How Do You Stop A Megacity From Going Under Water?
April 1st, 2025 Via BBC, a report on Bangkok, a megacity going under water: Bangkok is a mega city of more than 10 million people, the economic powerhouse of Southeast Asia and one of the world’s most visited [...]
This Muggy City Keeps Cool with Minimal AC. Here’s How.
March 26th, 2025 Via The Washington Post, an article on India’s Palava City, a 5,000-acre experimental community northeast of Mumbai, which hopes to provide a model for adapting to a climate-transformed world: [...]
A Piece of Glass Thinner Than a Credit Card Could Solve America’s $25 Billion Energy Problem
March 26th, 2025 Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, an article on how bew windows can insulate better than most walls, and some can even survive being hit with a two-by-four shot from a cannon: Here’s one more [...]
The History of Heat Waves Reveals the Urgency of Adaptation
March 21st, 2025 Via Harvard’s Salata Institute, a report on the relationship between humans and heat continues to change. Heat waves, once simply a natural phenomenon, are now a symptom of urbanization and [...]
Flood and Drought Risk Increasing In Cities
March 18th, 2025 Via BBC, a look at the growing water-related risks facing cities: The world’s 100 most populated cities are becoming increasingly exposed to flooding and drought, according to new research. [...]
Why Sizzling Cities Are Mapping Hot Spots Street-By-Street
March 6th, 2025 Via Knowable, a report on how – in metros like Reno, Nevada – citizen scientists hit the road to collect detailed temperature data — key to taming urban heat, saving lives and designing [...]

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.