10 of the Greenest Colleges in America

When it comes to protecting the planet, many schools have given it more than a college try. In fact, America's institutions of higher learning are some of the best incubators of sustainable solutions to myriad problems, and they are molding and inspiring the bright minds that will inherit the environment from the current generation of leaders. Today's cutting edge colleges and universities have gone way beyond simple recycling to starting organic gardens and farms, installing green roofs and solar panels, treating wastes with "living machines" and offsetting all emissions. Some colleges are as large as small cities, while others only have a few students. Some are household names with multi-billion dollar endowments, and others are newcomers with bootstrapped budgets. To try and work toward rigorous criteria for assessing environmental impact, the Kentucky-based Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has launched a pilot program. In the meantime, here are some of the colleges that excite us with their strong commitment to going green. Thankfully, the list isn't comprehensive.

Set in picturesque Bar Harbor, Maine, College of the Atlantic lives and breathes sustainability. The small school is home to only a few hundred students, who are all enrolled in one field: human ecology, defined as the study of our species' relationship to the planet. In 2007 COA was the first U.S. college to go carbon neutral, but the school didn't stop there. The campus is committed to green building, historic preservation, land conservation, and elimination of toxins. Locally sourced, organic food is what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner. College of the Atlantic is an inspiring place that is grooming future leaders in conservation, advocacy, ecology and much more. www.coa.edu

Another college that has environmental sustainability baked right into its core is Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. The school is nearly self-supporting, getting food and lumber from its own organic gardens and managed forests (chainsaws even use soy oil!) Warren Wilson runs vehicles on biodiesel, owns hybrids and solar-charged carts and is a leader in green building and design. Streetlamps are solar-powered and low light pollution. www.warren-wilson.edu

Warren Wilson students are aces at recycling and composting. They also enjoy a "free store," where used items find new life.

Set in Olympia, Washington, Evergreen's 1,000-acre campus includes about 800 acres of woods, forest and saltwater beach. The leafy setting is enhanced by native plants and gardens and a 13-acre organic farm (with compost facility). Evergreen buys 100% clean power, and is trying out electric vehicles. The Seminar II building is Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, and hosts a green roof, in addition to other efficiency features. www.evergreen.edu

Evergreen State College offers students many hands-on opportunities to get down and dirty with organic farming, conservation, ecology and much more.

The home of green design guru David Orr, Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, has long been at the forefront of progressive thinking. In 2005, students and faculty created a web-based system to continually monitor energy and water used in dorms. The system has resulted in substantial savings. The campus boasts the state's largest solar array, and is graced with gorgeous green buildings, including the iconic, pioneering Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. The geothermally heated building uses only about 20% as much energy as a typical structure, and employs such advanced features as extensive daylighting, impressive insulation, recycled materials, powerful ventilation and a green roof. www.oberlin.edu

Oberlin's Lewis Center is also home to a model "living machine," which processes waste water through a plant- and bacteria-based filtration system.

Located in the town of Middlebury, Vermont, this college is well known as the home of leading environmental author and activist Bill McKibben. Middlebury is also pushing for carbon neutrality, and hosts popular energy-saving competitions in the dorms. Green building is a fixture of the campus. When the school needed to tear down an aging structure, it was carefully dismantled so the parts could be used again in green "reconstruction." http://www.middlebury.edu

In front of Middlebury College's Mahaney Center for the Arts is the eye-catching sculpture "So Inclined," which was made from locally harvested saplings by artist Patrick Dougherty.

Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, is home to an impressive Ecovillage, which is working toward the goals of 75% reduction in energy and water use and a 50% reduction in solid waste. The five-acre residential complex houses eco-friendly appliances, heavy insulation, solar panels, wind-power, rainwater collectors, a living machine and more. www.berea.edu

Berea's campus has a peaceful, classic collegiate feel, in addition to the groundbreaking Ecovillage.

With 10 campuses spread out across the Golden State, the University of California has set the goals of boosting the use of low- and zero-emission vehicles by 50 percent by the year 2010, generating 10 megawatts of renewable energy by 2014, and achieving zero waste and carbon neutrality by 2020. UCLA has already increased bicycle use by an encouraging 50 percent. UC Berkeley, well known for its passionate progressive spirit, has won national attention for hosting the first certified organic kitchen in a college setting. www.universityofcalifornia.edu

UC Merced, in the center of the state, is home to several impressive green buildings.

Needing no introduction, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard is working hard to parlay its leadership into the green sphere, as well as the academic. Harvard has been installing motion sensors and other energy efficiency devices, and has converted school trucks to run on spare vegetable oil from dining facilities. School buildings have achieved up to 73% reductions in waste, and the institution is committed to using recycled paper (and printing on two sides). Harvard is also one of the top purchasers of renewable energy. www.harvard.edu

In 2007, Durham, North Carolina-based Duke University opened the SmartHouse dormitory, a LEED platinum building. In fact, Duke now requires that all future construction be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The school also buys green power, and is working to encourage biking and discourage car use. www.duke.edu

The California State University at Chico, a 16,250-student campus about 90 miles north of Sacramento, was recently awarded the National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Chill Out contest. The school was recognized for certified green buildings, installing energy-saving software, solar panels and other initiatives. www.csuchico.edu