Fight brews over new energy program

November 27, 2008

MONTPELIER -- A protracted battle over new energy-efficiency efforts ended in agreement in March between the Legislature and the Douglas administration: They would spend $3.68 million to help Vermonters button up their homes and businesses.

Eight months later, some of the architects of the plan don't think the product looks anything like it was supposed to.

"I'm a little astounded," Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin said. "The current course of the department is to defy the law," Shumlin said.

James Moore, clean-energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, went a step further. He asked the Public Service Board to intervene and require the state to put out a new request for proposals."You don't get to rewrite the law," Moore said. "The law says you've got to do this, and you're doing something different."

Steve Wark, who was consumer affairs director at the Public Service Department until he took over as Gov. Jim Douglas' spokesman this week, defended the description of the program. After consulting with various advocacy groups at two meetings, he said, it was clear that...

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VPIRG issues annual warning on toxic and dangerous toys

November 26, 2008

MONTPELIER – The Pony Land Scented Pony Pet seems innocent enough.

The little filly's golden mane comes with an adorable red barrette (shaped like a butterfly!); a little comb, included at no extra cost, lets little boys and girls style her pretty hair.

Pony Pet though, manufactured in China by a toymaker called JA-RU, Inc., contains heavy doses of a toxic chemical that can cause reproductive defects, low sperms counts and a host of other unpleasant side effects.

"People definitely have the impression that the government would not allow a product, particularly a toy, to be sold if it weren't safe," says Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. "And the sad fact is that's just not true."

Toys like the Pony Pet and Silly Fish Squirters, available on toy store shelves around Vermont, have landed on the U.S. Public Interest Group's 23rd annual Trouble in Toyland report. Both products contain high levels of phthalates, test have shown. VPIRG also has set its sights on toys containing lead, notably cheap costume jewelry...

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VPIRG Issues Annual Toy Warning

Montpelier, Vermont - November 25, 2008

As people make their holiday shopping lists, environmental advocates are warning about hazards that may be lurking in kids' toys.

VPIRG released its 23rd annual "Trouble in Toyland" report. It says 18 children died from toy-related injuries in 2007.

Last year emergency rooms treated 80,000 children for choking on small objects. And toxins like lead and phthalates -- which can gradually build up in a child's system, can be found in many metal and plastic toys.

"With the choking stay away from small parts. With the toxins stay away from soft pliable plastic toys which have the plasticizers phthalates; stay away from small metal jewelry, costume jewelry, a lot of that has hazardous levels of lead in it," said Claire Howard, of VPIRG.

VPIRG says safe options are cloth, wood and non-plastic toys, and locally made toys not imported from unknown sources.

Read Trouble in Toyland Report here

Trouble in Toyland: What to Look Out For

November 25 2008

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, there's "Trouble in Toyland" again. Vermont's Public Interest Research Group, VPIRG, released its annual report on toys you should pay extra attention too. Before you head out to the malls, there are three hidden hazards to keep in mind.

"We go out to places where consumers shop all the time and just pick a slew of just really popular, common toys, and then test them," Claire Howard said, she's a Field Associate for VPIRG.

VPIRG's message is buyer beware. First thing to watch out for is dangerous toxins.

"One of the risks in children's toys is a chemical called phthalates, phthalates can be found in toys such as this popular Pony Land toy anywhere where you find that a toy has a characteristic of soft and pliable plastic," Howard said.

Howard says exposure to the toxin can lead to development or reproductive issues. Similar threats can be found with lead. It's the second...

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Consumer Group Finds Hazardous Toys

November 25, 2008

WASHINGTON -- A warning for parents this holiday season: a consumer watchdog group says it found hazardous toys on store shelves.

A consumer watchdog group warns of potentially dangerous toys on store shelves this holiday season, despite the passage of landmark toy safety legislation in August. Most of the concern centers on toys containing pthalates--chemicals linked to reproductive and developmental abnormalities.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group sent 14 toys to the lab for testing and found high levels of toxic pthalates in two of them. Under a new law that takes effect in February, a pony that was test had pthalate levels 95 times the legal limit.

"It is banned in the new law. It should not be for sale after February 10, 2009," said Julie Vallese, with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But those toys, and any others containing pthalates, will be sold until current inventories run out even after the law banning them takes effect. The CPSC said that's because the law does not apply retroactively.

"The manufacturers, I don't know if they've learned their lesson yet. The CPSC, instead of giving them a free pass, should...

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State's green ideas go nowhere

November 23, 2008

MONTPELIER — One year ago, Gov. Jim Douglas unveiled the recommendations of his Climate Change Commission and laid out ambitious plans to cut Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions while building a “green economy.”

Three ideas stood at the center of those plans: appointment of a Vermont Climate Collaborative to guide research and action; creation of a “Vermont Green Standard” to regulate the multimillion-dollar carbon trading market and create a new business sector for the state; and sale of carbon credits from open land and state forests.

Twelve months later, the Green Standard idea has been abandoned.

Sale of carbon credits from standing forests remains a remote, perhaps receding, hope.

The Vermont Climate Collaborative will not hold its first meeting until next month.

The Douglas administration has taken smaller steps on other fronts since November 2007, including the harvest of more firewood from state forests and support of alternative energy research and testing projects.

But there is no evidence the state has made substantial progress toward — or will reach — the short-term goal set by the governor: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

“We need to stop studying the things we might be able to do and start doing the things we know will help,” said James Moore, clean-energy advocate at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

Ernest Pomerleau, the Burlington real estate man who chaired the Climate Change Commission, was more optimistic.

“A lot of this stuff is ready for liftoff,” he said of the action steps recommended by the commission, and the new Climate Collaborative will ignite the engines. It will put Vermont’s best brainpower...

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Study predicts energy price increases, dirty air if Yankee closes

Tuesday November 18, 2008
Colchester, VT

(Host) A new study says electricity would be more expensive and the air would be dirtier if the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is closed. But the study drew immediate criticism from environmentalists. They said the report used faulty methodology to skew the results.
VPR's John Dillon reports.

(Dillon) (...) James Moore of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group says the study fails to account for the dangers of nuclear waste or the plant's impact on the Connecticut River. Moore says the study uses flawed assumptions to get to its conclusion.

(Moore) "They grossly over-estimate the cost of renewable energy and the cost of energy efficiency. And they grossly under-estimate the cost that Vermont Yankee is likely to charge moving forward. And despite all of these manipulated assumptions, their worst case scenario still shows that without Vermont Yankee Vermont's rate will still be better than the average New England electrical rate."

(Dillon) Entergy Vermont Yankee has not yet told the state's utilities what its electricity will cost after 2012. So far, the company has said it will simply charge wholesale market rates.
Moore said the market price is a higher number than is assumed in the Energy Partnership study.

(Moore) "Vermont Yankee has gone on the record in front of the Public Service Board suggesting that they sell it at the going market rate -- with no premium whatsoever. For this report to assume that they're going to sell it at half the price they could get selling it elsewhere in New England is laughable."

(Dillon) But Brad Ferland said the study used reasonable numbers that were publicly available. He said the state's major utilities have asked...

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State urged to watch cuts

November 18, 2008
By Nancy Remsen, Free Press Staff Writer

MONTPELIER — They spoke for Vermonters needing health care, mental health services, for the very young trying to get a good start in life, for the elderly struggling to stay at home, for those who worry about the environment and about the state’s energy future.

The speakers, who came to the Statehouse at the urging of a coalition of advocates, had one message Monday for lawmakers and the Douglas administration: Please don’t cut government services hastily despite the state’s flagging revenues.

“I urge you please to hear families’ voices before making changes that will impact our lives,” said Claudia Pringles, Montpelier lawyer and mother of a daughter with autism.

Gov. Jim Douglas and the heads of the Legislature’s money committees expect to learn today from their economic advisers that revenue projections have declined again. Twice already this year, the administration and lawmakers have pared millions from general fund spending because of shrinking revenues. The most recent cut was $24 million in late August.

“Are they going to be making these choices in the absence of public input?” asked Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. They shouldn’t, he said.

Cuts shouldn’t be the only option, argued Melissa Riegel-Garrett of the Kids are Priority One Coalition. “Gov. Douglas’ solution is cuts. There are other answers,” she said, suggesting tapping the state’s contingency fund or eliminating an income tax exemption on...

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Advocacy groups urge delay in Vt. budget cuts

November 18, 2008
By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – A coalition of nonprofit groups and advocacy organizations urged Gov. James Douglas and lawmakers Monday to delay any new cuts to the state budget until the Vermont Legislature reconvenes in January.

The warnings came one day before Vermont officials are expected to share new revenue forecasts with lawmakers – a forecast that most anticipate will be gloomy at best, opening up the door for another round of cuts to the state budget.

The advocacy groups that gathered at the Statehouse Monday morning said they worried that further reductions to Vermont's budget would cut into programs that are critical for Vermonters, especially those struggling during this economic recession.

Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said budget cuts already have hurt the state's chances of riding the green energy wave to increase efficiency and generate new jobs, citing the $1.2 million cut in the state's clean energy fund as an example.

"Before they consider further ways to cut, we should all call on our Legislature and the governor to join together to have a process that is open to all and invites greater participation from the citizens of the state," Burns said.

Todd Bailey, executive director of the Vermont League of Conservation Voters, said it's not fair to new lawmakers and citizens of Vermont to allow the Joint Fiscal Committee and Douglas to make these decisions now.

"On Nov. 4, we elected 180 legislators and they have earned...

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Conservation, media and advocacy

November 16, 2008

"Typically, what we see is half of our fundraising is done over the next couple of months," Stermer said.

Despite the economic downturn, or perhaps because of it, the food bank is looking to raise almost a $1 million more than it did last year through donations. Stermer said demand has increased between 25 percent and 30 percent compared to last fall.

The Vermont Public Interest Research Group is looking to raise about $200,000 between now and the end of the year, about one-fifth of its annual donations, said executive director Paul Burns. While VPIRG has not seen a drop in support, Burns said the economic downturn is making people reconsider which organizations they support and how much they can give.

"I think individuals are having to make some hard decisions about having to reduce their contributions across the board, while others are having to make choices about who they are giving to," Burns said. "People say they have two different wallets for giving. One might be for political advocacy while the other will be for food shelves and other organizations that help people with food and heat."

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Environmental advocates hold confab this weekend

November 14, 2008

Grassroots environmental advocates will convene for a daylong skull session in Randolph this weekend.

The Environmental Action 2008 Conference, sponsored by six of the state's environmental organizations, brings together small-town activists and organizers from across Vermont for a series of speeches and workshops intended to help residents better advocate for local causes.

"The theme this year is mobilizing grassroots for healthy, sustainable communities," says Emily Maxwell, with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

While major debates over environmental policy occur in the Statehouse or Washington, D.C., Maxwell says lower profile battles are constantly fought at the local level. Proposals for water-bottling plants, quarry operations and other industrial ventures, Maxwell says, demand scrutiny, and sometimes opposition, from local residents.

"It's all about what we can do as towns and communities on issues ranging from climate change and energy issues to making sure we have clean water to drink," she says.

Jessica Edgerly, with the Toxics Action Center, says the conference, now in its third year, has previously helped residents mobilize against proposals for quarries. She says developers have proposed quarry operations in more than a half-dozen Vermont towns, and that last year's conference offered geographically scattered quarry opponents a chance to compare notes.

"It's an open strategy discussion," Edgerly says. "It gives people a chance to...

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Catamount Health’s Amnesty Period Over

November 3 2008

Vermont's Catamount Health Program no longer covers pre-existing conditions for new enrollees.

The Legislature, in a compromise, created an amnesty period that allowed the pre-existing conditions of anyone enrolling from June through Nov. 1 to be covered by the program.

"Lawmakers refused to abolish the pre-existing conditions clause, citing financial constraints," said Susan Baker, an advocate with Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG).

Baker said Monday that all medical conditions should be covered by Catamount, regardless of when the first diagnosis is made. VPIRG plans to lobby the next governor and legislators to abolish the pre-existing condition clause for good once the election is over.

Barre Town resident Debbie Chase is one who could be affected by pre-existing condition clauses. She said her husband underwent cancer treatment two years ago. Fortunately, she said he not only recovered, but had good health insurance to pay...

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