These days, the phrase “paint the town green” just might take over the original “paint the town red.” The reason behind this logic has probably something to do with our current situation and the sorry state that Mother Earth is in. For years, humans have been purging the planet of whatever resources they can use with little regard of how this may affect the future. Now their actions in the past have caught up with them and the consequences aren’t pretty.

Today, people have to contend with how greenhouse gases have contributed to climate change resulting in extreme weather patterns. One of the more alarming effects of this so-called climate change is how it has caused severe melting of the polar ice caps, creating a small lake sitting on top of the north pole. This article at Huffingtonpost.com can give you a clearer picture of how dire things are. Due to these circumstances, more and more people have been adapting greener measures in an effort to help preserve the environment.

Green Construction

Companies like Echo Pacific have taken the lead in incorporating green building practices in construction. They strongly support sustainable building techniques through their LEED program, which minimizes environmental impact not only during the construction period but even after the building has been completed. Some the techniques employed by the company include re-using construction material, minimizing consumption of fossil fuel, using locally sourced materials, and using not only solar but also wind power.

Green Auto

Hybrid and plug in cars are slowly becoming the rage as more citizens are becoming aware of their environmental responsibility. In fact, the competition of new green cars is heating up, with some companies offering as much as $4000 in rebates. To encourage more people to go green, the U.S. Department of Energy is offering tax incentives for fuel efficient vehicles. Even schools like Harvard are offering green incentives for faculty and staff members who are willing to bike to work.

Green Taxation

To face the growing global challenge of sustaining the planet, some countries have taken to using tax as a way of driving sustainable company behavior, thereby implementing more green policies and achieving more eco-friendly goals. In fact, KPGM International has released a Green Tax Index, which contains a list of countries that have been actively using green taxation. Topping this list are six countries which include the United States of America, Japan, United Kingdom, France, South Korea and China.

The Green Tax Index is meant to explore the way how the governments in the different nations use their tax system in order to address global challenges, which include energy security, scarcity of water and other resources, growing pollution and the gradual climate change. It analyzes not only green incentives but also penalties in about 21 of the major economies in the world, with focus on certain key policy areas. The different areas include energy as well as water efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, green innovation and buildings.

Green Future

Although the world has a long way to go before it can go completely green, it’s comforting to know that there are indeed measures being implemented to help preserve our environment. This eco-awareness continues to grow and spread all over the globe, that even if we take it one day at a time, we are capable of creating a greener future for all us and the new generations to come.

About the Author

Based in San Diego California, Tiffany Matthews is a professional writer with over 5 years of writing experience. She also blogs about travel, fashion, and anything under the sun at wordbaristas.com, a group blog that she shares with her good friends. In her free time, she likes to travel, read books, and watch movies. You can find her on Twitter as @TiffyCat87.