A First-of-its-Kind Project Is Tapping Energy Beneath The Group To Heat and Cool Homes
January 20th, 2025
Via CNN, a report on a first-of-its kind project is tapping energy beneath the ground to heat and cool homes: Eric Mauchan’s Cape Cod-style house in Framingham, Massachusetts, does not have central air conditioning. So when the summer heat bears down, his four window AC units, two dehumidifiers and fans that keep the 2,600-square-foot home […]
Read more »Los Angeles Needs to Fireproof Communities, Not Just Houses
January 16th, 2025
Via Wired, a look at how – after the devastation of the Los Angeles fires – officials are ready to rebuild. But defending against future fires requires thinking about more than buildings. As houses continue to burn in Los Angeles, officials have already started talking about rebuilding the city. “We’re going to rebuild this remarkable community […]
Read more »The Ordinary Ceiling Fan May Be an Extraordinary Cooling Solution
January 8th, 2025
As global temperatures rise, ceiling fans are essential for millions who lack access to air conditioning. In India, for example, nearly 90% of households use ceiling fans. By 2038, an estimated 950 million fans will be installed across the country — more than double the number in 2017. Adopting super-efficient ceiling fans on a large […]
Read more »To Solve Climate Change, We Need To Restore Our Sponge Planet
January 3rd, 2025
An interesting comment in Nature Water on how to help stabilize the climate by moving towards a Sponge Planet. Humans have degraded 75 percent of Earth’s land, destabilizing the water cycle, amplifying effects of excess CO2. The water cycle is a key climate stabilizer but overlooked by policymakers. Restoring wetlands, floodplains, forests, recreating a Sponge […]
Read more »Thermal Energy Networks: The Next Big Thing
January 1st, 2025
Via Volts, commentary on the potential of thermal energy networks: In this episode, I revisit thermal energy networks with HEET’s Zeyneb Magavi and Eversource’s Eric Bosworth. What was once a novel concept — replacing gas networks with shared ground-source heat pumps — is now being piloted across the country. We explore the technology’s remarkable efficiency […]
Read more »‘If 1.5m Germans Have Them There Must Be Something In It’: How Balcony Solar Is Taking Off
December 19th, 2024
Via The Guardian, a report on balcony solar panels which can save 30% on a typical household’s electricity bill and, with vertical surface area in cities larger than roof space, the appeal is clear: They are easy to install, and knock chunks off electricity bills. It may not be Romeo and Juliet, but Spain’s balcony […]
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.