Archive for the ‘Insurance’ Category

Climate Change Is Devouring Your Home’s Value

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 […]

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Insurers Are Deserting Homeowners as Climate Shocks Worsen

Via the New York Times, a report on how climate shocks are impacting home ownership as – without insurance, it’s impossible to get a mortgage; without a mortgage, most Americans can’t buy a home: The insurance crisis spreading across the United States arrived at Richard D. Zimmel’s door last week in the form of a […]

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Why These Doctors Started Writing Medical ‘Prescriptions’ for Solar Power

Via NPR.org, a look at an innovative new program called the Clean Power Prescription program that aims to help those in need keep the lights on: Anna Goldman, a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center, got tired of hearing that her patients couldn’t afford the electricity needed to run breathing assistance machines, recharge wheelchairs, […]

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The UK Is Losing the Race Against Devastating Floods

Via Bloomberg, a look at how a first-of-its-kind insurance program bought some in the UK time to shore up flood defenses, but exclusive data shows that isn’t happening quickly enough: About 900 years ago, Medieval monks began resurrecting an expanse of land in southwest England that languished underwater for half the year. Stone by stone, […]

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Climate Change: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate

Courtesy of The Washington Post, a look at how climate change is rewriting the rules of real estate: Three years ago, Owen Woolcock was on Zoom trying to convince a real estate investor to swap some of his buildings in the New York City area for properties in cities around the Great Lakes. Climate change was overturning […]

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Where Climate Change Poses The Most and Least Risk To American Homeowners

Via the Washington Post, a report on where climate change poses the most and least risk to American homeowners: In 2017, Angela and Donald Brudos moved to a modest, ranch-style house where the Caloosahatchee River empties into the vast calm of the Gulf of Mexico. Despite Florida’s reputation for extreme weather, it held out the promise […]

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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.