Designing For Disaster: Tsunami House
October 19th, 2023
Via HeatMap, a look at how an architect built a house to withstand mudslides: Dan Nelson has inadvertently become an expert in resilient design because of where he lives and builds houses: Washington state. His architecture firm, Designs Northwest Architects, specializes in complex residential projects in and around the Puget Sound where earthquake risk runs […]
Read more »Rising Seas Will Tighten Vise on Miami Even for People Who Are Not Flooded
October 18th, 2023
Via Terra Daily, an article on how rising seas will tighten a vise on Miami even for people who are not flooded:Current potential flood exposure (blue areas) in downtown Miami (left panel) and with one meter of sea-level rise. Deeper blues represent greater depth. A new study that examines both the physical and socioeconomic effects […]
Read more »US Government Purchases Houses at Risk of Falling Into the Sea
October 18th, 2023
Via The Washington Post, a look at the National Park Service’s decision to – in certain instances – purchase homes at risk of falling into the sea to avoid debris and enlarge protected beachfront: The two houses at the end of East Beacon Road in Rodanthe, N.C., sit precariously at the edge of the pounding […]
Read more »Singapore Is Fighting Rising Seas to Save $50 Billion in Real Estate
October 11th, 2023
Via Bloomberg, a look at Singapore’s efforts to prepare for – and battle – rising seas: During a half-century of independence, Singapore has fought to expand its territory, inch by hard-won inch. On the tip of the Malaysian peninsula, the island city-state piled up sand to expand its coastline and reclaim land from the sea. […]
Read more »Come Hell or High Water: Building Community Resilience to Floods, Droughts and Water Contamination
October 11th, 2023
Courtesy of ImpactAlpha, a look at building community resilience to floods, droughts and water contamination: Water — too little, too much or too dirty — isn’t simply emerging as a climate consideration. It’s forcing its way into the conversation. Water professionals say it’s high time. “This is water’s moment,” Radhika Fox, the Environmental Protection Agency’s […]
Read more »China: Making Cities ‘Spongy’ Could Help Fight Flooding
October 5th, 2023
Courtesy of NPR, a report on China’s ‘sponge city’ effort: In the shade of a willow tree, Li Tao and his buddy dabble lines in a slow-moving river channel and occasionally pull out a tiny fish. “It’s good to have a place like this for people to relax,” says Li, his shirt off in the […]
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.