Because... Carnegie Mellon is among the 10 most green campuses in US according to Sierra. Sierra surveyed the clean-energy purchases and green practices of hundreds of colleges to come up with the top 10 coolest campuses of which Oberlin college in Ohio ranked 1^st while Carnegie Mellon ranked 10^th.

Carnegie Mellon has turned into a green campus since it started Green Practices in 1990 by recycling on campus and since then CMU has come a long way!

We meet 15% of out power needs using green power, ranking 3^rd only after New York University and the University of Pennsylvania according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

CMU won the 2007's Governor's award for Southwestern Pennsylvania Household Hazardous Waste Task Force (HHW) which helps dispose hazardous wastes into the environment at minimal cost and in the most eco-friendly manner. Visit Southwestern Pennsylvania Household Hazardous Waste Task Forceat http://swpahhw.org/

Carnegie Mellon has a living roof too! The Hamerschlag Hall roof is a living roof because it grows grass, perennials, logs and a small rock-bed pond. This roof helps conserve energy because it decreases the amount of heating and cooling required inside the building. The Hamerschlag Hall roof won the 2005 National Roofing Contractors Association Roof of the Year award. It is also being used for further research to measure rainwater runoff, water quality, heat loss and heat retention.

Recycling is just not restricted to people's interest, but CMU also conducts courses on it! There are design courses through which students study the recycling habits of CMU and devise a better recycling plan for CMU. These students also get to present and sell their work at the Construction Junction.

Carnegie Mellon also took part in the Solar Decathlon competition this year at WashingtonD.C. by building a sustainable solar energy powered house. It is currently residing at the Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Carnegie Mellon's heavy involvement with recycling and other green initiatives has made it one of the "coolest" campuses across America. To find out more about CMU's various other environmental awards and other green initiatives, visit the CMU website. You can also find out useful information of why we should be recycling and see what you can do to make Carnegie Mellon even more "cooler"!

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