Ouch! Greenopia Gives Georgetown Lowest Environmental Rating

Greenopia, an organization that provides consumers with the information necessary to make eco-friendly decisions, released their own version of college rankings (after the US News & World Report, Forbes, Sierra, etc.). Georgetown was given only 1 out of 4 possible "leaves." Why did we rank so poorly?

Georgetown suffered because of bad environmental reporting. The survey said, "Simply put, Georgetown had some of the worst reporting we came across and this is unacceptable."

Georgetown was also criticized for lack of eco-friendly food options and alternative fuel vehicles.

Georgetown was called out for not signing on for the President's Climate Commitment, but we were commended for having a recycling rate of 37% (above average).

The summary of the report said that Georgetown is doing enough to count as "light green" but needs more aggressive action in some key areas. Agreed.

Welcome Class of 2013!

Welcome Georgetown University Class of 2013!!!

While you ease your way into the life of a college student (and as a Hoya!), we thought we'd give you some quick and easy tips to sustainable habits/eco-friendly lifestyles on campus.

Bleed Blue, Wear Gray, Think (and Live) Green.

1. Be cool with water usage!
Try to limit your shower to ten minutes--every minute less can save 7 gallons of water, and cooler showers mean that less energy is required to heat the water. Maybe try a navy shower, which can be as quick as two minutes. Also, when you are doing your wash, make sure to keep the water cold--you get the same results!

2. Don't be full of hot air!
Turn off the thermostat when your windows are open! All that cold air gets sucked out the window, and the energy gets wasted.

3. Give your room a nap!
Just as you get tired from the energy you expend during the day, so, too, does your room.

When you aren't in the room, don't forget to turn off the lights. And don't forget to turn off the A/C when you aren't there as well.

Also, turn off your screensaver--these screensavers, especially animated ones, can require more energy than standard power for the laptop. Better yet, turn your computer off at night! Good night room! And while you're saving energy.....

4. Human energy--the greenest and cleanest of all!
Using your own two legs is emission-free and also gives you great exercise. When you are going up to your dorm room, opt for the stairs instead of the elevator.

When you venture off campus, opt for biking or walking. DC's street system is easy to learn, for most of the city is a grid of numbers and letters.

For walking, all you need is a good pair of shoes. Go take a hike in Glover Archibold Park just past the Hospital, or for a long walk, follow the Potomac over to the Monuments!

As for biking, you are lucky to be in a very bike-friendly city. If you want to get to the Rosslyn metro stop in Arlington (1.0 mi) or to the Dupont Circle metro stop (1.5 mi), you can get there a lot faster by bike than by bus. If you are feeling competitive, try to see if you can beat the bus there!

And while we're on the topic of conversation....

5. There's a reason man wasn't meant to fly!
Most Hoyas travel to wherever they call home at least 5 times a year. There are several options to consider when making these plans: should you fly, drive, or hop on a train? As a student on a non-commuting campus, air travel will be the largest single contributor to your carbon footprint that you can directly affect.

If you live nearby (cough *New Jersey* cough cough--or even the rest of the tristate New York metro area---that means you, too, Connecticut), default to taking a bus or train home. Many students enjoy the Bolt Bus, which has free wireless internet (www.boltbus.com) and offers $1 trips--if you're lucky.

For those who must fly home, consider using Terra Pass (www.terrapass.com) to offset your flight. Surprisingly, the carbon footprint of a single cross-country round trip can be offset by as little as $10. And when booking your flight, use DC National, which is accessible by Metro. Dulles can only be reached by an hour plus bus ride or a $40 cab.

Now that you saved some jet fuel, get ready to discuss your personal fuel......

But that's in the next installment...So stay tuned!

A Car-free DC?

On Tuesday, the NYT blog posed the question of a "Car Free America". Witold Rybczynski, a professor at Penn, made the claim that only 5 cities in the US would be livable car-free:

"There are only six American downtown districts that are dense enough to support mass transit, which you need if you’re going to be carless: New York City (Midtown and Downtown), Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco. That’s it. The breaking-point for density and mass transit feasibility seems to be about 50 persons per acre, which means families living in flats and apartments, rather than single-family houses, even row houses. Not necessarily high-rise apartments, but at least walk-ups."

After reading that I wondered, what about DC?


Washington, DC, for one, is significantly smaller than the other cities mentioned. It is only 68 square miles, about half the size of Philly and about a third of Chicago and San Fran.

Moreover, the DC metro station, in my opinion, is very effective and surprisingly clean. Granted, it does not stop as frequently as the subway does in New York or Philadelphia, but the city, in my opinion, does not need metro stops on every block. I think that the positioning of metro stations and the orientation around them adds some character.

If one factors in metrobus as well, the realm of car-free DC expands much farther because most places in the District can be reached by, at the very most, a metro ride, a bus ride, and then a short walk. Even still, you might even be able to walk the majority of the way there. From Georgetown alone, you can walk out to Maryland if you want to put in the time.

Likewise, it is rather ironic that DC is not listed in the example of these cities when the photo on the blog page is of Clarendon, VA. The Wilson Boulevard corridor of Arlington is a perfect example of smart growth. In other words, it is designed for readily available metro access and readily available stores and restaurants. The block pictured above has a Barnes & Noble, an Apple store, a Pottery Barn, a Starbucks, a Whole Foods, and a number of retail locations all around each other with convenience stores, cafes, and restaurants within two blocks. Juxtapose that with a number of condo complexes, and you have a car-free area, if you ask me. (For other needs, you can even just walk one mile and hit the Ballston Commons Mall, next to another supermarket as well--Harris Teeter.)

Moreover, although the professor mentioned above makes the assertion that a city would need a population density of at least 50 persons per acre, I would question DC's exclusion from this. DC has a relatively large park system (especially Rock Creek) and the National Mall, both of which are obviously residence-free. I wonder what the population density of the built-up part of the city would be.

Maybe I am biased about car-free DC because I love to walk so much. But what do you all think?