Are China’s Battery Swap Stations The Future of Electric Cars?
May 7th, 2025 Via BBC, a look at China’s swap stations, where drivers can get new fully charged EV battery in five minutes: At a battery swap station near the Beijing Olympics Sports Centre, the owner of a [...]
Balcony Solar Took Off in Germany. Why Not the US?
April 25th, 2025 Via Grist, commentary on how – from breaker-masking to voltage mismatches – America’s grid isn’t ready for balcony solar — yet: Raymond Ward wants to see solar panels draped over [...]
Larry Fink, Did You Know that 84% of CK Hutchison Ports are Vulnerable to Just 1m of Sea Level Rise?
April 24th, 2025 Via China Water Risk, analysis of which CK Hutchison ports are vulnerable to sea level rise riks, and if ports in the Americas are more vulnerable than in Europe: 84% of the 43 CK Hutchison ports are [...]
Managed Retreat: Preparing Coastal Cities For Sea Level Rise
April 24th, 2025 Via China Water Risk, a look at how – given the rapid rate of sea level rise – perhaps a ‘managed retreat’ is the best option. The Authors of The Ocean Climate Platform & [...]
Reforesting the Elm City
April 21st, 2025 Via Yale Alumni Magazine, a report on 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 [...]
In 15 Years, 80,000 Homes in the New York Area May Be Lost to Flooding
April 7th, 2025 Via the New York Times, a report on how – by 2040 – dozens of neighborhoods and suburbs are likely to have lost thousands of homes to floods: More than 80,000 homes on Staten Island, in [...]

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.