NYC Bets Big On Porous Pavement With $32M Flood-Control Project
July 20th, 2024 Via Smart Cities Dive, a look at New York City’s first large-scale implementation of the approach after years of testing different porous pavement products: Dive Brief: New York City hopes to [...]
The Safest Places in the U.S. from Extreme Weather
July 20th, 2024 Via Medium, commentary on some of the safest places in the U.S. from extreme weather: Screenshot of U.S. map created by author of safe places to live away from natural disasters Well, the time has [...]
Extreme Weather Prompts Growth of Parametric Insurance
July 18th, 2024 Via Cipher News, a look at how extreme weather prompts growth of parametric insurance, offering faster, more flexible payments after disasters: Joemar Flores, a spindly 28-year-old, gestured across [...]
Protecting London A Matter of ‘National Security’ If Extreme Weather Hits
July 17th, 2024 Courtesy of The Financial Times, a look at how climate preparation must be embedded into government’s growth strategy to avoid ‘catastrophic’ impacts: Protecting London from extreme weather is [...]
The Critical Role Trees Play During Heat Waves
July 17th, 2024 Via Time, an article on the critical role that trees play during heat waves: My two-year-old is too young to know about climate change. He doesn’t understand what an “urban heat island” [...]
The Surprisingly Simple Way Cities Could Save People From Extreme Heat
July 16th, 2024 Via Grist, an article on the impact that reflective cool roofs can have on reducing the ‘urban heat island’ effect: The city is a growing paradox. Humanity needs its many efficiencies: [...]

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.