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.