Davidabb84

Sierra Magazine, a magazine that supports sustainability and protecting the environment, has released their annual ranking of America's "Coolest Schools." These schools find green solutions to energy problems on their campuses.

Here is a slideshow of the Top 10 schools. Not to brag, but number 10 is my school.

And here is the list:
1. University of California, Davis
2. Georgia Institute of Technology
3. Stanford University
4. University of Washington
5. University of Connecticut
6. University of New Hampshire
7. Duke University
8. Yale University
9. University of California, Irvine
10. Appalachian State University

So, did your school make the top 10? Or is your college on the complete list of 96 schools that submitted information to the contest? Do you think your college needs to do more to promote sustainability on campus?

ThisMortalSoil

Yup, UMD is #73 I think the school has been doing a great job of promoting sustainability actually. There are recycling bins practically everywhere now, and it's single-stream so it's just one bin for plastic, paper, glass and aluminum. We have a rooftop garden on one of the dining halls and I believe new buildings are supposed to be LEED certified. I think we also bought some new hybrid buses last year.

It's definitely not on UC Davis' level but the school has been making quite a push.

wmurphy126

GWU is #27! I am an incoming freshman and I don't really know how much the school is actually about sustainability, but if the stuff on their website is anything like the actual school, then I'd say this is actually pretty accurate.

Dorms and buildings are all getting certified green. They have tons of project going on with solar stuff, like a lot of schools. They have just recently added a cross departmental program in Sustainability. This course actually sounds AWESOME. In the engineering department they added classes on water purification and the processes of sustainiability. In the international affairs department they have international development courses. Its very extensive and cross departmental, so it brings everyone together on a common goal! Sounds awesome.

CalDud

Cool. UCD is where I want to be, haha.

I didn't know UC Merced was cool. I never hear about anyone wanting to transfer there all that much.

marcdvl

^ The rankings are about environment and sustainability and being green (that's what the sierra club is). I assume they use the term cool as an opposite of global warming.

Obviously it doesn't deal with popularity, or how many people want to go there.

Sue22

ThisMortalSoil-
Did you realize that only 96 schools responded to the survey? That puts UMD in the BOTTOM 1/4 of respondents. =(

sopranokitty

Whoo yeah, UCD's first!

JeSuis

Oh, okay! Pleasant surprise to see UC Davis on the list

jspeed12

not to brag but number 2 is my school

Laffy000

I am surprised Berkeley isn't up there

gthopeful

GT really goes out of its way to be green. One example that stands out in my mind is the garbage cans. In the new buildings (maybe others now), there are garbage cans and recycling bins right next to each other, but the garbage can is labelled "landfill" and has a picture of a landfill on it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lumag00/5152538623/

MutaRiSC

lol

Coolness isn't about how green a school is.

Maybe they should call it most environmentally friendly schools.

AbilityNow

Yay, BU made the list!

PatrickJay

UT isn't on the list cause we're thugs who don't care about the environment.

#ThugLife

Davidabb84

That's actually a really cool idea. Mind if I suggest it to my school?

Mike, you've already established yourself as a patent racist on another thread, so I'll assume you're immune to logic or reason. But for the benefit of everyone else, I'll highlight why sustainability on campus is important.

It isn't just about global warming. That is a major component of it, since nearly all reputable scientists agree it exists. It's also an issue of health (pollutants are bad for you, if you argue that point you've transcended from skepticism to plain stupidity). And, it's an issue of cost. Universities are some of the biggest consumers of energy. An average university will spend $1,000 in energy per student, per year. Recently, UNC system leaders outlined a plan that would save $1 billion over the next 20 years.

I think that this is something that's important, and I applaud all the universities that made high marks on this list.