Racing Extinction

***Racing Extinction*** is a 2015 documentary about the ongoing Anthropogenic mass extinction of species and the efforts from scientists, activists and journalists to document it. The film is directed by Louie Psihoyos and created by the Ocean Preservation Society in association with Discovery and Okeanos Foundation for the Sea and released in 2015.

## Synopsis

The film deals with several examples of the overarching theme of the Anthropocene extinction, in that the spread of Homo sapiens has caused the greatest mass extinction event since the KT event 66 million years ago, including global warming and poaching, and the efforts of scientists, photographers and volunteers to protect endangered species. The film implicates overpopulation, globalization and animal agriculture as leading causes of extinction.

The film deals with the illegal wildlife trade, including the filmmakers exposing a whale meat restaurant in the U.S. (on the same day Louie Psihoyos was originally planning to collect his Academy Award for *The Cove*) and covert undercover investigations of the shark fin and manta ray gill trade in Hong Kong and mainland China for traditional medicines. The film also documents successful efforts to include manta rays on the CITES Appendix II list of protected species, thus stopping the village of Lamakera on Solor in Indonesia from killing them to supply demand in China.

The film refers to the Baiji and Hawaiʻi ʻōʻō as recent examples of extinction (although both of these species are still believed by some to be extant), and identifies the Amphibian extinction crisis, the overfishing of sharks for shark fin soup and as bycatch, among others, as current causes for concern. More specific examples include the imminent extinctions of the Florida grasshopper sparrow and Rabbe's fringe-limbed treefrog (the last individual of which, Toughie, Joel Sartore photographs).

Anthropogenic global warming from greenhouse gas emissions is identified as a leading cause of extinction, as organisms cannot adapt to unprecedented changes in not only temperature, but weather, ocean chemistry and atmospheric composition. The film focuses on the amount of methane produced by livestock, particularly cattle, and trapped methane escaping from frozen reservoirs in the Arctic, the latter drawing parallels to the runaway greenhouse effect that may have caused the Permian mass extinction that wiped out ninety-five percent of species. Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from transportation, animals and factories are made visible to the human eye for the first time with a specially designed high definition FLIR (forward looking infra-red) camera, with a special color filter. Ocean acidification and the subsequent degradation of corals and other calcium carbonate-based marine organisms are revealed with lab experiments and comparisons of archived photographs to the state of the same reefs in 2010. The degradation of marine ecosystems and the implications of coastal habitations are highlighted.

The filmmakers also work with Obscura Digital to design a custom Tesla Model S fitted with a 15,000-lumen projector system to project images of critically endangered and extinct species onto public buildings including Shell Factories, Wall Street, Headquarters of the United Nations, the Empire State Building and the Vatican. They go visit the village Lamakera, Indonesia in order to convince the village to stop fishing manta rays. As well as the greenhouse gas camera previously mentioned and the projector, it is also the first car in the world with electro-luminescence paint, inspired by bioluminescent organisms, and projects endangered animal sounds from the Bioacoustics Research Program. This campaign aimed to raise awareness and encourage people to change habits to ensure the survival of species for future generations, further highlighted with the 'Start with One Thing' Campaign.

## Cast

Several notable persons appeared in the film, including:

* Elon Musk of Tesla Motors
* National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, founder of The Photo Ark project
* Primatologist Jane Goodall
* Author and columnist Elizabeth Kolbert
* Professor Stuart Primm
* Christopher W. Clark (director of the Bioacoustics Research Program (BRP))
* Race car driver and environmentalist Leilani Münter
* Artist Shawn Henrichs
* Conservationist and Photographer Paul Hilton

Obscura Digital customizes the Tesla Model S car used for the projections.

## Release

*Racing Extinction* premiered on January 24, 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival, followed by a limited theatrical release on September 18, 2015. On December 2, 2015, the film premiered on the Discovery Channel in 220 countries or territories.

## Reception

*Racing Extinction* was generally acclaimed by critics, who praised it as a "return to form" for the Discovery Channel, in that it represented a break from the numerous pseudoscience-based mockumentaries that the network was airing at the time. The film holds a score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews. It also holds a score of 81/100 on Metacritic.

The film's television premiere reached more than 11.5 million viewers, with the simulcast averaging 2.55 million total viewers and averaged 1.18 million Persons 25-54, making it the most watched documentary film premiere in over three years. The film captured the attention of celebrities, activists, and policy makers and trended on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram during the premiere, ranking it as one of the top three non-sports programs in Nielsen's Social Guide for that night. 26.7 million impressions were made on Facebook, with a total of 300 million impressions across Discovery's global campaign which began in November.

## Home media

Main article: *Racing Extinction (Home video)*