We just received this cool news about the Top Greenest Schools in the nation, from our friends at the Sierra Club – here it is, verbatim:

For the fifth year in a row, Sierra magazine, the official magazine of the Sierra Club, sifted through information from U.S. universities to rank their greenness and determine the schools, programs, students, professors and courses showing a true commitment to immersive learning, greening their campuses and practices environmental responsibility.

In 2011, the University of Washington, with 40,000+ students, rose to the top of the rankings due to their hydropowered campus, use of Energy Star rated appliances, extensive recycling program and conservation-research hotbed Pack Forest.  The 2011 Top 10 “Coolest” Schools are:

1.    University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
2.    Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT)
3.    University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA)
4.    Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)
5.    Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
6.    University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
7.    University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
8.    University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
9.    Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA)
10.  Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)

What school banned plastic water bottles?  Which University intends to be carbon neutral by 2016?  Check out www.sierramagazine.com/coolschools for the full rankings.

photo credit: Mary Levin, University of Washington, via Sierra Magazine