Why was the Empire State Building all lit up on Saturday?
Great question.
Projecting Change: the Empire State Building, produced by the Oceanic Preservation Society, was projected onto the Empire State Building on Saturday night to catalyze a movement to preserve the wildlife of our planet in the wake of terrifying statistics.
The film's director Louie Psihoyos told NBC New York, "We're set to lose half the species on the planet by the end of the century."
This number is even more devastating in the aftermath of Cecil's death, a beloved Zimbabwe lion shot and killed by a U.S. dentist during a hunt in July. Cecil's image was one of those projected onto the Empire State Building.
[anad]
The film aimed to inform the world how imperative it is to save these species. Racing Extinction tweeted, "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."
"What bigger candle could you light up?" Psihoyos said. "Look at it -- it loos like a candle."
The film, which includes three hours of images, appeared via forty 20,000 lumen projectors stacked on a building on West 31st Street. It displayed images of 160 endangered species, including a snow leopard, snakes, manta rays, birds, and a golden lion tamarin.
It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness #RacingExtinction @EmpireStateBldg http://t.co/R61fPZl1hU pic.twitter.com/8VD55UgCAf
— Racing Extinction (@RacingXtinction) August 3, 2015
Sign the Pledge for Wildlife here, and look out for the upcoming Discovery Channel documentary Racing Extinction, directed by Psihoyos and world renowned visual artist Travis Threlkel.
It's scheduled to air on December 2nd. And if you missed the projection on Saturday, watch it below.
And prepare to be astounded.
Check out Are You Ready for the Wildest Light Show the World Has Ever Seen?