Environmental

Sierra Magazine Announces 2014 Rankings of America’s ‘Coolest Schools’


Top Colleges Lead In Sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO–(ENEWSPF)–August 12, 2014.  Today, Sierra magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, released its eighth annual “Cool Schools” ranking of America’s greenest colleges. Each of the universities ranked in the top 10 have displayed a deep and thorough commitment to protecting the environment, addressing climate issues, and encouraging environmental responsibility.

More than 150 schools filled out an extensive survey created in a collaboration between Sierra and the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Using a customized scoring system, Sierra ranked the universities based on their commitment to upholding high environmental standards.

“For eight years Sierra magazine has encouraged America’s colleges and universities to fully embrace their unique and multifaceted role in tackling the climate crisis and protecting America’s air, water, public health, and beautiful places,” said Bob Sipchen, Sierra magazine’s editor in chief. “From innovative research and development to powering campuses with wind and solar, to educating students in the most advanced thinking on sustainability, colleges and universities are leaders and models for the rest of society. Sierra magazine congratulates those that made our annual ‘Coolest Schools’ list.”

Sierra magazine’s top 10 schools of 2014 are:

1. University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)

2. American University (Washington, DC)

3. Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA)

4. Loyola University Chicago (Chicago, IL)

5. Lewis and Clark College (Portland, OR)

6. Stanford University (Stanford, CA)

7. University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)

8. Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT)

9. University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT)

10. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)

This is UC Irvine’s fifth consecutive year as a top 10 finalist, but its first time as our winner, thanks in part to its three on-campus solar projects, a 19-megawatt turbine cogeneration plant, and energy-efficiency goals that are consistently exceeded. Other factors that helped those at the top of our list: American University has D.C.’s largest solar array; Dickinson runs an organic farm; Stanford is divesting from coal; and USF supplies a solar charging station for electric vehicles.

In addition to many schools making great strides to create more sustainable campuses, students have been working to push that momentum even further. On campuses across the country, from American University’s student-led Adopt-a-Tree program to divestment movements at more than 300 colleges, students are standing up to leave a green legacy.

“The Cool Schools ranking is yet another indication of how deeply young people understand the benefits of clean energy and of how adept they are at turning awareness into action,” said Karissa Gerhke, director of the Sierra Student Coalition. “To capitalize on this power, the Sierra Student Coalition will join with students across the country this fall to launch the Campuses for Clean Energy campaign, a transformative movement that will demand 100 percent clean energy for campuses.”

The full ranking of all 173 colleges, including each school’s completed questionnaire, will be online at www.sierraclub.org/sierra/coolschools-2014.

About Sierra Magazine

Sierra is the official publication of the Sierra Club, America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters nationwide. The Sierra Club works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation. For more information, go to www.sierramagazine.com.

Source: sierraclub.org


ARCHIVES