The independent film “Mine Your Own Business,” which
documents how environmentalists affect industrial development, was
shown Wednesday night, followed by a question and answer session
with the filmmakers.
L.O.G.I.C. (Liberty, Objectivity, Greed, Individualism,
Capitalism), a campus group which promotes Ayn Rand’s
philosophy of objectivism, hosted the screening in order to promote
their belief that all humans deserve prosperity and happiness, said
Chief Executive Officer and founder Arthur Lechtholz-Zey.
The film questions whether the goals of environmentalist groups
and their campaigns negatively affect the citizens of developing
countries.
Filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney ““ both of
Irish descent ““ traveled to towns in Romania, Madagascar and
Chile to gather local opinion in response to the building of new
gold mines in their poverty-stricken towns.
Citizen opinions in the film overwhelmingly express the greater
need for jobs and income over concern for natural resources and the
potential negative effects of pollution from industrial mines.
McElhinney said the film was intended to “make people who
embrace environmentalism in a lazy, non-political way … think
again.”
She said the film began when she and McAleer were journalists
researching the building of a new gold mine in the town of Rosia
Montana, Romania.
Environmental organizations, such as Greenpeace and the World
Wildlife Fund, protest various industrial developments around the
world, including the building of the mine in Rosia Montana, because
they say the industrialization destroys natural resources.
Many environmentalists said citizens were being forced to move
against their will by the mining companies, and argued that such
actions helped explain why the mine should not be built.
While researching the mine development, McAleer and McElhinney
found that citizens of Rosia Montana were only moving at the
request of the mine companies in return for newly built, more
modern houses.
The filmmakers said their promotion of the film is not an attack
on environmentalist organizations but rather an attempt to inform
environmentalists of the need for capitalism.
“It’s poverty that’s destroyed the environment
in these countries,” said McAleer, who argued that many
environmentalists today fight for a cause which they do not
understand fully.
“Prosperity means that you can appreciate the
environment,” he said.
L.O.G.I.C. members agreed the movie was not shown to fight
against specific environmental issues.
“Humans get happiness through exploiting nature. Human
beings come first and nature comes secondary,” said
Lechtholz-Zey.