MSU Extension has teamed with Grand Rapids Downtown Market to educate food buyers and sellers.

What people take from nature – water, food,timber, inspiration, relaxation – are so abundant, it seems self-evident. Untilyou try to measure how and to what extent they contribute to humans.

MSU has been honored by the U.S. Department of Energy for being a national leader in reducing energy use.

Brazil’s struggle to conserve its rainforests has become a global talking point. As more and more forests have been cleared in the name of economic growth, preserving them has become less attractive to landowners. But a new focus on integrating the social and natural sciences to address environmental problems is yielding promising results that may save the rainforests—and the planet.

Buying an energy-efficient appliance or light bulb can seem like a green act and a good idea. But that depends on if the buyer is red or blue.

In the United States, rivers and their floodplains are well-documented and monitored. Ecuador’s largest river, however, remains largely mysterious.

The MSU Avian Science Club won a $7,500 grant through the Reach Teach Learn contest – an initiative focused on encouraging positive conversations between the poultry industry and the general public about what it takes to safely produce today’s abundant food supply.

One of the keys to better nutrition and health for the people of Rwanda fits in the palm of a hand: legumes. But despite their nutritional punch, legumes—including common beans, cowpeas, and lima beans—are highly susceptible to drought and disease. That’s what brought MSU scientists to Rwanda, which has the world’s highest bean consumption per capita, to work on breeding heartier varieties that can sustain the people and economy of the country.

In the mountains of the Sichuan Province of southwestern China, the Wolong Panda Nature Reserve is home to both the endangered peaceful mountain dwellers it is mandated to protect and the residents of the valley where the habitat of the giant panda is being restored. It’s also home base for research that holds important insights into the future of pandas and people.

Working on MSU’s Mara Hyena Project, we get pretty used to seeing hyenas covered in all sorts of substances.