Documentary Review: Racing Extinction

by: Alyssa Nicole M. Patingo

The film shows the continuous mass extinction of anthropogenic species and the efforts of
different scientists, activists, and journalists to attest to the truth behind the dilemma. It reveals the impact
of human activities on the environment and how our nature is pleasingly beautiful. One of the issues
addressed in the documentary is that extinction is often driven by human activity. It became the biggest
factor in massive death as humans destroyed natural habitat, turned it to land for personal and commercial
use, and converted animals into food. It is simply pure economics, from selling endangered species to
making it a recipe in a restaurant. Overfishing was another issue because as humans catch too many fish
in a short period, it creates an imbalance where the species' population becomes too low to survive,
eventually leading to extinction. Another was the global climate change, which is the indirect way of
humans. The change in the environment also drives mass extinction because of the increase in the carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere due to the fossil fuels activities, gas emitted from cars, and livestock. As the
atmosphere loaded with carbon and methane, the Earth got warmer, making the ocean change. In
addition, the ocean absorbs carbon, making it more acidic and producing carbon acid, which tends to
dissolve all the creatures inside it. Livestock, especially cows, is also addressed as it emits more
greenhouse gases than humans. Moreover, as an individual, I can help resolve these issues and make a
difference by first reducing my meat intake and choosing plants instead. As we lessen the consumption of
meat and other foods containing endangered species, we are decreasing its production and stopping the
capturing of these creatures. In addition, I can also reduce my carbon footprint by buying food that I only
need. The second way is to have a sustainable alternative when traveling. As vehicles are one of the major
contributors to global warming, I must choose the way that will help to lessen it, like walking or cycling. I
can also switch to electric vehicles, which are more environmentally friendly as they produce fewer
greenhouse gasses emissions. Similarly, whether at home, work, or school, using electricity sustainably is
also another way to make a difference. And lastly, it is to reduce waste. Reduce the use of plastics and
change them into paper or other alternatives that are easy to decompose. With that, I am lessening the
garbage collected on oceans and other areas where some species live.
In conclusion, the Racing Extinction documentary was eye-opening for all of us. The film focuses
on oceans as it is crucial to global stability. It made me realize that we do a lot of better things for
ourselves, but we actually drive things out of control. Therefore, this film is significant as it contains the
truth about how we, humans, become the asteroid of other species and contribute to their extinction,
leading to the destruction of the Earth. It also helps people be inspired to make a change as it advocates us
to make a way to stop mass extinction. It gave ways on how we can save, protect, and conserve our
natural treasures. Remember that what happened to the planet is in our own hands. That's why in order to
save our world, Earth, we must save the lives of animals first.