DARPA Thinks Walls of Oysters Could Protect Shores Against Hurricanes
October 11th, 2024
Via Wired, a report on how the US defense research agency is funding three universities to engineer reef structures that will be colonized by corals and bivalves and absorb the power of future storms: On October 10, 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base on the Gulf of Mexico, a pillar of American air superiority, found itself under […]
Read more »When Hurricane Helene Hit, This Disaster-Proof Florida Neighborhood Kept The Lights On
October 7th, 2024
Via Fast Company, a look at a new development on Florida’s coast was designed to be as hurricane-proof as possible. So far, it’s working: Last Thursday, when Hurricane Helene hit the small town of Cortez, Florida—about four hours south of the eye of the storm—a storm surge filled the streets with waist-deep water near a […]
Read more »Buildings That Can Stand Up To Hurricanes and Sharply Cut Emissions Too
November 7th, 2023
Via AP News, a report on how some houses are being built to stand up to hurricanes and sharply cut emissions, too: When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, […]
Read more »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 »Why Insurance Companies Are Fleeing Florida
July 12th, 2023
Via HeatMap, commentary on why insurance companies are fleeing Florida – it’s not just the hurricanes: The Florida insurance market took another hit this week when Farmers announced it would pull out of the state, leaving around 100,000 customers unable to renew their policies. While the news garnered headlines, it was exceptional not so much […]
Read more »Powerful Hurricanes Have Reduced Coastal Cities to Wreckage. But This Community Stands Unscathed.
June 29th, 2023
Via Popular Mechanics, a look at Babcock Ranch, Florida which isn’t just storm-proof—it’s a blueprint for the future: When Hurricane Ian smashed onto Cuba’s southwest coast in the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 27, 2022, Syd Kitson exhaled. At that point the Category 3 storm was forecast to make landfall on the Florida panhandle, far from […]
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.