Al Gore may have brought the message of going green to Tempe by speaking to students at Arizona State University.

But most folks up north already live pretty green.

At least they're trying.

The city has offered incentives to folks who are willing to conserve energy and water. What they have found is more and more people are willing to jump on board.

But one of the leaders in the push to go green is coming from the Northern Arizona University.

It’s a city surrounded by green, but now there’s a major push for Flagstaff to adopt the true meaning of the color.

“All of these programs are trying to conserve different part of those items which makes it easier to sustain life up here,” said Ed Larsen with the city of Flagstaff.

Those programs, he said, include the use of renewable energy as demonstrated by the installation of solar panels for the city buildings.

Another attempt was made in offering tax incentives to residents who use periscope.

“From my perspective, it becomes a matter of regulation. Do we regulate it or ask for it,” Larsen said.

Just in asking, many businesses got rid of conventional toilets and moved to waterless urinals conserving 2.5 million gallons of water.

But nobody has seen more proactive in sustainability than Northern Arizona University.

“What you see across the front of the building are the faculty offices. By placing the offices in those locations they can minimize artificial light,” said Mark Flynn with Northern Arizona University

A new $25 million business is considered a gold standard for using natural resources.

“Through these automated levers when the temps rise, they will open and close depending on what the building needs,” Flynn said.

It is a major example for the city of Flagstaff trying to become as ecologically friendly as possible.

Another big piece of the puzzle is the proposed wind farm.

Sunshine Wind Park will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of two-thirds of the homes in Flagstaff.

Flagstaff is being aggressive in its push to go green, but city officials say Scottsdale is really the blue print for the state.