Eight University of California campuses made Sierra magazine's list of 100 Cool Schools, which ranks environmentally friendly polices at universities across the country.
Leading the way for UC was Irvine, which placed sixth on the list with a score of 84.4 out a possible 100. Santa Cruz was 11th with score 82, San Diego was 15th with 81.6, Davis was tied for 16th with 81.2, UCLA was 25th with 77.6, Berkeley 32nd with 76.3, Merced 39th with 73.3 and Santa Barbara 44th with 72.2.
The Cool Schools survey results will be published in the September/October issue of Sierra, a publication of the Sierra Club.
Sierra cited UC Irvine for alternative transportation options that help cut automobile commuting to campus, "even though it's in SUV-obsessed Orange County." Like many UC campuses, Irvine offers programs such as bike sharing, car sharing and Zimride ride sharing to cut auto use among its students and staff.
"This is right where UCI should be — in the Top 10," said Wendell Brase, UC Irvine's vice chancellor for administrative and business services and chair of the UC systemwide Climate Solutions Steering Group. "It's an acknowledgement of many aspects of the campus community. UCI researchers are already at the forefront of climate change; our students are engaged on these issues; and our administrators, in collaboration with excellent colleagues from other California campuses, play a leadership role in finding large-scale solutions to achieving our goal of carbon neutrality."
Sierra sent 11-page questionnaires to 900 colleges and universities across the country asking them to detail their sustainability efforts. The 163 universities that responded to the survey were evaluated in 10 categories, with eco-friendly energy use weighted more heavily. Other categories taken into account were efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments and a catchall section called "other initiatives."
No university scored 100, and Green Mountain College in Vermont was No. 1 with a score of 88.6.
Sierra highlighted a Cool Schools Dream Schedule of all-star teachers and classes. Among them were UC Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan, UCLA geography professor Jared Diamond and UC Davis' ecogeomorphology class.
Pollan is author of the best-selling "The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals." Sierra said Pollan’s theories on food science, genetics, agriculture, ecology and dietetics "resonate in diverse academic circles."
Diamond wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" and is an expert on the impact of humans on nature. Sierra called him a "trailblazer in conservation biology" for his research on why some species are prone to extinction.
Ecogeomorphology is a multidisciplinary class at UC Davis about watershed issues. Experts from Davis Center for Watershed Sciences help students prepare peer-reviewed reports for publication. Students also take a two-week trip into a watery ecosystem such as Alaska's Copper River, British Columbia's Skeena River or Oregon's Grand Ronde.
UC San Diego's proximity to good spots for surfing was featured as a top Cool Schools nature-based extracurricular activity.
The goal of Cool Schools, now in its fourth year, is to create competition and generate awareness about sustainability, according to Sierra.
"As with any ranking system, this one is bound to incite controversy, and we welcome responses and critiques," Sierra said.
Harry Mok is principal editor in the UC Office of the President's Integrated Communications group. For more information, visit the UC Newsroom or follow us on Twitter.