Sierra recognizes Evergreen's Eco-Cool.

The Evergreen State College Ranks Third among America’s Top 20 “Coolest” Schools by Sierra Magazine

Evergreen praised in top list for green efforts for the third consecutive year

Sierra magazine has named the nation’s top 20 “coolest” schools for their efforts to stop global warming and operate sustainably. From Green Mountain College’s innovative biomass electricity generation to Georgia Tech’s sustainable engineering classes, the magazine’s September/October cover story spotlights the schools that are making a true difference for the planet, and marks Sierra’s fourth annual listing of America’s greenest universities and colleges. The complete list is available online at http://www.sierraclub.org/coolschools.

The Evergreen State College placed third on the list. Sustainability initiatives at Evergreen include efforts to reduce waste, conserve energy, achieve climate neutrality, as well as the college’s work to provide learning resources through its salmon-safe certified organic farm and sustainable living and food choice options in which students consciously choose a better way to relate to their natural world.

“With all of the environmental challenges we face, it’s heartening to see the leadership schools like Evergreen demonstrate when it comes to protecting the planet,” said Michael Brune, the Sierra Club’s executive director. “This generation of students cares deeply about protecting the environment, stopping global warming, and increasing our prosperity through innovation.”

This year’s top-20 coolest schools are taking dramatic steps to curb climate change. From small, environmentally focused liberal arts colleges to the largest research universities, schools across the country are helping to move the country towards a more sustainable future.

Sierra’s Top 20 coolest schools of 2010 are:

1. Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vermont)
2. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
3. The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
4. University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
5. Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)
6. University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California)
7. Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin)
8. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
9. College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine)
10. Hampshire College (Amherst, Massachusetts)
11. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
12. [TIE] Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
13. University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
14. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)
15. University California, San Diego (San Diego, California)
16. University of California, Davis (Davis, California)
17. [TIE] University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)
18. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
19. New York University (New York, New York)
20. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)

Sierra magazine has 1.2 million readers and is a publication of the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental group. For full descriptions of each winning school’s green efforts, visit Sierra magazine online at: www.sierraclub.org/coolschools.