EPA's Jackson cheers Avatar's haul

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson suggested Monday that the smash movie Avatar's eco-tint has something to do with its record-breaking haul.

"I ask you to remember that the movie with the environmental message made a lot of money," Jackson noted at a National Press Club appearance.

The film tells the tale of a close-to-nature alien race fighting a mining company from Earth that's seeking to ravage their planet in pursuit of mineral wealth.

Environmentalists have drawn comparisons to mountaintop removal coal mining and development of Canada's oil sands, and director James Cameron has talked up the movie's eco-themes.

Jackson had predicted Avatar would win best picture at the Oscar's but the award went to The Hurt Locker.