Taking On Water: Can Sponge Cities Save Us from the Coming Floods?
April 25th, 2026 Courtesy of The New Yorker, a look at how – as the planet gets warmer and the rains fall harder – the future of flood control is looking less like a wall and something more like a park: [...]
Harvard professor: Climate is an Investment Opportunity, Regardless of Politics
April 20th, 2026 Via Harvard Business School, commentary on the attractiveness of climate related investments: Editor’s Note: Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Vikram S. Gandhi teaches about [...]
Why Boston’s Biggest Institutions Should Co-Invest in Climate Protection
April 19th, 2026 Via the Commonwealth Beacon, commentary on why Boston’s biggest institutions should co-invest in climate protection: DURING THE BLIZZARD OF ’26 in late February, Boston narrowly escaped a costly [...]
Climate Migration Is Already Reshaping American Cities
April 13th, 2026 Via Harvard’s Salata Institute, a look at how climate migration is already reshaping American cities: The concept of the climate haven – a place seen as safer from extreme weather – has [...]
Weather Prediction Markets Are Booming. Can They Improve Forecasts?
April 11th, 2026 Via Bloomberg, a look at how – from Kalshi and Polymarket to niche scientific platforms – traders are predicting the weather — and climate experts are debating the results: A few days [...]
Rain Could Soon Help Power Your Home
April 11th, 2026 Via The Cool Down, a report on a new breakthrough which integrates a thin film into panels that not only protects the fragile solar cells but also captures mechanical energy from falling rain: [...]

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.