CEI and the AvaTarsands

CEI coordinated and funded the Avatar Sands Ad in Variety. The ad is intended to tap into the international Avatar phenomenon to tell the story of one of the most destructive projects on earth. And the parallels are striking. In the first five minutes of the movie we see a scene of the Unobtanium Mines which are giant pits, with massive rotary bucket excavators, and three story dump trucks. These images could have been taken directly from the tar sands of Alberta, and probably were. The ad draws other parallels labeling the oil companies as “Sky People,” the affective Indigenous Peoples in Alberta and British Columbia as the “Na’avi,” and the tar sands bitumen oil as “Unobtanium.”

Cameron is a native Canadian. He is a dedicated environmentalist, or as he describes himself “a tree hugger.”  He has opened the door for many groups engaged in battles to protect fragile and beautiful eco-systems, like the boreal forests of Canada, from corporate destructive activities. CEI is playing a coordinating role for over 50 groups engaged the Tar Sands Campaign. This ad sends the message that the momentum is building worldwide against these destructive, carbon-intensive operations. And not surprising, when the ad was released on Thursday, March 4^th, it caused a maelstrom of controversy in Canada as oil companies tried to defend their practices.