California Is Running Out of Safe Places to Build Homes Due to Fires, Rising Seas
July 4th, 2025 Via Bloomberg, a look at how climate-related risks hamper the state’s ability to solve a housing crunch. It’s not alone. California, gripped by a housing shortage that is forcing families from [...]
This Paint Sweats To Cool Off Buildings. No Energy Required.
June 25th, 2025 Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at an innovative paint that replenishes its water supply by absorbing rain and water vapor. Its porous structure holds the water and then slowly releases it much [...]
India Is Using AI and Satellites to Map Urban Heat Vulnerability Down to the Building Level
June 23rd, 2025 Via Wired, a look at how remote-sensing data and artificial intelligence are mapping the most heat-vulnerable buildings in cities like Delhi, in an effort to target relief from extreme temperatures [...]
Reforesting the Elm City
June 21st, 2025 Via Yale Alumni Magazine, a look at how the Urban Resources Initiative is planting thousands of trees to make New Haven a cooler city: At first, planting street trees in New Haven was nothing more [...]
Copenhagen: Adapting To Warmer World With Rain Tunnels and Sponge Parks
June 20th, 2025 Via NPR, a look at how Copenhagen is adapting to a warmer world with rain tunnels and ‘sponge parks’ Copenhagen, Denmark, is expected to receive 30% more rainfall by the end of the [...]
George Lucas’ Spaceship of a Museum Lands in L.A. with a Wonderful Green Design Elements
June 19th, 2025 Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, a report on an innovative new museum in Los Angeles that features a number of innovative elements of green design: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, under [...]

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.