Mexico City’s Metro System Is Sinking Fast. Yours Could Be Next
April 10th, 2024 Via Wired, a report on how subsidence is causing parts of Mexico City to sink, and it’s happening at an uneven rate. That’s bad news for its sprawling public transportation system: WITH ITS [...]
Greening Urban Development: The Business Case for Investing in Urban Green Spaces
April 10th, 2024 Via Earth.org, a look at the investment case for urban green spaces: Urban green spaces have the potential to make a positive impact on cities and the people living in them and present significant [...]
Communist-Era Apartment Blocks Dominate Eastern Europe – Now They’re Being Transformed
April 9th, 2024 Courtesy of BBC, a report on how Communist-era apartment blocks in Eastern Europe are being transformed: From Prague to Plovdiv, engineers and architects are giving a second life to communist-built [...]
L.A. County Faces $12.5B In Climate Costs Through 2040
April 9th, 2024 Courtesy of Los Angeles Times, a look at L.A. County estimated $12.5 billion in climate costs through 2040: A first-of-its-kind report has estimated that Los Angeles County must invest billions of [...]
Rooftop Heat Pump Technologies Can Save US Businesses $5B Annually: DOE
April 9th, 2024 Via Smart Cities Dive, an article on a new U.S. Department of Energy program aims to bring higher-efficiency rooftop heat pump technologies to market as soon as 2027: Dive Brief: The U.S. Department [...]
Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?
April 8th, 2024 Courtesy of the New York Times, a look at one of the most widely explored technologies to help mitigate climate change – carbon capture: On a windswept Icelandic plateau, an international team [...]

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.