Quantifying the ROI of Sustainability
April 5, 2020

Climate Forensics & Attribution Have Arrived

The advent of DNA in forensics gave courts powerful tools for attributing blame or establishing innocence. The same is now true of forensic climate attribution. Experts can sit in courtrooms and say with “increasing statistical certainty,” that X event was increased in likelihood and severity by anthropogenic climate change.
March 31, 2020

Back Off! But Get Closer

Thousands of miles from friends and (most) relatives, as well as my clients and colleagues, I've been less isolated than I can ever remember. Assuming a device and connection, there are so many ways to work and play, it's hard to keep track. Here's a day-in-the-life this week as my town, Ho Chi Minh city, locked down tight.
March 25, 2020

COVID-19 and the Bankrupting of Nature

We were warned, by Bill Gates and others, that we were unprepared for the next pandemic. Why did we fail to heed these prophetic warnings? Hubris: in this case, the presumption that humans control nature and not the other way around. The response to this crisis makes it clear that countries, sufficiently motivated, can unleash the full range of human knowledge and expertise to solve problems. The trick that has eluded us is convincing lawmakers and citizens that the climate emergency rivals that of this pandemic.
March 16, 2020

Rattling Panes in the Glass Ceiling (Updated)

It’s possible to apply scientific rigor to thorny issues such as the ‘glass ceiling,’ the lack of women reaching pinnacle positions of power. There’s no doubt whatever about the problem. However, as Sloan Professor of Organization Studies Roberto Fernandez told MIT Management in August, “the glass ceiling, like dark matter in physics, cannot be observed. We know it’s there, but we’re not sure what’s causing it to endure.”
March 11, 2020

Close is Good…and Not Just in Horseshoes!

‘Close’ is – famously – only good in horseshoes. However, I’ve done enough valuation to know that hitting close to the mark on the right target – to paraphrase the late mathematician John Tukey – is better than a bullseye on the wrong one. There is value in approximate answers, as long as they're answering the right questions.
Close is Good…and Not Just in Horseshoes!
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