University Of Rhode Island Named Princeton Review 'Green School'

KINGSTON, RI — For the 10th year in a row, the University of Rhode Island was included in the Princeton Review's annual list of "Green Colleges." 413 colleges and universities nationwide are included in the list, which is determined by weighing several factors.

"We salute — and strongly recommend — the University of Rhode Island to the many environmentally minded students who want to study and live at a green college," The Princeton Review's Edior-In-Chief, Rob Franek, said in a statement.

Each fall, the publication releases a guide to the most environmentally friendly colleges across the country.

According to Franek, 64 percent of the 11,900 teenagers and parents surveyed about their hopes and worries for college said that knowing about a school's commitment to going green would impact their decision of where to go to college.

In a release, the university said that saving energy and reducing environmental impact is very important. Even though the school's Kingston campus footprint has increased by more than a million square feet since 2005, its greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by a quarter, or the equivalent of planting 5,811 trees and taking 3,251 cars off the road.

Marsha Garcia, the campus' sustainability officer, praised URI's push for a greener campus.

"We have so much to be proud of, including a new car pooling option for commuter students, developing and opening a bike path, major infrastructure improvements and energy conservation efforts that have resulted in a reduction of 89 billion BTUs in steam heat each year and 11 million kilowatt hours of electricity saved annually," Garcia said.

Other sustainability projects include the use of locally caught and under-used fish in the Catch of the Month dining hall program, obtaining around a quarter of produce from local farms, giving used cooking oil to Newport Biodiesel, a massive push to install LED lightbulbs around the campus and more.

Students are encourage to shut off lights, computers and TVs when not in use, take shorter showers to save water, wash clothes in cold water and refill reusable water bottles.

More information about sustainability projects is available on the university's website. The full list of Green Colleges is available on The Princeton Review's website.