At the opening night of the exhibit, Cortada featured numerous artistic works from his various collections on climate change and nature; the first of 12 panel discussions on topics such as climate change with experts mostly from FIU; and a screening of his Five Actions to Stop Sea Level Rise<\/em> film.<\/p>\n CLIMA \u2013 presented by the City of Hialeah in partnership with FIU\u2019s Sea Level Solution Center (SLSC)<\/a>, FIU\u2019s SEAS<\/a>, FIU\u2019s CARTA, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy \u2013 coincides with the 12 days of the COP 21 Paris Talks and Art Basel week in Miami, all of which began Nov. 30.<\/p>\n \u201cSea-level rise is an important issue and it\u2019s important to get all sectors of the community involved and to provide them with an opportunity to ask questions and engage with the issue,\u201d said Tiffany Troxler, director of FIU\u2019s SLSC and one of the night\u2019s panelist.<\/p>\n Hialeah, an originally swampy area, is especially vulnerable to inland flooding and will be drastically affected by global climate change and sea-level rise; only a four-foot rise in the sea-level will flood 70 percent of Hialeah\u2019s population.<\/p>\n One of the panelists\u00a0and chair of FIU\u2019s Department of Earth and Environment<\/a> Ren\u00e9 Price referred to a chart on sea-level rise in South Florida created by South Florida\u2019s four government counties that predicts sea levels could rise approximately 6 to 10 inches by 2030 or 1 foot to almost 2 feet or even greater by 2060.<\/p>\n Price and Executive Director of FIU\u2019s SEAS Evelyn Gaiser<\/a>\u00a0also explained how salt-water intrusion can impact Hialeah. Salt-water seeps into the porous underground rock that houses the water supplies, and it pushes fresh water to the surface, effectively contaminating and threatening Hialeah\u2019s fresh water supply.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all require water to live,\u201d Gaiser said discussing\u00a0the Everglades Restoration Plan, which aims to bring freshwater back to the Everglades as one of the best solutions to alleviate salt-water intrusion.<\/p>\n Rehydrating the Everglades, which is a major source of water for most of South Florida, will help replenish Hialeah\u2019s fresh water supply and restore the biodiversity in the Everglades, such as mangroves.<\/p>\n Troxler said that even though it may sound like bad news that human activity has affected climate change in a negative way, \u201cit\u2019s also good news because if we got ourselves into this mess, we can get ourselves out of this mess. And that is where the solutions start.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs Paris talks, Hialeah acts,\u201d Cortada said.<\/p>\n After watching the panel discussion and the ensuing Q&A session with audience members, he added, \u201cthis is what art is. It\u2019s real. It\u2019s raw.\u201d<\/p>\n The CLIMA exhibit will run until Jan. 29, 2016.<\/p>\n Panelist Speakers for CLIMA Day 1<\/u><\/p>\n For more information on CLIMA, visit\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Cortada's](\"http:\/\/news.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/SOLAR-picture-570x380.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cortada's](\"http:\/\/news.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/graphite-drawing-pictures-570x380.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"CLIMA](\"http:\/\/news.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/CLIMA-Speakers-Day-1-570x380.jpg\")
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