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The jaw-dropping special effects, 12-year production process, and massive budget for James Cameron's Avatar may be the qualities that are at the front of your mind while you're watching the film, but don't let the look and feel of the film distract you from its environmental message. Cameron has been frank about his intent to make the film a sort of green parable, highlighting his own eco morals—he and his wife live on a solar-powered ranch in Santa Barbara—while creating a story and film that get the point across. Here's what should stick with you even after the credits roll. (Note: the information here is from other articles and reviews, but there are some minor spoilers.)
Climate change isn't the only issue.
Most of the movie takes place on an exomoon known as Pandora, where a team from Earth has been sent to mine a resource said to help with the planet's energy issues. But while Cameron acknowledges the danger of global warming, he believes there's more to environmental responsibility: "Science is unable to keep up with our industrial society. We are destroying species faster than we can classify them. We are destroying the food chain faster than we can understand it. The politicians are over in Copenhagen talking about climate change...but there are other issues as well," he told The Sun.
Respect Mother Nature.
Pandora is home to a race of blue aliens known as the Na'vi, who place a huge premium on having a positive relationship with nature; by contrast, the Americans who travel to the planet are trying to take advantage of Pandora's resources to fix the problems they've created on Earth. An ex-Marine becomes a liaison between the Na'vi and the American team, and then deals with the way both worlds collide—and the way they think differently. The Na'vi are clearly meant to be the "good guys," and their respect for their environment plays a big part in that.
Respect the Earth.
Though they sound similar, this isn't exactly the same as respecting nature; here, the lesson has more to do with resource management. It's easy to see Avatar as a cautionary tale—a look at how things could be in the 22nd century if we aren't more careful with the resources the Earth provides now. But once we've used up everything here, who's to say this elusive replacement mineral will really exist on another planet?
Environmental issues aren't always so simple.
In the movies—almost all movies—it's easy to tell who's the bad guy and who's the good guy, but when it comes to real environmental debates, it's not always so simple. As Michael said over on TreeHugger, even oil companies aren't always as villainous as they're made out to be, since "fundamentally, the reason why those companies are producing 80-something million barrels of oil each day is because most people have cars and drive around, and buy products that have been shipped from far away, etc."
For more on the science behind Avatar, head over to Discovery.com for a making-of video and an interview with James Cameron.