Warren Wilson College has won the Runners Up award in the National Wildlife Federation's Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming nationwide competition. This award program honors the U.S. schools that are ahead of their time in addressing global warming and being highly creative in doing so.

"Every one of our Chill Out winners deserves an Oscar for the example they have set," says Julian Keniry, Director of Campus and Community Leadership for the National Wildlife Federation. "Campuses nationwide are demonstrating that we can combat global warming, protect habitat, and save money at the same time. These campuses are actually doing what the science says should be done to reduce the threat of global warming."

Earlier this year, Focus the Nation brought together one million young adults on 1,100 campuses throughout the country to discuss solutions to global warming. National Wildlife Federation's Chill Out Competition takes that discussion to the next level by showcasing campuses that have stepped up and implemented real solutions for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the root cause of global warming.

This award was given to Warren Wilson College for its comprehensive campus climate plan, including its commitment to greenhouse gas emission reductions and overall sustainability of the college. The College's climate protection plan is a campus and community-wide effort, including a greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) reduction partnership with the City of Asheville- the first of its kind in the nation. This partnership seeks to demonstrate the catalytic potential of higher education and municipality collaboration. Warren Wilson College has conducted an annual GGE Inventory since 2003 and maintains a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Task Force to set target goals for emissions reductions.

Since 2004, Warren Wilson College's building square footage has increased by 4.5% and enrollment by 5.1% while energy usage has decreased by 5.4%. It is no easy feat for a college to decrease total energy use, while continuing to grow. The College's total CO2 emissions have been reduced by 47%, aided by the purchase of renewable energy credits. Warren Wilson College's climate protection plan is wide-reaching, involving all 1,100 campus stakeholders in processes that imbue global warming awareness into personal and institutional actions.

For these impressive efforts, the National Wildlife Federation will be recognizing Warren Wilson College in the Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming webcast on April 16, broadcast live from George Washington University in Washington DC at 7pm EST. The webcast will be part of global warming events scheduled on over 175 college campuses throughout the nation. Warren Wilson College will also receive a small monetary award from the National Wildlife Federation to continue exploring innovating global warming solutions.

Other winning schools in the contest include: Butte College (Oroville, CA), Cascadia Community College (Bothell, WA), The University of Washington (Bothell, WA), The Berkshire School (Sheffield, MA), University of Montana (Missoula, MT), Berea College (KY), and Daemen College (NY).

Visit www.campuschillout.org to register for, and view, the webcast. More than 175 campuses are registered to be a part of this exciting event, representing 44 states, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Iran, Syria, India and Canada.

The National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Program has been an integral part of the campus greening movement since 1989. The nation's 4,100 colleges and universities educate more than 15 million students in any given year making these schools important laboratories for creativity and innovation - keys to tackling a monumental crisis like global warming.

The National Wildlife Federation is America's conservation organization protecting wildlife for our children's future. www.nwf.org.