Paving The Way For Cleaner Public Transit
November 8th, 2023 Via WRI Insights, a look at how – from minibuses to “Boda Bodas” – informal transport systems could be an untapped urban climate change solution: Over 50% of all [...]
Cities: To Build Or Not To Build Homes In Risky Places
November 7th, 2023 Via NPR, a look at three (3) how a growing number of local governments are considering limits on homebuilding in the face of floods, droughts and wildfires driven by climate change: With [...]
Ecosystems as Infrastructure: A New Way of Looking at Climate Resilience
November 7th, 2023 Via Yale e360, a look at how landscape architect Kate Orff works on rebuilding natural systems to help communities and cities reduce their climate risks: When people think of landscape architecture, [...]
Buildings That Can Stand Up To Hurricanes and Sharply Cut Emissions Too
November 7th, 2023 Via AP News, a report on how some houses are being built to stand up to hurricanes and sharply cut emissions, too: When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars [...]
How An 8-Acre Green Roof Is Boosting New York City’s Biodiversity and Resilience
November 6th, 2023 Via GreenRoofs.com, a look at how an 8-acre Green Roof Atop the Javits Center is Boosting NYC’s biodiversity and resilience: Photo: Jacob Javits Convention Center. Rosemary Misdary of Gothamist [...]
A Climate Change Success Story? Look at Hoboken.
November 5th, 2023 Via The New York Times, a look at how this flood-prone city on the Hudson River has bundled water-absorbing infrastructure into benefits residents asked for, like parks and safer streets: The city of [...]

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.