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A myriad of factors go into choosing an institution of higher education. Increasingly, more students are considering a school’s environmental performance as a deciding reason.

As reported by Fast Company, the Princeton Review’s latest “Hopes and Worries” survey of 7445 students on their way to college, 68% remarked that a dedication to sustainability affects their final decision.

It was a substantial enough number for the Princeton Review to get with the U.S. Green Building Council to rank 320 U.S. (and two Canadian) colleges on sustainability. The rankings were based on campus green initiatives, the degree to which sustainability is embedded in the course curriculum, and how well the school prepares students for green jobs upon graduation.

Out of those schools, 16 were selected for special recognition on the “Green Honor Roll. Two California schools made that list: University of California Santa Cruz and San Francisco State University.

"The best integrate sustainability across their community, how they manage their finances, their academic offerings, and their operations. They don’t treat sustainability as an add-on or extra-credit assignment," says Rachel Gutter, director of the Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools. "They don’t have an environmental studies major, and call it a day. They are actually looking at how sustainability is woven into every single major and minor."

Among the accolades, San Francisco State was recognized for having a variety of environmentally focused degrees and composting all food waste on campus. UC-Santa Cruz is already ranked among the top ten green power purchasing schools in America. The Santa Cruz campus was noted for a 70 percent waste diversion rate, and for gleaning 20 percent of all energy from renewable sources.

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(L-R) Actors Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier and Jerry Ferrara.

Environmentally minded celebrities like Rosario Dawson, Orlando Bloom and Adrian Grenier will stroll the green carpet (natch) in front of the Avalon Hollywood tonight to support the 9^th annual pre-Oscar party for Global Green, the American affiliate of Green Cross International.

According to the event press release, general admission tickets to the bash are going for a very reasonable $50 (VIP packages start at $1000), and will be available at the door. Proceeds from the event are dedicated for Global Green’s national Green Schools initiative, as well as a campaign around the Rio Earth Summit this June, which they would very much like for President Obama to attend.

The much-discussed Chevy Volt will serve as the event’s automotive sponsor, with Chevy rolling out a “sneak preview” of the 2012 Volt that qualifies for the both the carpool lane sticker and the new $1500 CA Clean Vehicle Rebate.

On the more extreme end of green transportation, immensely cool 100% electric motorcycle the Xenon by Evolve will be auctioned off for Global Green’s causes. Reminiscent of the light cycles from the movie "Tron: Legacy," these futuristic bikes should really come with a Daft Punk helmet.

The evening will be powered by the music of headliner Shelia E (who always sets a party off right) and DJs Michael Smith and KCRW-FM radio host Garth Trinidad.