From College News - Sierra Club Magazine ranks the top 100 greenest schools in America

In the wake of the release of the Forbes and US News top college lists, the Sierra Club has decided to weigh in on the best college debate with its own list of top schools, ranking the greenest schools in the nation.

After sending out a survey to 900 colleges nation-wide, asking questions about energy use, nutritional options, and eco-friendly degree options, the Sierra Club Magazine came up with a list of 100 green schools. Each school was evaluated according to its survey, and follow-up with outside resources. Names making the top 100 varied from public to private, big to small, famous to not-so-well-known.

The top ten schools were ranks as thus:

1. Green Mountain College – Poultney, VT

2. Dickinson College – Carlisle, PA

3. Evergreen State College – Olympia, WA

4. University of Washington – Seattle, WA

5. Stanford University – Stanford, CA

6. University of California, Irvine – Irvine, CA

7. Northland College – Ashland, WI

8. Harvard University – Cambridge, MA

9. College of the Atlantic – Bar Harbor, ME

10. Hampshire College – Amherst, MA

In addition to ranking the greenest schools, the magazine created a short list of questionable colleges, featuring three schools that teeter between eco-friendly and environmentally irresponsible. Both lists have a small issue, however, in the area of participation.

Out of the 900 schools asked to participate, only 162 returned the survey, throwing accuracy of the list into question. Another list, generated by the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s College Sustainability Report Card, shows much different results. For a full list of green schools, and for more on the decision-making process.