How Ancient ‘Skywells’ are Keeping Chinese Homes Cool
July 22nd, 2023
Via BBC Futures, a look at how – in the eras before air-conditioning – southern China’s skywells played a key role in keeping people’s homes cool. Could they do it again today? Ru Ling loves spending time in skywells. To her, these courtyards of old Chinese houses are the perfect place to be in on […]
Read more »How Texas is Racing to Thwart the Heat
July 22nd, 2023
Via BBC Future Planet, a look at how Texas is racing to thwart the heat: This summer, Texans have endured scorching temperatures as hot as 48C (119F), making the state one of the hottest places on Earth. The state is trapped under a “heat dome”, a phenomenon that happens when high pressure traps dry, hot air over an area, […]
Read more »Green Parking Lots: Mitigating Climate Change and the Urban Heat Island
July 22nd, 2023
Via Penn State, a look at how designing green parking lots with large canopy trees can reduce urban heat loads, air and water pollution, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on our communities: It appears over the past three to four decades, parking lots have been one of the fastest growing land uses, […]
Read more »California’s Electric Cars Can Feed the Grid and Help Avoid Brownouts
July 21st, 2023
Courtesy of Jefferson Public Radio, a look at how – through bidirectional charging – owners of electric cars can sell energy to the grid or use it to power their homes: An electric school bus is charging at Grant Union High School in Sacramento on July 20, 2023. The chargers are bidirectional, which means they […]
Read more »Iran’s Ancient ‘Wind Catchers’ Beat The Heat Naturally
July 20th, 2023
Via Al Monitor, a look at UNESCO-listed Yazd, a World Heritage Site described as a ‘living testimony to intelligent use of limited available resources in the desert for survival’: Tall, chimney-like towers rise from centuries-old adobe houses in Iran’s desert city of Yazd, drawing in a pleasant breeze for residents of one of the hottest […]
Read more »Las Vegas Plans To Plant 60,000 Trees To Help Combat Urban Heat
July 20th, 2023
Via Las Vegas Sun, an article on Las Vegas’ plan to plant 60,000 trees over the coming three decades to help combat the urban heat island effect: The city of Las Vegas has a lofty goal when it comes to greenery: Plant 60,000 trees over the coming three decades. The Las Vegas Tree Initiative is […]
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.