Eco-Racecar Driver Leilani Munter is raising funds for a Cove themed racecar. Photo: Scott Bates
Professional racecar driver and dedicated environmental activist, Leilani Munter, is determined to raise mainstream awareness of dolphin slaughters and captivity by driving a Cove themed race car at the famous Daytona International Speedway. The ARCA race at Daytona will be held on February 18 and will air live on SPEED television, which is available in 79 million homes.
The Academy-Award winning documentary The Cove exposes the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins off the coastal waters of Taiji, Japan. The film also highlights the direct relationship between the dolphin captivity industry and the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world. According to Munter:
"The Cove forever changed me. I know race fans will respond to it, they just need to know about it. The race falls on my birthday, and my greatest wish is to end the slaughter and ongoing abuse of these beautiful ocean creatures."
Munter is an avid supporter of Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project, a program through Earth Island Institute, and has traveled three times to Taiji, Japan, to document the slaughter first hand and has coordinated several screenings of the film. In December, she spearheaded a campaign to turn the lights of the Empire State Building red to raise awareness about their worldwide campaign efforts, including at the infamous killing cove in Taiji, Japan.
The Daytona campaign is designed to educate and engage 75 million race fans in the United States. Director of the film, Louie Psihoyos will donate 1000 copies of the DVD and will be joined by Cove star Ric O'Barry at the race to autograph the DVDS and raise further awareness about the issues. People donating $50 or more will be entered into a raffle to win two pit passes for the Daytona race and two other fans will win two garage passes each. Munter will also be wearing a helmet painted for The Cove during the race, which will then be auctioned off on behalf of The Dolphin Project to continue the on-going ground campaign in Taiji.
Munter adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs and promotes only environmentally conscious companies on her race car. At her last race at Daytona, she was driving the first ever 100% eco sponsored race car. Munter is currently seeking corporate sponsorships and philanthropic donations for the remaining funds required to bring her current vision to life, which is $29,000. She had already raised $16,000 in donations. To donate visit: opsociety.org/securedonation.htm and be sure to write "for Daytona" in the notes.
For more information on the cause visit thecovemovie.com, opsociety.org and dolphinproject.org. For more information on Leilani Munter, visit carbonfreegirl.com.
*The photo above is a computer-generated image of what the race car would look like, with an image from the film The Cove.
Follow Deborah Bassett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/debstact
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