Last Monday, spur of the moment, I decided to go to the Racing Extinction event. I was completely blown away by the film. I am very passionate about environmentalism and finding climate change solutions, and the film was beautifully made, but also very informative and compelling. I probably spent at least half of the movie in tears. The film was mostly focused on two things, climate change and its effect on species extinction and illegal trade of endangered species, which also contributes to species extinction.

One of the hardest things to watch was the scenes showing the trade of illegal animals. There were some shots taken in China of exotic animal trade where there were hundreds of shark fins and stingray gills covering roofs and filling rooms. There was also part where they followed a hunt for a stingray of the coast of a small Indonesian town. The men speared the majestic ray and gripped tightly as it flailed desperately, creating a giant pool of blood in the water. When interviewed later one of the men said that he thought that there would not be enough rays to sustain the town long term but he also needed the money to support his family. I think when we are fairly far removed it can be difficult to think about the harmful global effect that these illegal animals can have, and for those who do consume the products of the trade it is hard to make the connection between shark fin soup and a real life endangered animal.

I was very inspired by the segments of the film that talked about climate change and how to prevent it. Particularly because the film brought up the issue of animal agriculture and its effect on climate. Many people are unaware that cattle and other agricultural animals produce massive amounts of methane, which is an even more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Between 18 and 51% percent of total greenhouse gas emissions come from animal agriculture, while all of transportation combined is only about 12%. Additionally vast areas of rainforest are cleared daily to make space for grazing and growing grain for feed. I am vegan, and my main reason is to help the environment. I truly think that as food become scarce and climate change becomes an even bigger threat society will shift more and more towards a plant based diet. And although it would be great if everyone could immediately give up animal products, just small amounts of change, such as skipping meat once a week could make massive changes in the health of our planet.

One of the messages in the film was to start with one thing. If you are a person who eats a lot of animal products, maybe reducing how much you eat would be a good “one thing” to start with. As for me, I could work on my water usage. I tend to take very long showers, and I know that’s not sustainable long term. I have hope that if we work together to educate each other and to hold people accountable for pollution, illegal wildlife trade, ect. that we could stop the progress of climate change and the loss of species to extinction. If we don’t we run the risk of becoming extinct ourselves.

On Monday, February 29^th, I went to the Cornell Cinema to see a film screening of Racing Extinction. The film, which largely focused on the growing extinction and abuse of ocean life, showed viewers how badly we are treating our environment and what will happen if we continue to abuse wildlife in such a way. The film had many grotesque images of the cruelty occurring, which made me and some of the other rose scholars I spoke to after the film upset and angry with the way our environment is being treated.

One of the most memorable sections of the film involved a fishing village in Indonesia that hunts manta rays. Manta rays were becoming increasingly valuable, as their gills were believed to have medicinal purposes. Killing and selling these rays was the village’s only source of income, so the people of the village were uninterested in stopping the hunting. However, the makers of the film told the villagers that if they continued to hunt the manta rays at the rate they were currently, the population would completely disappear, and there would be no source of income for their children or their children’s children. To help fix this problem, the village is working on becoming a tourist attraction, where the manta rays can serve as a source of income without being harmed. This seems to be a great situation, as all parties involved are gaining and helping the environment.

Other memorable scenes from the film included a busting of a popular sushi restaurant in California that was selling whale meat and several undercover trips to black market dealers in China. It amazed me how high the demand was for endangered animal products; a demand so high and profitable that sellers are willing to break the law and hurt the environment to provide people with these products. The film really helped to open my eyes to issues occurring all around the world, and if the film’s popularity rises, we may be able to stop this mass extinction and environmental harm before it is too late.

Racing Extinction is an amazing documentary that highlights issues facing our oceans. The issues discussed include ocean acidification, multiple species extinctions, overfishing, fishing bycatch, and coral bleaching. Arguably, the most impactful scenes were those of fishing. The majority of the documentary focused on fishing and included the harvesting of manta rays, farmed salmon, whales, dolphins, and sharks. This documentary made me feel awfully sad due to my passion for these specific issues. The graphic images added to this feeling. However, I’m glad they included those visuals to truly showcase these gruesome events that occur on a daily basis around the world. I hope the documentary, especially that imagery, becomes engrained in people’s minds and promotes them to some sort of action.

I think the documentary did an effective job of balancing the gore with positivity. There was a chapter that showed a village in Indonesia (if I’m not mistaken) that had built a community and economy around catching manta rays for many years. However, the mantas hadn’t been caught sustainably and the local population significantly decreased, making it much more difficult for the fishermen to catch any. According to the film, after the film leader and crew engaged and spoke with the community leaders, the crew was able to set up an educational screening of film of the gorgeous beauty and grace of manta rays for the entire community. They also explained the booming business of eco-tourism, which requires the maintenance of ideal population levels of mantas, to the village leaders. Although changing a community’s economy is probably very difficult, I am very glad that the crew was able to at least show that fishing manta rays wasn’t their only option to feed their families and that there was actually a more prosperous option. I think the main way to begin to combat all of these problems that the oceans are facing is through education. Most people are unaware of what is happening and I’m sure a great majority would take action if they knew. I hope this documentary reaches as many pairs of eyes as possible all over the world so that we can finally put an end to the degradation of our oceans.

Monday night, Rose Scholars had the opportunity to watch the documentary Racing Extinction. As a society, we hear that we are destroying our planet all of the time, but it was different receiving this message visually. I left the Cornell Cinema mad and infuriated, and I think that was the point.

There was one scene that covered village-wide massacre of these beautiful Manta Rays. The village people had to do it in order to survive- not by choice. Once a bill was passed to forbid the killing of the creatures, the creators of the documentary helped the community transition into a tourism-oriented economy. I think this method could be used for a lot of communities that are in similar situations.

There was another scene that depicted clip after clip of endangered animals in black market shops in China. There is such a big market for items like Manta Ray gills (believed to cure cancer) and elephant tusks (a symbol of wealth) in this country and others. I think one of the hardest aspects of ending this cycle is the fact that it started so long ago. Some of these myths and beliefs regarding medicinal remedies and status symbols originated hundreds of years ago. It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but the world depends on it.

It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness. There’s so many people that sit back and say we’re screwed. But you know what? With that one candle – maybe someone else with a candle will find you. And I think that’s where movements are started.

// SHAWN HEINRICHS \\

On Monday night, I went with other Rose Scholars to see the film “Racing Extinction.” As an IARD major, this is the kind of thing we discuss in all of my classes yet seeing movies like these makes my heart hurt no less every time.

As a Christian, I believe God placed humans on the Earth to be stewards of His creation. The way it was designed was for us to be in perfect unity with nature and with Him. By taking care of the Earth, we would be glorifying Him, and by glorifying Him, we would be taking care of the Earth.

So what are we doing. Moving further and further away from what were meant to be. No wonder we struggle to find purpose in life. No wonder many feel as if what they do has no meaning at the end. We’re straying farther and farther away from the perfect joy we were meant to have. It is all connected. All of it. And this movie helped me remember that.

The movie does not just talk about all going wrong and all the animals that have recently been going extinct, but it provides tangible goals we can set to make a difference.

Here are a few that I have taken from their website http://racingextinction.com/startwith1thing/

1. Skip meat for one meal a day! (I have been doing this myself)
2. Take public transportation when possible.
3. If you are going to eat seafood, make smart choices (as in, don’t eat animals in danger) –> there is a seafood watch app.
4. Consider an electric vehicle IF you need to buy a car.
5. Stop animal suffering by not buying Wild.

And there are many more!