Why New Mexico Is Partnering with Google to Hunt Down Leaky Pipes
February 3rd, 2024
Via Fast Company, a look at New Mexico’s 50-year plan for conserving water and developing new sources: New Mexico is teaming up with Google to hunt for leaky water pipes using satellite imagery as the drought-stricken state prepares for a future in which growing demand puts more pressure on already dwindling drinking water supplies. State […]
Read more »‘Green Roads’ Are Plowing Ahead, Buffering Drought and Floods
December 20th, 2023
Via Yale e360, a look at the ‘green road’ movement, in which – using embankments, channels, and dikes – road infrastructure can help control floods, harvest excess water for use in irrigation, and slash maintenance costs: Makueni County, a corner of southern Kenya that’s home to nearly a million people, is a land of extremes. […]
Read more »Phoenix, Southern California Bet on Purified Sewage to Meet Drinking Water Needs
December 15th, 2023
Via the Water Education Foundation, an article on how Colorado River shortages are driving major advances in recycled sewage water use in the western U.S.: After more than two decades of drought, water utilities serving the largest urban regions in the arid Southwest are embracing a drought-proof source of drinking water long considered a supply […]
Read more »Cities Look To Small-Scale Treatment and Wastewater Recycling To Provide Water In A Warming World
December 15th, 2023
Via The Conversation, a look at how some cities are working to provide reliable water in a warming world via small-scale treatment systems and wastewater recycling: A lot can go wrong in a large urban water system. Pumps malfunction. Valves break. Pipes leak. Even when the system is functioning properly, water can sit in pipes […]
Read more »3 Cities: To Build or Not To Build In Risky Places
December 10th, 2023
Via NPR, an article on 3 cities facing a climate dilemma: to build or not to build homes in risky places. With climate-fueled disasters killing hundreds of Americans annually and costing communities billions of dollars, a growing number of local governments are asking a basic question: Are there some places where people shouldn’t build homes? […]
Read more »China’s Adaptation Advantage
October 23rd, 2023
Courtesy of The Wire, a look at China’s head-start in mobilizing to adapt and thrive in a rapidly warming world. If it succeeds, the geopolitical consequences will be profound; Illustration by Sam Ward. On an August day last year, Xi Jinping visited Saihanba National Forest Park to inspect the trees and flowers. Spanning nearly 200,000 acres northwest […]
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.