Keeping our homes warm in the winter and fueling our businesses costs over a billion dollars a year. And nearly $800 million of that goes right out of state to pay for dirty fossil fuels, instead of looking to clean, affordable heating options we have right here in Vermont.
H.395/H.520 – Baby Steps on Clean Heat
May 20, 2013
Heating efficiency programs save energy and money, while reducing global warming pollution. But it takes money to save money, and in order to meet the statewide goal of weatherizing 80,000 (or one in four) Vermont homes by 2020, we need a serious investment of public dollars.
Lawmakers, pressured by fossil fuel interests and Super PAC lobbying, failed to step up and make these investments. However, VPIRG did successfully back improvements to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which could bring in additional dollars to help Vermonters weatherize their homes.…
Heating Beyond Oil Forum- April 10th
April 4, 2013
We’re coming to the end of a long heating season – thank goodness. Over the past 10 years, the cost of heating Vermont’s buildings has more than doubled – as the price of fossil fuels has risen. And, the majority of the $600 million a year we spend goes right out of state.
Join us next Wednesday, April 10th to learn how you can save money, save energy, create jobs, and help save the climate at our public forum Heating Beyond Oil: How We Get There.…
Help climate with your call!
March 11, 2013
You might have heard about VPIRG’s effort to weatherize one in four Vermont homes, save Vermonters hundreds of millions of dollars and prevent millions of tons of global warming pollution from being pumped into our atmosphere, all the while creating jobs and growing Vermont’s economy.
That plan is on the ropes, but your help could revive it.
The House of Representatives passed legislation (H.520) that doesn’t nearly get the job done. While the bill takes a number of small steps to help Vermonters use less energy to heat their homes and businesses, this bill doesn’t provide an additional dime in funding for heating efficiency programs.
But while the House may have ducked its responsibility, the State Senate can still choose to do what needs to be done.…
Support for Vermonters who want to go solar included in H.216
March 8, 2013
The Big Clean Energy Bill–as we’re now affectionately calling H.216–contains some funding for reaching our weatherization goals and helping Vermont families and businesses switch to clean, local sources of heat like solar hot water, geothermal and wood pellets.
So we’re happy to report H.216 also contains critical support for the CEDF!
But we need your help to make sure funding for the critical programs in H.216 gets the support it deserves in the State House. Click here to get your Representative’s number, and then give them a quick call and let them know you hope they’ll support fully funding both programs: heating efficiency and the Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF)!…
Revive support for heating plan, with your call!
March 7, 2013
You might have heard about VPIRG’s plan to weatherize one in four Vermont homes, save Vermonters hundreds of millions of dollars and prevent millions of tons of global warming pollution from being pumped into our atmosphere, all the while creating jobs and growing Vermont’s economy.
That plan is on the ropes, but your help could revive it.
Many Representatives understand how valuable heating efficiency is, but since the legislation that would expand Vermont’s heating efficiency programs requires a significant up-front investment by the State (millions of dollars, in fact), the House of Representatives is in real danger of taking a pass in the face of stiff political opposition.…
A Letter from Bill McKibben to VPIRG members
January 31, 2013
I’d like to tell you what I told the Vermont House of Representatives yesterday: the issue on which we will all be judged 50 years hence is how quickly and how boldly we moved to address the greatest challenge humans have ever faced. Temperature increases that human civilization may well be unable to adapt to are bearing down on us. And yet, there is hope.
Our Legislature has the opportunity to take the single biggest bite out of Vermont’s carbon emissions it ever has, by investing in heating efficiency.…
News Release: Groups announce plan for energy and climate action agenda
January 22, 2013
A coalition of environmental, energy, and business groups today announced a clean energy and climate protection plan for Vermont. Collectively the groups represent thousands of Vermonters calling for prompt and ambitious action on clean energy and climate change.
This Just In: Heating Legislation Can Help Vermonters Save Big
January 15, 2013
The legislature has the opportunity to help Vermonters achieve drastic savings of money and energy on heating our homes and businesses. Learn more about the findings of a recent report on how investments in programs promoting building efficiency can yield great returns for the economy and environment.
News Release: Heating Report Lays Out Job Creation, Energy Savings, and Environmental Benefits for Vermonters
January 15, 2013
A report released today found that Vermonters will save an additional $1.4 billion by improving the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses and switching to renewable heating sources if the state expands funding for these programs. According to the report, the typical homeowner could cut their heating bill by $1,000 per year through efficiency alone. The findings from the Thermal Efficiency Task Force drew praise from numerous trade associations, low-income advocates and environmental organizations.
Montpelier Moves Forward with District Heat
November 29, 2012
Three months after a plan to switch much of Montpelier’s downtown from oil to wood heat got a new lease on life, the Montpelier City Council cast a final vote on the project last night. Up for debate was whether to pump the extra heat from an upgraded wood fired boiler run by the state to Montpelier’s municipal buildings and local businesses. The City Council’s decision to build the full project rather than a shorter line that wouldn’t reach the business district or municipal buildings was well received by the attending crowd.
