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A watched pot never boils is a truism that speaks to a reality: Humans have a difficult mentally registering slow change (how do you register your child’s growth day to day) even as the change impacts our lives in tangible manner (buying clothing to replace that they grew out of).

Sea-level rise is one of the most predictable of climate change impacts.  We know the seas are rising and we know that there will be more sea-level rise.  Yet too many seem oblivious to the obvious. Around the world, too many in the private sector, government, and the public are failing to plan for sea-level rise’s foreseeable consequences. We need to leverage communication tools, of all sorts, to change this equation: to motivate action to mitigate climate change (to slow/reduce the future sea-level rise in the decades/centuries to come) while sparking investment to adapt to the inevitable rise in the years and decades ahead.  And, art has a role to play — from the subtle to the in-your-face signal.  This Venice sculpture is just that sort of messaging:

'The hand holds so much power- the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy,’ @artistlorenzo ‘SUPPORT’ #VeniceBiennale2017 pic.twitter.com/ebKxQOibu6

— Halcyon Gallery (@HalcyonGallery) May 15, 2017

According to Halcyon Gallery, “The hands symbolise tools that can both destroy the world, but also have the capacity to save it. At once, the sculpture has both a noble air as well as an alarming one – the gesture being both gallant in appearing to hold up the building whilst also creating a sense of fear in highlighting the fragility of the building surrounded by water and the ebbing tide.”

Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries, but to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay,’

Lorenzo Quinn, sculpter

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A post shared by Lorenzo Quinn (@lorenzoquinnartist)

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A post shared by Lorenzo Quinn (@lorenzoquinnartist)

Centimeter by centimeter, inexorably, sea-level rise is moving shorelines, devastating habitats,  laying waste to existing infrastructure and wreaking havoc on property values. These consequence command special attention for obvious reasons.

When it comes to Sea-Level Rise, we need to: Understand-Plan-Adapt.

• Understand: The sea is rising, at least a meter within the lifetime of today’s youth (and perhaps >3 meters if climate mitigation is not pursue).
• Plan: Develop long-term plans that enable cost-effective approaches to accommodating societal requirements in the face of rising seas.
• Adapt: Invest for a societal infrastructure that can cope with changed shore lines, saltwater intrusion into water resources,

We must invest in mitigation — to reduce worsening of climate impacts — even as we must tackle the challenges that rising seas create for human civilization.

Hat-tip to Mashable.