How China’s Buses Shaped the World’s EV Revolution
December 16th, 2023 Via BBC, a look at how China’s buses shaped the world’s EV revolution: In the 2010s, China rolled out a rapid and widespread electric bus network. Today, China’s electric buses are [...]
From Dhaka to Melbourne, Asia-Pacific Eyes local Climate Solutions
December 16th, 2023 Via Nikkei Asia, a look at how mayors of Asian cities are looking towards local climate solutions to deal with rising temperatures and climate change: Climate change is always close to the mind of [...]
Phoenix, Southern California Bet on Purified Sewage to Meet Drinking Water Needs
December 15th, 2023 Via the Water Education Foundation, an article on how Colorado River shortages are driving major advances in recycled sewage water use in the western U.S.: After more than two decades of drought, [...]
Cities Look To Small-Scale Treatment and Wastewater Recycling To Provide Water In A Warming World
December 15th, 2023 Via The Conversation, a look at how some cities are working to provide reliable water in a warming world via small-scale treatment systems and wastewater recycling: A lot can go wrong in a large [...]
The World’s Fastest-Sinking Megacity Has One Last Chance to Save Itself
December 11th, 2023 Courtesy of Bloomberg, a look at how parts of Jakarta are subsiding at unprecedented speed. The longshot fix rests with noodle billionaire Anthoni Salim: Venice is sinking. So are Rotterdam, Bangkok [...]
Rain Gardens On The Rise In Cities…For Good Reason
December 11th, 2023 Via The Washington Post, a report on cities’ growing use of green infrastructure: When a heavy rainstorm hits D.C., it’s bad news for the city’s rivers. The city’s sewer system, which [...]

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.