Concrete Could Turn Your House Into A Battery
November 19th, 2025 Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at how the amount of concrete that goes into an average American home’s basement wall could hold enough energy to meet the daily needs of the household: After [...]
China Wants Electric Cars To Feed Power Back To The Grid
November 17th, 2025 Via Rest of World, a look at how the world’s largest EV fleet could become a giant battery network if economic and technical hurdles are overcome: China plans 5,000 bidirectional charging stations [...]
How Cities Can Combat Extreme Heat Using Nature-Based Solutions
November 17th, 2025 Via Development Asia, a look at how cities can combat extreme heat using nature-based solutions: Extreme heat is an invisible but increasingly tangible climate risk. It varies by time and place and [...]
Three Steps to Protect the United States Against Extreme Heat
November 9th, 2025 Via the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a report on extreme heat: The Issue Extreme heat is becoming an urgent priority in the United States and beyond. The threat posed by extreme [...]
Drought is Quietly Pushing American Cities Toward a Fiscal Cliff
November 3rd, 2025 Via Grist, a look at how drought is set to pose a greater risk to the $4 trillion municipal bond market than floods, hurricanes, and wildfires combined: The city of Clyde sits about two hours west of [...]
Photoluminescent Radiative Cooling for Aesthetic and Urban Comfort
October 26th, 2025 Via Nature, a new article examining the potential of passive radiative cooling to reduce carbon emissions in space cooling by simultaneously reflecting sunlight and emitting thermal radiation: [...]

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.