In a world with limited resources, it is important to take care of what we have. Climate change and other related factors have spurred on the ubiquitous eco-friendly "green" movement. This past year has seen a host of rising green trends as the realization of the direness of the current situation sinks in. Brittany Scheid and Katherine Allen have pieced together a list of the top 10 green trends of 2008.

10. Steven Chu to Head Department of Energy
When President-elect Barack Obama announced his choice for head of the Department of Energy, the green scene jumped for joy. Not only is Steven Chu a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, but at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory he was working on turning its focus to researching alternative energy. Hopefully he will continue his work in the U.S. government.

9. Green Legislation
For a while it seemed like the green movement was about individual behavior — with people choosing paper bags over plastic, reusing containers, and being environmentally conscious in general. But now, both state and federal legislatures are making a serious stand in this movement. To mention a few, California proposed and accepted a plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, and the EPA basically stopped coal-plant construction. Considering how things went in 2008, the legislative aspect of the green scene is looking up for 2009.

8. Smart Cars Released in the U.S.
Cars are massive environment killers: They guzzle gas and shoot up tons of polluting fumes into the atmosphere. Also, they're huge hunks of metal that are pretty inefficient for use by only one or two riders. Because of this, some people have given up their cars to walk, bike, and take the bus. For those who find these alternatives to be too much of a hassle, there is a solution: Smart Cars. They're small, economical, and were released in the U.S. this year.

7. Floating Energy Islands
As the energy sources we've been using slowly disappear, people have begun to focus more and more on finding sources of renewable energy. One of the most interesting and innovative of these ideas is the use of floating energy islands that will produce energy from changing sea temperatures. According to the inventors, about 50,000 of the islands would generate enough to power the world. Though producing 50,000 of these would be difficult, if even possible, only a couple of these islands would still help contribute to the world's alternative energy sources.

6. Electric Feedback
People generally receive their electricity information monthly or annually (in the form of ever-costlier bills), but what if they could easily see how much electricity they were using at every second of every day? An experiment taking place in Britain, in which electricity displays are placed out on kitchen counters or in sitting rooms, has resulted in families reducing their energy costs and carbon footprints by up to one half. The screen on the small "smart boxes" placed in various rooms shows the current number of watts per hour and the total monthly cost of electricity. The box will even emit a beeping sound when the watts/hr exceed a certain number. Though it isn't widespread yet, smart boxes are the beginning of an potentially large-scale trend.

5. Eco-Cities
Cities are not what you would call the pinnacle of environmentally friendly living. But they've been making more of an effort. From establishing more parks to having a stronger public transit system, a few cities are paving the way for the rest of the world. Among them are Chicago, whose city hall roof is a luscious garden, New York, whose PlaNYC is a truly innovative move in eco-friendly living, to Dubai, whose skyscrapers never fail to impress the green community (such as the rotating Fisher building, which is entirely energy self-sufficient). While environmental skyscrapers aren't really a reality anywhere other than big cities, the steps that cities are taking to reduce their impact on the environment should be seen as an example for everywhere else.

4. Carbon Footprint Reduction
The green movement, with its ever increasing publicity, shines a bright spotlight on those who emit an excessive amount of CO₂. For the people and factories that are successfully guilt tripped, there are a number of Web sites and organizations that will accept certain sums of money to offset their CO₂ emissions. LiveNeutral is one such site that can calculate the monetary value of car emissions, flight emissions, and household emissions and can leave customers being "100-percent certified carbon-neutral." The money received is filtered into an economic system that provides incentives for large emitters to reduce their gases.

3. Innovative Architecture
Many advances in technology have allowed for terrific green architectural improvements. Buildings certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) are equipped with grassy rooftops, solar panels, and recycled toilet water. Even individual households have found ways to update their dwellings to fit the trend, using energy saving light-bulbs and solar power, recycling whenever possible, using homemade cleaners, etc.

2. Getting the Message Out
Every cause needs to advertise in order to make itself known — and the green movement is no exception. So naturally, it began to pop up everywhere: on T-shirts, TV commercials, bumper stickers, annoying pop-up ads online, and even in fashion ads. For a while, it seemed like everything did turn green.

1. Changing Perceptions
There are still a few people who believe that global warming is a myth, that finite resources can't be exhausted, that using renewable energy is pointless, etc. But for the most part, people have begun to realize how important being environmentally aware is — and that they can make a difference. From getting groceries in reusable bags to saving gas by walking or biking, people made more of an effort in 2008 than ever before.