Some, however, are taking "going green" even further by utilizing these innovative designs and techniques to bring more energy-efficiency and sustainability to their lives and businesses.

Tiny Homes

An Oregonian couple, Andrew and Gabriella Morrison, have made headlines for their "tiny homes" project. Through their website, TinyHouseBuild.com, they educate interested tiny home builders on how to create small, energy efficient housing. The homes allow people to live in a greener way and to save significant amounts on their living expenses.

The homes require less energy for utilities such as heating because of their small size. They take full advantage of their space and organization to maximize the level of home necessities while taking up as little space as possible.

While building permits and residential laws need to be taken into account before potential tiny-home owners can construct their new dwellings, those who do build can do so at up to a tenth of the cost of building a traditional home.

Mushroom Buildings

An entrepreneurial group from New York, The Living, has also created a more eco-friendly way to build. They invented bricks for building that are grown rather than made, using corn stalks and living mushrooms for temporary structures. When the bricks are no longer needed, they are biodegradable and become compost.

"Our project is made of a compostable material that uses waste and requires almost no energy to produce," said The Living's David Benjamin. "And when our building is taken down, the material will return to soil in about 60 days. Our project starts from nothing but earth and returns to nothing but earth. It is designed to disappear as much as it is designed to appear."

Smog-Reducing Buildings

The concept of a building that can filter the air to reduce smog has seen success across the globe, including in Mexico City and Milan.

The structures are made with titanium dioxide, which the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab in Berkeley, California, stated has been effective at reducing pollution.

The building's material "captures" pollution particles in the air when they are activated by sunlight. If the Milan project goes as well as the Mexico City building has done, there could be an increase in the number of smog-reducing buildings seen in the future for other cities with high levels of traffic-induced air pollution.

Hardscaping

Hardscaping, the process of replacing traditional grass lawns with natives plants, rocks or mulches, is becoming increasingly common in the drought-stricken Southwest.

By utilizing plants that are already adapted to the arid climate, the amount of water needed for the plants' upkeep is significantly diminished. This not only helps to save water, but also provides an important balance to the ecosystem by allowing plants, animals and insects to interact with their naturally adapted environment.

In some states, such as Nevada, there are codes that require certain limitation on grass lawns to reduce water waste during the drought. Other areas also offer cash incentives to residents who are willing to rip up their lawns and replace them with stones or drought-resistant plants.

Floating Pool to Filter River Water

In an effort to satisfy the water pollution problem in New York City's rivers, a project called Plus Pool was invented.

The concept is to create a floating pool that can sit atop the waters of rivers deemed unfit for swimming because of their contamination levels. The pools will function as "a giant filtered water pitcher, just like the one that sits in your refrigerator, only the pool will clean 500,000 gallons of water a day."

Have questions, comments, or a story to share? Email Samantha-Rae Tuthill at SamanthaRae.Tuthill@accuweather.com, or follow her on Twitter @Accu_Sam. Follow us @breakingweather, or on Facebook and Google+.

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