Faced With Heavier Rains, Cities Scramble to Control Polluted Runoff
August 16th, 2024
Via Yale’s e360, a look at how – to manage contaminated stormwater – Philadelphia went all in on “green” infrastructure, like rain gardens and permeable pavement. But an increase in extreme rain events is spurring other U.S. cities to double down on traditional sewer upgrades that can handle the overflow. In 2011, Philadelphia’s city-owned water […]
Read more »Turning Cities Into ‘Sponges’ Could Help Fight Flooding
August 14th, 2024
Via CNN.com, a report on the growing ‘sponge city’ movement: Most architects look to control nature; Kongjian Yu wants it to take over. Intense storms are on the rise and cities across the world are finding it difficult to cope with deluges of floodwater. But instead of using high-tech, concrete-based engineering solutions to defend against […]
Read more »Plants vs. Pipes: How Asia’s 5,000-Year-Old Rice Terraces Are Inspiring Modern Flood Control
August 6th, 2024
Via BBC, a look at how Asia’s 5,000-year-old rice terraces are inspiring modern flood control: Landprocess The green roof of Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand is designed to protect from flooding, cool temperatures and grow crops (Credit: Landprocess) Parks, roofs and riverbanks mimicking the long-used agricultural form are helping Asian cities absorb, hold and purify […]
Read more »NYC Bets Big On Porous Pavement With $32M Flood-Control Project
July 20th, 2024
Via Smart Cities Dive, a look at New York City’s first large-scale implementation of the approach after years of testing different porous pavement products: Dive Brief: New York City hopes to ease flooding with its first large-scale implementation of porous pavement, allowing stormwater to drain into the ground rather than overwhelm the city’s sewer system. Seven miles of road in Brooklyn will be […]
Read more »Protecting London A Matter of ‘National Security’ If Extreme Weather Hits
July 17th, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a look at how climate preparation must be embedded into government’s growth strategy to avoid ‘catastrophic’ impacts: Protecting London from extreme weather is a matter of “national security”, according to an independent report, which found that flooding, drought and wildfires were putting the UK capital’s economy and citizens at risk. […]
Read more »Climate Havens: Can Some Cities Provide A Refuge From Extreme Weather?
July 1st, 2024
Via BBC, a report on whether those cities which are advertising themselves as ‘climate havens’ actually protect residents from extreme weather: Over the past few years, the city of Buffalo, New York, has been all over the headlines. But instead of US media focusing only on the city’s occasional epic snowstorm, Buffalo is making news […]
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.