Archive for the ‘Opportunities’ Category

Milwaukee’s Green Infrastructure 2035 Vision

Via Medium, an article on Milwaukee’s 2035 Vision aims to scale up green infrastructure using natural processes to improve water quality and manage water quantity by restoring the hydrologic function of the urban landscape: Urban development typically retains little or none of the original vegetation and landscape, with impervious surfaces, including buildings, roads, gardens and parks, […]

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Slowing Water for Greener Neighborhoods

Via Illuminem, a report on the potential benefits of resilient and absorptive infrastructure: Climate Change has brought fiercer storms with devastating floods and long-lasting droughts that stressed and killed plants and animals. Once we controlled water. These days, water is in control and is harming us.  What if we changed our relationship with water to […]

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Heat Insurance Offers Climate Change Lifeline To Poor Workers

Via Reuters, an article on some innovative insurance schemes launched for heat, cyclones, and drought: A bright sun beat down on the sprawling Indian market where Kamlaben Ashokbhai Patni sat worrying about the brass jewellery on display in her wooden stall. When the heat rises, the metal blackens. Plastic pearls become unglued. “The colour of […]

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New Storm-Resistant Street With ‘Porous Pavement’ In New York

Via the Gothamist, a look at a new storm-resistant street with ‘porous pavement’ in Rockaway, just in time for hurricane season: The city unveiled a new storm-resistant street last week along an area of Rockaway that was flooded and destroyed in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. A short strip of Beach 108th Street has now been […]

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Biden Unveils Climate Resilience Investment Plan

Via Environmental Leader, a report on a new plan to help coastal and Great Lakes communities in the United States become more resilient to extreme weather and climate catastrophes including through energy, building, and infrastructure improvements: The White House outlined plans for the $575 million Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, which will help coastal and Great […]

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Toronto’s Green Revolution: Harnessing Nature-Based Solutions for a Sustainable Urban Future

Via Medium, a look at how Toronto is using nature-based solutions such as green roofs to build a sustainable urban future: Green roofs offer a multitude of environmental benefits. They serve as natural sponges, absorbing rainwater, reducing runoff, and mitigating urban flooding. By providing insulation, they help in reducing energy consumption and combatting the urban […]

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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.