Dear Readers, By value of threatened assets, Miami is considered the urban environment most at risk from climate change in the world. It’s sinking and will soon be gone. And yet the inane, stale electoral process of the United States—with considerable help from Florida, mind you—just appointed someone who claims the scientifically supported causes for such grave scenarios, found around the planet, were “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” How, truly, embarrassing. But more embarrassing is the critical role the nation’s media played in fanning these flames and making this possible, giving said denialist a microphone for a solid 18 months, 24 hours a day, in the lead-up to the polls. As media, albeit decidedly satirical, (and based in California, where drought-driven wildfires have killed off 26 millions trees here since May) we feel ever-the-more responsible to present points of view that challenge that which suppresses the voices that make our community what it is: diverse, accomplished, humane, and perhaps most importantly, stylish. Thus, we present the Severity Issue, which examines the elements and climate through artistic practices, the Hollywood machine and its innumerable paradoxes, and, true to form, a bit of silliness. The issue, celebrated in Miami as part of our Weather Patterns group show during Art Basel, has seen some water damage, but the read should still be—most reliably—mediocre... perhaps even good. Enjoy, Matthew
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