Archive for August, 2024

Silicon Valley Wants to Fight Fires With Fire

Via the New York Times, a look at how some high-tech entrepreneurs are trying to use new forms of technology to solve the problem of mega-wildfires in the age of climate change: This is the tinder box of the Sierra Nevada. It’s early June, the temperature is 97 degrees Fahrenheit and the air shimmers over […]

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Will New York City Make Landlords Provide Air Conditioning?

Via Smart Cities Dive, a report on whether New York City will make landlords provide air conditioning: Housing laws are really about public health, says New York City’s chief climate officer and Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, Rohit Aggarwala.  “We don’t mandate that the paint job be attractive. We do mandate that it not be poisonous,” […]

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Oakland’s New School Buses Don’t Just Reduce Pollution — They Double as Giant Batteries

Courtesy of Grist, an updated report on Oakland’s new fleet of buses that can send power back to the grid, stabilizing it instead of straining it: Matt Simon The wheels on this bus do indeed go round and round. Its wipers swish. And its horn beeps. Hidden in its innards, though, is something special — […]

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New Solution for Flood-Prone Cities: Concrete Made From Shellfish Waste

Via Grist, a report on a new type of concrete that uses discarded shells to trap water. It’s now combating floods and food waste in urban gardens and along cycling paths. This time of year, bushels of rhubarb, potatoes, and lettuce can be harvested in abundance at The People’s Pantry, a community garden that doubles […]

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Resilient Urban Forests: How Tipuana Trees Could Revolutionize City Planning

Via Energy & Environment Leader, a look at how cities could utilize a specific tree species to revolutionize urban planning in an era of climate change: As cities across the globe grapple with climate challenges, innovative approaches to urban planning are becoming increasingly crucial. With projections indicating that 68% of the world’s population will reside […]

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Learning To Live With 50C Temperatures

Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on how – from Dubai to Mumbai – cities are having to adapt to hotter summers, often exacerbating economic inequality in the process: Sitting astride a motorbike near a Dubai kitchen, sweat forms on Mohamad’s brow as he waits to collect a lunch order. The food is not […]

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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.