Solar Power Alongside California’s Highways
September 1st, 2023 Via Environment America, a report on the potential for California to take advantage of the vast, untapped solar energy potential next to its highways: California has long been a leader in renewable [...]
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 [...]
Solar Boom Spreads to Timberlands and Self-Storage Rooftops
August 29th, 2023 Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, a look at how last year’s climate bill sparked a solar bonanza for big property owners: Extra Space Storage had solar systems at 55% of its wholly owned [...]
One of the World’s First Insurance Schemes for Extreme Heat
August 25th, 2023 Via The Print, a report on one of the world’s first insurance schemes for extreme heat in which poor workers in Gujarat can receive payouts when temperatures add up to between 134C and 138C [...]
BioDiverCity: Nature Based Solutions for Cities
August 24th, 2023 Via Greenroofs.com, a new resource for nature-based solutions targeting urban environments: Staff of Edward Elgar Publishing writes: Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being adopted to [...]
Down The Drain: A Promising Climate and Nature Solution
August 24th, 2023 Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at the potential of wastewater: Wastewater is a growing health and environmental threat, accounting for almost as much planet warming emissions as the aviation industry. [...]

ABOUT
BLACK SWANS GREEN SHOOTS
Black Swans / Green Shoots examines the collision between urbanization and resource scarcity in a world affected by climate change, identifying opportunities to build sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure through the use of revolutionary capital, increased awareness, innovative technologies, and smart design to make a difference in the face of global and local climate perils.

'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.