Ultra-white Ceramic Tiles Can Cool Buildings Without Electricity
December 29th, 2023 Via Croucher, a look at how ultra-white ceramic tiles can cool buildings without electricity: By combining high reflectivity with radiative cooling, a new ceramic material can reduce the need for air [...]
Solar Panels Transform Dutch Cycling Paths Into Green Energy Corridors
December 25th, 2023 Via Interesting Engineering, an article on an innovative Dutch project which uses solar panels transform Dutch cycling paths into green energy corridors: Aiming to advance a more sustainable future, [...]
What Happens When Facebook Heats Your Home
December 20th, 2023 Via Wired, a look at how data centers are not only being used to power the internet but also to heat people’s homes: Søren Freiesleben has lived in Odense his entire life. He likes the historic [...]
‘Green Roads’ Are Plowing Ahead, Buffering Drought and Floods
December 20th, 2023 Via Yale e360, a look at the ‘green road’ movement, in which – using embankments, channels, and dikes – road infrastructure can help control floods, harvest excess water for [...]
Burning Up: Is Your City Heatproof?
December 19th, 2023 Via The Economist, a report on the extreme heat risk facing America’s cities: The monsoon is late again. Without the almost biblical rains, there is nothing to break the heat during a long stretch [...]
UN Chief Heat Officer on Living Amid Fires and How To Cool Cities
December 18th, 2023 Via The Guardian, commentary by Eleni Myrivili, whose job is to help cities prepare for extreme heat, says many people do not understand how deadly it can be: It is “shocking” how little people [...]

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.