HamptonRoads VCC News
[May. 08, 2026] Point of no Return: Oliver Milman in his article in the Guardian titled “‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level” reports on a new paper in Nature, which finds that low-elevation coastal zones face sea-level commitments far beyond current planning horizons. Preparing to move out of the coastal zone must be a mandatory part of adaptation. For New Orleans, the study finds that ongoing sea level rise and the rampant erosion of wetlands in southern Louisiana will swallow up the New Orleans area within a few generations. Hampton Roads may learn from this study.
[Mar. 31, 2026] Virginia Crossroads: Flood Resilience across the Commonwealth: The National Academy of Science organized on March 27, 2026 the climate event “Virginia Crossroads: Flood Resilience across the Commonwealth” in Charlottesville, Virginia. Most of the talking focused on the present and on money to tackle current problems, while a conversation about responsible risk governance for the future was absent. Read the NewsItem in the Newsroom.
Platform News
[May. 22, 2026] DRG VCC opened: The "Disaster Risk Governance VCC" has been initialized and is open now.
[May. 21, 2026] NEXUS VCC opened: The "Food-Water-Energy Nexus VCC" has been initialized and is open now.
[May. 11, 2026] ILie VCC opened: The "I Lie and Why it Needs to Stop VCC" has been initialized and is open now.
[May. 09, 2026] Doomsday Clock is Getting Closer to Midnight: In January, the Doomsday clock was set to 85 seconds before midnight, the closest setting since it was established in 1947 in response to the threat of nuclear war. Sophie McBain in her article “‘The odds are not in our favour’: who sets the Doomsday Clock – and what can they tell us about the future of humanity?” emphasizes that with the wars on Iran and on the Ukraine, the rapid and largely uncontrolled development of AI and the climate breakdown all together increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock now stands closer to midnight than ever before. She asks the question of whether we can buy ourselves more time.
[Apr. 25, 2026] World Happiness Report Finds Positive Impacts of Collaborative Platforms: The World Happiness Report 2026 has a strong focus on the impacts of social media and the Web in general on human happiness. The results of most studies indicate that the use of most social media seems to have a negative impact on happiness, while those tools that generate trust and collaboration have a positive impact. The report sumarizes: “Internet activities fall into two groups. Communications, news, learning, and content creation are associated with higher life satisfaction. Social media, gaming, and browsing for fun are associated with lower life evaluations.” This supports the mission of Place4Us as a trust-focused collaborative platform for intercreativity and learning.
