JAMES CAMERON-THE "AVATAR GUY" TRIES TO UNDERSTAND THE REALITY OF THE OILSANDS
I haven’t seen Avatar so I’m not going to make an opinion about a movie with giant blue people embracing a retro-hippie “make love not war” lifestyle on a faraway planet. That would be too self-serving and I might run the risk of being called out because I never saw the movie.
But that fear didn’t stop former Canadian-current Hollywood guy James Cameron from taking a huge swipe at the oil sands in Alberta Canada, even though he admits “that he doesn’t know much about them” and he’s definitely never seen the oil sands in person.
At least I know that Cameron’s movie has 9 foot tall blue guys in it-James probably couldn’t pinpoint Fort McMurray Alberta (the hub of the oil sands industry) on a map with X marks the spot.
That’s the difference between Hollywood and the real world –Hollywood gets a lot more press.
The problem is that Jimmy’s world full of super-sized blue hippies on a faraway planet is fantasy-that’s f-a-n-t-a-s-y.
We live in a world where oil is the lubricant for everything-from commerce to your car starting to out and out survival in a world where global warming hasn’t quite turned Greenland into Costa Rica.
Jimmy doesn’t quite get it-in his words: “I think it’s bad, I think it’s the wrong solution for us to be doing greater and greater environmental damage pursuing a dead-end paradigm, which is fossil fuels, instead of spending those billions ... on building wind turbines, Those same areas are a great wind belt and we could be generating ... wind energy,. It’s kind of like Avatar has become a portal for me into a kind of a world of social responsibility that I’ve kind of embraced”.
That last part-the Avatar part, is hardcore Jimmy to earth stuff. Avatar isn’t real, but hacking on the economic engine of his former country is abhorrent and inexcusable. The only reason Canada hasn’t pumped arterial red blood for the last 49 years is because Alberta’s oil industry has single-handedly paid the bills. Jimmy’s old province of Ontario is officially a have-not area of Canada propped up by corporate welfare.
But that doesn’t stop James Cameron from comparing a vital and secure source of energy like the oil sands to his tall blue guy Utopian world. It doesn’t matter that he really doesn’t bring facts to the table-he’s a Hollywood environmentalist now-all you need are cameras and a decent script. Facts need not apply.
The Premier of Alberta is a guy named Ed Stelmach and Eddie has invited Jimmy to actually tour the oil sands region to fully understand the operation. He wants Cameron to see things like cutting edge reclamation and some of the strictest environmental protocols on the planet. That would seem like the adult thing to do instead of beaking off with zero knowledge like he’s done so far.
So, if James Cameron chooses the honorable and wise path and actually sees the oil sands, then I promise him in writing...
I’ll pay full retail for a DVD of his movie about 9 foot blue hippies.
Jerry Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com
COMMENTS
BRAD:""I didn't know James Cameron had stuff to say about the oil sands. It seems like everyone has something to say against it but they don't really push forward for any full-fledged alternatives. If there were an actual demand by people to make the change to alternative energy sources (i.e. solar, wind, etc.) before it's too late then that'd be perfectly fine. Only problem is that it's pretty much too late. Roadwarrior reality here we come!
The funniest part about the top-grossing movie of all-time? It's the same story we've heard before but with mind and sock-off-feet blowing visuals. The 3D effects set the new standard for 3D. Everything other "3D" movie is so far below the standard of Avatar they might as well bring back Smell-O-Vision. Story-wise, you might as well just look at this. WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!!
http://www.facebook.com/l/9d173;frankglencairn.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/james-camerons-pocahontas.gif "
DENNIS:"Ya know , I've heard all the same things, It's a drop dead special effects movie with the same tired ol "make love not war, save the whales" plot that people like James Cameron just can't seem to get enough of. The same filthy rich "Al Gore", hypocritical, Hollywood producers and entertainers that wouldn't waste a "carbon credit" to "green" up their own livestyle.
