, an article on the outcry in Toronto that reached such a crescendo last week that the city canceled public hearings on the tax, which is intended to help offset the hundreds of millions spent managing stormwater and basement flooding: A plan to charge Toronto homeowners and businesses for paved surfaces on […]
Read more »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 »'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.