There Were Never Any Climate Havens: Floods In The Midwest, Hurricanes In Appalachia
February 28th, 2025
Via The Guardian, commentary on how analysts and investors have long trumpeted ‘climate-proof’ US communities, but recent disasters show the need for a different way of thinking: A few years ago, while visiting a tiny village, I toured a grand old community hall scheduled to be demolished after a historic flood. Across the street, a […]
Read more »Public Parks: Green Infrastructure for Our Warming World
February 26th, 2025
Courtesy of Grist, commentary on how a focus on parks, green spaces, and public amenities can lead to popular climate action: The vision “It’s exciting to have a project like Cook Park being raised up as an example of not just a park that has a stormwater retention facility, but a stormwater park that is […]
Read more »Which Coastal Cities are Sinking the Fastest?
February 16th, 2025
Via Visual Capitalist, a look at which coastal cities are sinking the fastest: With sea levels rising, there is cause for concern about the livability of major coastal cities—often huge centers of trade and commerce, and homes to millions of people. But an overlooked area is how coastal cities are themselves sinking—a phenomenon called relative local land […]
Read more »Why Los Angeles Burned
February 15th, 2025
Via Rolling Stone, a report on how the recent Los Angeles wildfires show how unprepared we are for life on a hotter planet: We’re in serious trouble. That’s the message I saw written in the ashes of Los Angeles. And by “we,” I mean every human on this planet, rich or poor, young or old, […]
Read more »Climate Change Is Devouring Your Home’s Value
February 9th, 2025
Via The New York Times, commentary on the impact of climate change on home values: Houses in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades neighborhoods were still ablaze when talk turned to the cost of the Los Angeles firestorms and who would pay for it. Now it appears that the total damage and economic loss could be […]
Read more »'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.