Mine Your Own Business

I had the opportunity to watch "Mine Your Own Business" courtesy of a screening by the Sutherland Institute.

About 125-150 people were there, apparently less then the 300 or so they expected.

Ethan Millard of KSL's NightSide Project opened up the event, "When we clamor for results from politicians, we will get political results."

The documentary was quite interesting. The movie was a documentary about several towns especially one in Romania that mining companies wanted to open mines in. It discussed the idea from Environmentalists side who wanted to shut down the mine and also from locales who wanted the jobs/Economic benefits from having a mine. It was obviously more preaching to allowing mines. Whatever side of the political spectrum you belong to I encourage you to view this film as it will enlighten you about a part of the issue you probably haven't looked at.

The film brought up several interesting ideas and thoughts.

• Why do outsiders have such a say in local issues of mining? (all the Environmentalists fighting the project were from outside of the area, many outside the country)
  
• Mining Company officials and the directors of the film kept saying now days all of the environmental concerns have been addressed, which basically says the Environmentalists have been good or at least not as bad as the movie portrays.
• What is the ultimate motivation of the Environmental Groups fighting mines? Do they want no mining?
• Several mines said they would mine for 20 years then be done. What happens to the local economy and land after they leave?
• Why does the head of the World Wildlife Fund who was interviewed in the movie think poor locales don't want schooling for their kids? He also said they can't handle money as well as Westerners (for lack of a better word).
• Why do large companies pay Environmental groups huge sums of money when they have different goals?

Several comments from the directors (from my notes):

• George Soros is funding the anti-mining initiatives in Romania
• Think Globally and Act Locally
• If you own shares of a company donating to Greenpeace etc. demand they stop
• When you read an obituary and see a 96 year old death you can thank Mining and Big Business they didn't die much earlier
• Our Sweatshops are their Factories and help them (local poor) out of poverty
• No one wishes to be a basket weaver
• Everyone in the Rice Paddies wants to be working at the Nike Factory
• It's about helping people out of poverty
  

And last but most important in their comments: "Environmentalists forget that humans are part of the environment not just the problem."

Their next movie is "Not Evil Just Wrong"

Brian Chapman