Tonight, James Cameron attempts to terminate the oil and coal lobbies (on CNN)

There were obvious eco-preservation overtones in the movie Avatar, but we didn't know James "King of the World" Cameron was such a fervent defender of the planet. With Pandora safe from mineral exploitation, Cameron is leading a charge here on Earth against what he considers a disinformation campaign perpetuated by the oil and coal lobbies. If you've seen a TV spot that includes the words "clean energy" but is signed off by either a coal or oil company, you know who he's talking about. Cameron is appearing on a CNN International special called "The Special Debate for Earth's Frontiers: The Future of Energy." The debate also features Mohamed Nahseed, the president of the Maldives, and Changhua Wu, the Greater China Director of the Climate Group.

One of Cameron's key arguments is that the U.S. needs to put a fair price on carbon:

Nothing is going to change until we properly price carbon. Right now gas is $3 a gallon at the pump. In my perspective, gas is $15 or $20 a gallon if you fully burden it with the cost of all of these big military actions, the overall consequences to the economy and the long term costs of climate change.

$20 a gallon? Wow. We all believe gas prices will have to be higher if the American public is ever to embrace smaller cars, and $20 would definitely do it, but heck, even Bob Lutz thinks they only need to go to $4 to change American buying habits. We're really interested in hearing what else Cameron has to say. If you want to check out the show, it airs on CNN International tonight. Check local listings.

[Source: Treehugger | Image: bernov69 – C.C. 2.0]