Why New York and Other Cities Still Aren’t Prepared For Floods
September 30th, 2023 Via The Verge, commentary on why cities shouldn’t be caught off guard but often are with floods: New York City came to a grinding halt Friday as floods shut down roads and subways and inundated [...]
New York’s Bluebelt Program
September 30th, 2023 As New York City experiences intense rainfall, it is instructive to look at Staten Island and one of the really successful measures that has been accomplished: the blue belt network. It’s a really [...]
New York Needs to Get Spongier—or Get Used to More Floods
September 29th, 2023 Via Wired, a report on how devastating deluges around the world point to the metropolis of tomorrow: the “sponge city.” Think more parks and fewer parking lots. TWO YEARS AFTER the remnants of [...]
Turn Climate Risk Into Opportunity with Resilient Geographies
September 29th, 2023 Courtesy of Climate Alpha, an interesting look at how to turn climate risk into opportunity with resilient geographies: Earlier this month, Climate Alpha’s Founder & CEO Dr. Parag Khanna [...]
Transforming Trees Into Skyscrapers
September 28th, 2023 Courtesy of The New Yorker, a look at how – in Scandinavia – ecologically minded architects are building towers with pillars of pine and spruce: Brumunddal, a small municipality on the [...]
SolarEV Cities Began In the South. Can They Work in the North? First stop, Paris. Next, Berlin.
September 27th, 2023 Via Anthropocene Magazine, a look at the first detailed study of combining rooftop solar panels with electric vehicles—for storage and power—in northern latitudes which reveals nuanced potential: [...]

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.