Unlike yesterday’s video, this one goes beyond mountain towns in its Going Green scope.

Some questions I have: How detrimental is “green washing?” How discerning does the average consumer need to be when buying green? How effective are “offsets?”

And, most importantly, if we can neither buy our way out of energy consumption nor buy our way into environmental consciousness, what is the average American consumer to do? (That is, if the average consumer wants to do anything at all. …)

Nancy Taylor sent me this video. She is the columnist of Planet Jackson Hole’s “Going Green,” the instructor of green building course “The Art of Green Living and Building” and the author of the forthcoming book “Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community.” She’s writing and teaching. What are you doing (what am I doing)?

Other “Doers”:

Both Town of Jackson and Teton County have committed to reducing their organizations’ energy use and waste by 10 percent (from 2006 levels) by December 31, 2010. Read more on Keith Peters’ Carbon Neutral Journal.

How can we be more like Nancy, Keith and the Town and County? Maybe we should start seeing a link between our choices and our landscape. I eat at local restaurants that don’t recycle the beer bottles they serve me. I enjoy sushi jetted in from far away seas. My “environmentally minded” friends get paper cups at coffee shops. Perhaps we should take a hint from our local governing bodies: Could each citizen of Teton County commit to reducing individual energy usage and waste by 10 percent over the next three years?

Jonathan Schechter and a team of citizens are discussing the feasibility of a community-wide “10 x 10″ effort at bi-monthly meetings. But, it’s we the people, who enjoy these amazing mountains, intimate community and incredible lifestyle who should take charge of that.

Today, I’m going to turn off my lights and heat when I leave my condo. I’ll also try to carpool - three SMALL things that will save me money and reduce my energy use. Kind of a lame gesture in its teeniness, but it’s something.

P.S. My college mascot was a polar bear. I agree with Li-Hing Mui: Save the cute, white cuddly mega fauna!