Green towns get a lot of press coverage these days, and for good reasons – ambition, a rare sense of community, a collective effort to save the environment, etc. But most of them seem to be situated somewhere in Europe. Well, America finally has one, and it's in Kansas of all places.

Greensburg, Kansas was destroyed during a tornado that hit in May and swept away almost every home and business. But city leaders wouldn't let that get them down – they thought the town should come back stronger, and greener, than ever. What better time to rebuild it, get the community involved and help their environment?

Now a town that previously lost nearly every college graduate to the great beyond actually seems like it will keep residents and foster a booming economy. It is eyeing wind, solar and geothermal power, Google is considering it as a potential site for a wind-powered data center and a biodiesel plant is in the works as well. In a recent decision made by the city council, all new city buildings will meet platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the highest green building certification.

FEMA is helping to cover about 75 percent of the cost of restoring old city buildings, but only to their pre-storm level, and the city is looking to state and federal grants also. But building green isn't always cheap, so there's still some uncertainty. However, even if residents have to pay some sort of tax, this seems like a worthy investment. It's rare to see small Midwestern towns thriving these days, and Greensburg could become a model for a vibrant community as well as an eco-town.