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Washington, D.C., July 27, 2009—  The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and Ecuador Mining News (EMN) today launched their inaugural natural resources-themed video titled UnderMining Prosperity.  The video, which features metallic mineral mining in Ecuador as the setting, is available on YouTube and also in Spanish under the title Oportunidad Bloqueada.
 
Responsible, large-scale natural resource projects in the developing world can alleviate poverty, create jobs, spur development and assist economic growth.  Regrettably, in many underdeveloped countries the freedom to manage natural resources is denied by environmental extremists who elevate the rights of nature above those of humanity and stymie the few development opportunities available.   
 
“As an Ecuadorian, I’m saddened to see how environmental activists from wealthy countries are preventing impoverished communities in the Andes from embarking on large scale mining ventures,” said CEI Journalism Fellow Silvia Santacruz. “Environmentalists of this type are often anti-trade, yet they trade in poverty. They stop small exploration projects and deny rural villages access to basic services, infrastructure and job opportunities – all of which are badly needed.”
 
The brief video UnderMining Prosperity is the first in a series defending the right of people in the developing world to manage their own natural resources. The desire of people in Latin America, Africa and Asia to control their fate faces a lethal combination of environmentalist opposition and weak democracy. Videos like UnderMining Prosperity will reveal how environmental activists conduct disinformation campaigns and dismiss the urgent need for jobs, causing deforestation of pristine areas and forcing women and children to become artisan miners with no protective gear at toxic worksites.
 
Silvia Santacruz is the 2008-09 Warren Brookes Journalism Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Writer-Editor at Ecuador Mining News, a pro-development publication.
 
 
CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. For more information about CEI, please visit our website at www.cei.org

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