New York Is Going to Flood. Here’s What the City Can Do to Survive.
October 17th, 2025 Via New York Times, a look at New York City’s flooded future: The waters surrounding New York allowed it to grow into an economic powerhouse. But what has been a blessing is increasingly a [...]
Cleaner and Smarter: Smart Urban Districts Around the World
October 17th, 2025 Via Illuminem, a report on smart districts around the world: More than half (55%) of the world’s population now lives in cities, and by 2050 this figure will increase to 68%. Due to demographic [...]
How Climate Risks Are Putting Home Insurance Out of Reach
September 18th, 2025 Via Yale’s e360, a look at how – after years underestimating the risks posed by climate-fueled disasters – the U.S. home insurance industry is in turmoil. In vulnerable areas, [...]
The Bus Stop: A Living Ad for Nature
September 14th, 2025 Via the Washington Post, a look at the role for green bus stops to play in the battle against climate change: Bus shelters tend to be practical, utility-oriented, no-frills structures. They offer [...]
How River and Lake Water Is Cooling Buildings
September 5th, 2025 Via Wired, a look at how networks of pipes and heat exchangers can transfer excess heat from buildings into nearby bodies of water—but as the world warms, the cooling potential of some water [...]
The Future of Home-Building Is Here, But We’re Behind.
August 20th, 2025 Via the Washington Post, commentary on how the Trump administration’s decision to cut grants for materials development has impacted innovations that could reduce construction costs: Every home [...]

ABOUT
BLACK SWANS GREEN SHOOTS
Black Swans / Green Shoots examines the collision between urbanization and resource scarcity in a world affected by climate change, identifying opportunities to build sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure through the use of revolutionary capital, increased awareness, innovative technologies, and smart design to make a difference in the face of global and local climate perils.

'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.