Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the world wraps a week of digital gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this week amid a global pandemic, SeaLegacy, in partnership Global Wildlife Conservation with support from tens of thousands of earth-focused organizations and individuals, is sharing a video message from COVID-19 to humankind. Only four days after its release, the video was viewed at least 5 million times and collectively shared more than 250,000 times and there is no sign of the momentum slowing down.
“These last few weeks have been important weeks of reflection,” SeaLegacy co-founder and Managing Director Cristina Mittermeier says from quarantine at her home in British Columbia, Canada. “I have celebrated every single Earth Day and it’s surprising to me that even as humanity has come together for 50 years to celebrate the fact that earth is our foundation, we find ourselves at a real crossroads with climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the loss of Indigenous knowledge, and now the emergency of diseases that are jumping from wildlife to humans and are a real threat to humanity.”
Marking the launch of ExtinctionEndsHere.org - a new campaign calling for a paradigm shift in people’s relationship with nature - the video, “A Letter from the Pandemic: #ExtinctionEndsHere” was released earlier this week.
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“This is an issue that touches all of us. As custodians of this planet, we have an opportunity to change the course of history and prevent future pandemics by shutting down the commercial exploitation of wildlife. We can and must unite as one global community, embracing the inescapable truth that we are all connected and a part of Nature,” says Shawn Heinrichs, conservationist, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of SeaLegacy from his home in Colorado, USA. “This is it. This is our wake up call. #ExtinctionEndsHere when we decide that we will no longer be complicit in a global crisis that is threatening the survival of all species.”
A Letter from the Pandemic: #ExtinctionEndsHere gives a voice to the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, explaining why and how it may have jumped from its original host animal species. Narrated against a backdrop of alternating images of pristine healthy nature and destruction, the video illustrates the link between the shrinking biodiversity of the planet and pandemics that claim human lives. The imagery builds until the virus finally asks humankind, “Am I enough?”
As its first action, #ExtinctionEndsHere is calling on people and organizations around the world to sign the Declaration to #EndTheTrade, which calls for an end to the commercial trade and sale in markets of wild terrestrial animals for consumption—the likely source of the current COVID-19 pandemic and one of the major drivers of extinction. In just the first two days of release, the declaration has already reached millions of people, has amassed more than 57,000 signatures and has been endorsed by over 205 organizations. Celebrities supporting the Declaration to #EndTheTrade include environmental activists and Academy Award®-winning actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Jason Mamoa and Edward Norton. National Geographic Photographer, Paul Nicklen, singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, Journalist Katie Couric and Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, Jimmy Chin have also signed on.
About SeaLegacy:
For over two decades SeaLegacy co-founders Cristina Mittermeier, Paul Nicklen and Shawn Heinrichs have used their inspiring imagery to convert apathy into action and to drive important conservation wins across the world. Along with an impressive network of like-minded photographers, filmmakers, scientists, and influencers, SeaLegacy combines world-class imagery and engaging storytelling to connect people to globally important conservation issues and inspire them to act.
About Global Wildlife Conservation:
GWC conserves the diversity of life on Earth by safeguarding wildlands, protecting wildlife and supporting guardians. We maximize our impact through scientific research, biodiversity exploration, habitat conservation, protected area management, wildlife crime prevention, endangered species recovery, and conservation leadership cultivation.
To watch and share the videos, visit SeaLegacy social media handles, (Instagram / Facebook / Twitter), or use the video links above.
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