James Cameron has never shied from using Avatar as a means of promoting his pro-environment agenda. The blockbuster had a very “love your planet” storyline and the director has frequently encouraged people to be more proactive in choosing a greener lifestyle.

Promoting the recent re-release of Avatar to the big screen, Cameron spoke to the Washington Post about the need for Hollywood to work harder at being environmentally friendly. He even went as far as to say that DVDs themselves are bad for the planet.

“DVDs are wasteful,” Cameron told the Post. “It’s a consumer product like any consumer product. I think ultimately we’re going to bypass a physical medium and go directly to a download model and then it’s just bits moving in the system. And then the only impact to the environment is the power it takes to run the computers, run the devices. I think that we’re not there yet, but we’re moving that direction.”

Cameron says that on his next movie, he plans on being even more eco-conscious than he was on Avatar. “When I do my next film, we’re going to go much farther than we did in terms of running a green set. You know, look at a typical film set. There’s thousands of plastic water bottles that are used in a given week and that all needs to be revisited. Honestly, the truth is, we have to revisit almost every part of our lives and our existence over the next few years.”

The comments have already sparked controversy due to the apparent hypocrisy of Cameron’s position. Deceiver.com has pointed out that there are three separate DVD releases planned for Avatar: the original, which came out on Earth Day, the upcoming Special Edition at Christmas and a third release in 3D planned for next year.

(Image: 20th Century Fox)

Story provided by the Dish Information Corporation