How Auto Industry Could Steer The World Toward Green Steel
August 13th, 2024
Via MIT Technology Review, an article on green steel and potential for automakers to drive global uptake of this new material: Steel scaffolds our world, undergirding buildings and machines. It also presents a major challenge for climate change, since steel production largely relies on polluting fossil fuels. The automotive industry could be a key player […]
Read more »Extreme Weather Poses a Challenge for Heat Pumps
August 13th, 2024
Via Wired, a look at how stronger winds, bouts of extreme low temperature, and higher humidity pose difficult but surmountable challenges for heat pumps: Andreas Bangheri knows how to read the wind. He’s been hang gliding and piloting small aircraft around the mountains of his native Austria for years. And he can tell that things […]
Read more »Revolutionary AI Heat Pump Water Heater Aims to Enhance Home Efficiency and Reduce Carbon Emissions
August 12th, 2024
Via One Green Planet, a look at a revolutionary AI heat pump water heater that aims to enhance efficiency and reduce carbon emissions: In a bid to modernize home heating solutions and reduce carbon footprints, Cala Systems has introduced a cutting-edge heat pump water heater powered by artificial intelligence. This innovative device not only promises to prevent […]
Read more »The World’s Next Tallest Building Could Be A 3,000-Feet High Battery
August 8th, 2024
Via CNN, an article on an interesting new idea around to merging urbanization with new gravity energy storage solutions: The buildings and construction sector is responsible for almost 40% of global emissions, but designers and engineers are coming up with creative ways to make skyscrapers better for the environment. This render shows SOM and Energy Vault’s proposed […]
Read more »Your Future Air Conditioner Might Act Like A Battery
August 6th, 2024
Courtesy of MIT Technology Review, a report on new technologies that store cooling power for when it’s needed most: As temperatures climb on hot days, many of us are quick to crank up our fans or air conditioners. These cooling systems can be a major stress on electrical grids, which has inspired some inventors to […]
Read more »Four Lessons from Melbourne: How Cities Can Build Neighborhood Batteries That People Love
August 6th, 2024
Via Fast Company, a look at how Melbourne built public and political will for its work to develop local energy storage—and its success can be an example for other cities looking to do the same thing: Fossil fuel enthusiasts, when defending their carbon emitting industry, love saying that the wind doesn’t always blow, and the […]
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.