Buildings as Batteries: How Basic Demand Response Could Shift Peak Demand, Save Billions
April 23rd, 2024 Via Renew Economy, an interesting look at the impact that demand response alongside energy efficiency could have on overall energy savings: Demand response, alongside energy efficiency, is often [...]
Environmental Cost of China’s Addiction to Cement
April 23rd, 2024 Via BBC, a report on the environmental cost of China’s addiction to cement: China’s cities are sinking – apparent victims of their own success. Large swathes of the country’s [...]
Dubai’s Green Paths: A Sensible Start to Mitigating Climate Change
April 23rd, 2024 Via Green Prophet, a look at Dubai’s green paths project: The Green Paths to Future initiative in Dubai spans about 10 miles and stands as a groundbreaking eco-project to redefine Dubai’s urban [...]
Green Roofs Are Great. Blue-Green Roofs Are Even Better
April 22nd, 2024 Via Wired, an article on Amsterdam’s experiments with roofs that not only grow plants but capture water for a building’s residents. Welcome to the squeezable sponge city of tomorrow. You [...]
Asia’s Heat Wave Scorches Hundreds of Millions
April 22nd, 2024 Via the New York Times, a report on Asia’s heat wave: Hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering on Monday from a punishing heat wave that has forced schools to [...]
Cities That Are Saving The Planet
April 22nd, 2024 Cities are transforming to integrate with nature, using features like vertical forests to encourage wildlife’s return and restore our connection to the natural world. Here is an interesting video [...]

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.