I am all for saving the planet and its inhabitants especially endangered species. The cycle of life must be preserved in order to breed/reproduce and continue the process to diminish extinction.
But, what to do when there are many people who would rather become rich for selling exotic food and without care for the end result thus increasing the numbers of species that have now become extinct?
DISCOVERY CHANNEL PREMIERES RACING EXTINCTION
AS A GLOBAL TELEVISION EVENT ON DECEMBER 2 AT 9PM
Discovery to Broadcast in More Than 220 Countries and Territories in 24-Hour Period #StartWith1Thing
I recently attended the screening of Discovery Channel’s Racing Extinction at Bonifacio High Street Cinemas and left with a heavy heart. I’m aware that people are harvesting sharks’ fins to make into soups etc but never in my life have I seen that vast amount and it was truly heartbreaking! That baby shark scene not being able to swim and going down to the bottom of the sea, left for dead because its fins were cut off, made me shed tears… what a cruel world we live in!
Read on for more and be an advocate in saving these creatures… let us help by being vigilant and take the necessary proper actions!
Discovery Channel will be premiering Academy Award®-winning director Louie Psihoyos’s documentary RACING EXTINCTION on Wednesday, December 2 at 9PM to a global audience. Discovery, the No. 1 distributed TV brand in the world, will premiere RACING EXTINCTION in 220 international markets across the world within a span of 24 hours.
In the groundbreaking documentary RACING EXTINCTION, director Louie Psihoyos and the group behind the Academy Award®-winning film The Cove assemble a team of artists and activists on a new undercover operation to expose the world of endangered species trafficking and the race to prevent mass extinction. Spanning the globe to infiltrate the world’s most dangerous black markets and using high tech tactics to document the link between carbon emissions and species extinction, the documentary reveals stunning, never-before seen images that truly change the way we see the world.
“With the help of Discovery, I believe we can create a tipping point to create the change we need to preserve a planet that can sustain life for all species,” said Louie Psihoyos, Director. “There has never been a more important time in the world than to be alive now — the decisions we make in the next few years will impact the Earth and animal species for millions of years.”
RACING EXTINCTION will be the catalyst for a larger, ongoing campaign utilizing the hashtag #StartWith1Thing to serve as Discovery’s call to action to create a global movement behind the RACING EXTINCTION television event. Discovery will leverage its global premiere and additional platforms, including custom branded content, Discovery digital, social media and virtual reality and Discovery Education, along with our partners, to ignite curiosity and global actions people can take in four areas: fighting wildlife trafficking, reducing carbon emissions through use of green energy/transport, supporting green causes, and eating less meat.
In the Philippines, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific will be mounting a Racing Extinction University Tour to promote the advocacy of the film. Schools participating in the tour include Ateneo De Manila University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University and Miriam College. Starting from 27 November, there will be a special screening of RACING EXTINCTION for students, along with activities that will further enhance the film’s moving message. This includes a meaningful pledge to #StartWith1Thing, and help the planet win the race against a sixth mass extinction.
Greenpeace Philippines and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Philippines have also signed on to be the official partners for the University Tour. Coupled with its own Oceans Campaign, Greenpeace hopes to share information on the new Philippine Fisheries Law and the proper ways to dispose plastic and garbage to protect bodies of water. WWF will focus on developing awareness on the current state of our environment, and to raise funds that will help establish environmentally-sustainable programs.
Local celebrities and well-known environmentalists – Erwan Heussaff, Marc Nelson, Senator Pia Cayetano, Bambike Founder Bryan Benitez McClelland and Philippine Animal Welfare Society Executive Director Anna Cabrera have pledged to #StartWith1Thing through a specially produced spot for Discovery Channel.
“Louie Psihoyos’s RACING EXTINCTION is required viewing for all citizens of the world,” said John Hoffman, Executive Vice President, Documentaries and Specials for Discovery Channel. “Everyone needs to see this film because it vividly demonstrates the serious threats our beautiful blue planet faces. Even more important, RACING EXTINCTION shows how if we all start by doing just one thing to improve the environment, all of us together can leave nature healthier than we found it.”
Racing Extinction premieres December 2, Wednesday at 9PM. Catch the encores on December 3, 12:10PM, December 5, 12AM and December 6, 10PM.
About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, the flagship network of Discovery Communications, is devoted to creating the highest quality pay-TV programming in the world and remains one of the most dynamic networks on television. First launched in 1985, Discovery Channel reaches 209 million subscribers in Asia Pacific. It offers viewers an engaging line-up of high-quality non-fiction entertainment from blue-chip nature, science and technology, ancient and contemporary history, adventure, cultural and topical documentaries.
About Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, a division of the number-one pay-TV programmer Discovery Communications, is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content through its portfolio of 15 brands. From survival to natural history, wonders of science to extreme jobs, motoring to travel and lifestyle, and the latest engineering marvels to live sporting events, each channel offers distinct must-watch programming to engage viewers across the region. The network’s 15 brands reach 674 million cumulative subscribers in 36 countries and territories with programming customised in 14 languages and dialects. For more information, please visit www.asia.discovery.com.
About The Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS)
Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) is a non-profit organization that creates film, photography and media that inspires people to save the oceans. Founded in 2005 by renowned photographer and avid diver Louie Psihoyos, OPS is headquartered in Boulder, CO, conveniently between two oceans. OPS’s first film, The Cove, has won dozens of awards around the world, including the Oscar® for Best Documentary in 2009, and inspired over a million people to action. For more information, please visit www.opsociety.org.
#StartWith1Thing Campaign
Stay away from meat for one day to reduce carbon emissions
1. Animal agriculture ALONE is responsible for 18% of GLOBAL GHG emissions. This is more than the emissions from every single car, train, and plane on the planet combined.
2. Love your beef patties? Maybe not so much when you find out that producing a 200-gram hamburger patty (about the size of two decks of cards) releases as much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere as driving an average size passenger car nearly sixteen kilometres. So cutting back on meat, one day or even one meal a week can have a tremendous impact.
3. Figures state that meat consumption in the Philippines reached 1,035 tonnes in 2014. Can you imagine the amount of GHG emissions this caused? [SOURCE]
Cut down on electricity usage
1. In 2014, the electricity consumption collected by the Department of Energy in the Philippines amounted to 77,261 in gigawatt hours. [SOURCE]
2. The electricity sector is responsible for about 35% of our carbon footprint, the largest contributor for greenhouse gas emissions compared to other sources in the Philippines. [SOURCE]
3. When lights are not in use, turn them off. As Christmas time comes nearer and the weather cools, give the air-conditioner a break, this appliance consumes a lot of power.
Cut down on seafood consumption and push for responsible fishing.
1. Over 70% of the world’s fish species are either fully exploited or depleted. We take over half a billion pounds out of the ocean each day. And many predict that, if we continue with current fishing practices, all of the world’s fisheries will have collapsed by 2048.
2. Seafood consumption in the Philippines in 2014 amounted to 36 kg per capita – one of the highest in the world. [SOURCE]
3. With billions of people, including many Filipinos, relying on fish as their sole source of protein and livelihood, over 85% of the world’s fisheries have been pushed to or beyond biological limits, and only strict management will restore them.
4. The Tubbataha Reefs in Palawan produce at least 200 metric tons of seafood per square kilometre, five times greater than the productivity of a healthy reef. Tubbataha is endangered due to a steadily rising Filipino population, unsustainable fishing practices, local and foreign ship grounding incidents, plus mounting climate change effects. It is imperative that we protect this cradle of biodiversity. [SOURCE]
Cut down on use of transportation – carpool if you must, walk when you can!
1. Did you know? A typical car emits about 4,700 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year and we need about 22 trees per year to offset these emissions.
2. The number of cars that is added to roads in the Philippines is rising steadily each year. According to the Asean Automotive Federation (AAF), Philippine sales of motor vehicles grew 29 percent to 234,747 units last year from 181,738 in 2013. [SOURCE]
3. In 2013, 7.690 Million motorized vehicles were registered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and 2.101 Million of those traverse the congested roads and streets of Metro Manila alone. This number is rising at an average annual rate of 2.13 percent. This not only causes so much traffic, it poses danger to our environment. [SOURCE]
4. If traveling a short distance, always remember that exercise is good for you. Opt to walk or invest in a bicycle!
5. If you must take a car, try to carpool. Having people to share a ride can cut both your commuting costs and carbon dioxide emission by 50%-70%.
Advocacy
1. Frightening but true: our planet is now in the midst of its 6th mass extinction of plants and animals, the first since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But this time, we’re experiencing the worst rate of species loss ever – there are literally dozens going extinct every day.
2. About 1 in 1,000 baby sea turtles will make it to adulthood. The biggest threats to sea turtles by far are human-related. Oil spills, habitat loss due to development, and entanglement in marine debris such as plastic bags can affect turtles.
3. Chain reactions will become more alarming. Philippine forests will be greatly affected by climate change. Because of rising heat, forest fires are likely to occur more frequently, eventually leading to the increase of pests and diseases, consequently causing loss of thousands of species. [SOURCE]
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