Putting on a virtual reality headset can transport you to faraway lands. But it can also offer a glimpse at how your own community could change as the climate warms.
Calil: “There’s that punch in the gut, kind of, that you get when you see things in that immersive environment that you can’t replicate with other technologies.”
Juliano Calil is the founder of Virtual Planet Technologies. The company partners with cities and nonprofits to develop interactive VR films depicting sea level rise and other climate impacts.
In Santa Cruz, California, where the company is based, his team created a VR experience that shows how coastal erosion, extreme storms, and moderate sea level rise could cause major flooding.
Viewers get a 360-degree look at beaches and streets disappearing underwater.
Calil: “But more importantly, we can also show them some of the solutions, what we can do about it.”
People can see how building a sea wall, or planting dunes with native grasses, could limit flooding – and they can toggle between different versions of their future city.
Calil says surveys of residents that have tried out the VR experience show that it helped build awareness of the risks their community faces – and steps that could be taken to help protect it.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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