Office of Biobased Technologies helps sponsor Great Lakes environmental issues Web site

Thanks to the Office of Biobased Technologies, other groups at Michigan State University and WJR radio, people looking for information on environmental issues or how to protect the environment in the Great Lakes region now have an online resource to visit.

The new Web site, ""Greening of the Great Lakes," provides information and insight into the organizations committed to making the Great Lakes region a leader in environmental practices.

"'Greening of the Great Lakes' is an exciting extension of MSU's partnership with WJR," said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. "The stewardship of the environment in which we live is vitally important to all of us, especially when it concerns our treasured Great Lakes. We want 'Greening of the Great Lakes' to become the online resource for all the important information people need to incorporate sound environmental practices into their daily lives."

"The MSU Office of Biobased Technologies is pleased to be a sponsor of this Web site that will offer environmental information and resources to the Great Lakes region," said Steve Pueppke, director of the MSU Office of Biobased Technologies (OBT) and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. "Part of the OBT's role is to connect people with research and information on products made from renewable resources. This benefits both the environment and Michigan's economy."

WJR President and General Manager Mike Fezzey said, "The outstanding partnership between WJR and MSU to create www.greeningofthegreatlakes.com has not only created a place where listeners can go to find extensive resources for those dedicated to living an environmentally friendly lifestyle, but this site will stay on the cutting edge of environmental related news and information."

Almost all of the information and resources on the site are and are provided by MSU and Web site sponsors.

The Web site is divided into several sections, including agriculture, biobased technologies, eco- and agri-tourism, energy, green building, public policy, recycling, and water and land.

The site also features a news feed produced by MSU's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism through a news service called Michigan's Echo.

"Each day we summarize the top environmental stories reported by more than 35 Michigan daily and weekly newspapers," said Dave Poulson, associate director of the Knight Center. "These summaries are posted in a news digest that links to the full versions of the stories. Organizations can take different versions of the feed and post it on their Web sites."

For more information, visit the Greening of the Great Lakes Web site.