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 »He’s Got a Plan for Cities That Flood: Stop Fighting the Water
March 29th, 2024
Courtesy of the New York Times, an article on one Chinese landscape architect in China who has a surprising strategy to help manage surges of water from storms supercharged by climate change: Cities around the world face a daunting challenge in the era of climate change: Supercharged rainstorms are turning streets into rivers, flooding subway […]
Read more »A Dutch Architect’s Vision of Cities That Float on Water
March 27th, 2024
Courtesy of The New Yorker, a look at if building on the water could be safer and sturdier than building on flood-prone land? In a corner of the Rijksmuseum hangs a seventeenth-century cityscape by the Dutch Golden Age painter Gerrit Berckheyde, “View of the Golden Bend in the Herengracht,” which depicts the construction of Baroque […]
Read more »How One New Jersey Beach City Went From ‘Worst to First’ In Reducing Flood Risk
March 17th, 2024
Via Smart Cities Dive, a look at Sea Isle City’s success in reducing flood risk and building resilience: Sea Isle City, New Jersey, had a dismal flood management reputation for a long time — one so bad that the beach community almost got booted from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program in the […]
Read more »Sinking Cities Push Sea Level Rise Into Overdrive
March 6th, 2024
Via CNN, an article on how sinking cities are pushing sea level rise into overdrive: Dozens of cities along the US coastline are sinking at alarming rates, leaving them far more exposed to devastating flooding from sea level rise than previously thought, scientists reported Wednesday. As oceans rise and the coasts sink, up to 343,000 acres of land will […]
Read more »Underwater: Exploring the Map of the World in 2100
February 15th, 2024
Courtesy of Hasan Jasim, an interesting set of maps that anticipates – and graphically shows – the impact of sea level rise in decades ahead: Alright, not of the entire world, but a large part of it. In this alarming future scenario drawn up by Jay Simons, the sea level has risen drastically and is […]
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.