The discussion that revolves around environmental conservation can sometimes make the future seem bleak. While global warming, the health costs of pollution and the destruction of our forests are serious topics worthy of discussion, sometimes it's easy to overlook small, and not so small victories for Mother Earth.

As it turns out, the American people are finally getting the message and working toward a more sustainable future. According to Forbes, people in the United States installed a record setting "13.2 gigawatts of wind energy in 2012." The biggest contributor to this increase in wind energy was the state of California, with a total of 1,738 megawatts of wind power. The other biggest contributors were Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oregon.