How to Cool Down a City
September 22nd, 2023 Courtesy of the New York Times, an article looking at Singapore’s efforts to tackle urban heat: Singapore is rethinking its sweltering urban areas to dampen the effects of climate change. Can [...]
Which Cities Will Still Be Livable In A World Altered By Climate Change?
September 22nd, 2023 Courtesy of National Geographic, an article on how northern U.S. communities may not be completely immune to a warming world, but they are well-placed to meet the needs of an influx of climate [...]
Climate Corps Invests in a Different Kind of Green Economy: Not Just About Decarbonization
September 22nd, 2023 Courtesy of HeatMap, commentary on the Climate Corps: The climate corps is back. In his first week in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for, among other things, the [...]
Addicted To Cool
September 22nd, 2023 Courtesy of The Washington Post, an article on how the dream of air conditioning turned into the dark future of climate change: In 2023, Jeep rolled out a new edition of its popular four-wheel-drive [...]
Why Batteries Might — Might! — Solve America’s Power-Line Shortage
September 22nd, 2023 Via HeatMap, a look at whether solar plus storage can fix one of the thorniest problems of the energy transition: To talk about renewable energy these days is to talk about power lines. “No [...]
New York City’s $52B Plan To Save Itself From The Sea
September 20th, 2023 Courtesy of The Guardian, an article on New York City’s plan to protect the region from rising waters: The retired FDNY firefighter Patrick Kilgallen remembers the night well. In late October [...]

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.