Silicon Valley Wants to Fight Fires With Fire
August 31st, 2024
Via the New York Times, a look at how some high-tech entrepreneurs are trying to use new forms of technology to solve the problem of mega-wildfires in the age of climate change: This is the tinder box of the Sierra Nevada. It’s early June, the temperature is 97 degrees Fahrenheit and the air shimmers over […]
Read more »The Safest Places in the U.S. from Extreme Weather
July 20th, 2024
Via Medium, commentary on some of the safest places in the U.S. from extreme weather: Screenshot of U.S. map created by author of safe places to live away from natural disasters Well, the time has come. After decades of sh*tting on the planet, Mother Earth has finally had enough. Just the other day I was lurking in […]
Read more »UN Chief Heat Officer on Living Amid Fires and How To Cool Cities
December 18th, 2023
Via The Guardian, commentary by Eleni Myrivili, whose job is to help cities prepare for extreme heat, says many people do not understand how deadly it can be: It is “shocking” how little people know about the danger of hot weather, the United Nations global chief heat officer has said, as high temperatures bake cities across the […]
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 »Welcome To The Pyrocene Era
September 1st, 2023
Via ClimateBase, a look at how human-influenced fire activity is shaping our world and six companies working to combat wildfire by leveraging everything from Machine Learning and AI to advanced imaging and fire-fighting tech: The world is on fire. With thousands of wildfires burning across the globe, many have begun to speculate that we are entering a Pyrocene […]
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.