It’s been thrown around recklessly for a while now, casting a long shadow over local and national lexicons.

Sustainability is the new green and green is the new black, which was the new gray...

The idea of greening up is everywhere from our [bamboo] floors to our [corn oil] waterbottles to our [bio] diesel.

We have new boards and new programs and new ideas to help us leave less of a bootprint on our box canyon. Others, though, are doing much more.

The tiny English town of Ashton Hayes is quietly leading a revolution in green thinking: it aims to go carbon neutral, starting with different lights and even a wind turbine and solar panels on its school.

The 1,000 townspeople try to offset whatever they can; laundry whips and dries on lines throughout town just to save energy.

The Mountainfilm and New Community Coalition offices got to thinking: Why can’t we do something like that? Why can’t we promise to do better next year?

And though they won’t shoot for carbon neutrality in a tiny ski town where nearly everything is imported, they hope to spur businesses and townspeople to make pledges at this year’s festival.

“This could work great or not,” said Mountainfilm’s Director, David Holbrooke. “It’s a little bit of live theatre, which is exciting.”

The idea is to give people a stage to make their promises — during the free presentation on Ashton Hayes — and check back in the following months to see if they’ve made good.

“I’m hoping to have some change. I’m not looking for a revolution,” Holbrooke said.
 “The idea is to try and line up a bunch of pledges and to provide a stage … and then to report back in 2009. This isn’t to hawk people or badger them, but it’s to say ’What can you do?’”

In other words, he’s not after an eco-stickup. His ultimate goal is for grocery stores to charge for plastic bags.

Kris Holstrom, sustainability coordinator at the New Community Coalition, is starting a program with area kids that puts them into the business world, encouraging area retailers to implicate better environmental practices.

“During Mountainfilm, we hope to have some reports from the kids,” she said. “And also encourage people during that session to stand up and shout out what they’re going to do.”

Area sixth graders will decorate canvas tote bags and auction them off and will post up in front of grocery stores with eco-friendly totes, which are starting to look like the new purses.

“The thrust of it is to build awareness,” Holstrom said. “Our choices can really make a difference.”