Issue Spotlight
VPIRG launches ‘Clean Heat’ campaign
April 30, 2012
VPIRG is talking to Vermonters from every corner of the state this summer to help make a clean, affordable heating future a reality. Keeping our homes comfortable in the winter costs over a billion dollars a year and nearly $800 million of that goes right out of the state to pay for dirty fossil fuels. Making Vermont’s comfortable, affordable heating future a reality wouldn’t only save money – it’s what’s right for our economy and the environment.
Pulling the Curtain Back on Health Insurers
April 26, 2012
The health insurance fog is about to lift.
S.200, VPIRG’s signature health reform initiative this year, sailed through the Senate and got even stronger in the House. The bill would force health insurance companies to pull the curtain back on claims denial, profit, and influence. Information is power and S.200 is key to ensuring that Vermonters are being treated fairly and that our premiums dollars are spent on care, not to pad the bottom line of the health insurance industry.…
Vermonters Fill State House in Support of GMO Labeling
April 16, 2012
Unnatural Buffet at State House Raises Questions About GMO Labeling
April 11, 2012
The Vermont Right to Know GMOs coalition held an “Unlabeled and Unnatural Buffet” at the Vermont State House today. The problem: right now, without a law requiring GMOs to be labeled, we just don’t know.
40th Anniversary of the Bottle Bill
April 7, 2012
Forty years ago this week, on April 7, 1972, Vermont legislators passed the Bottle Bill – innovative legislation to add a redeemable deposit on soda and beer bottles and cans. Vermont was only the second state in the nation, after Oregon, to enact a bottle redemption program. The idea was originally conceived as a way to fight litter, a problem marring Vermont’s scenic roadsides, parks, and other areas. The law gave people a monetary incentive to collect and return their bottles and cans, rather than tossing them out their car windows or in the garbage can.…
New Book Details VPIRG’s Role in Fight to Close VY
April 2, 2012
In 2010, Vermont legislators voted to shutter a nuclear power plant, putting the state at odds with the federal government and the plant’s owner—the Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation. Public Meltdown explores the debate that roiled Vermont, including the lawsuits and court action that followed.
GMO Right to Know
April 2, 2012
As Vermonters, we tend to take a special interest in our food. We want to know who grew it, what’s in it, and how far it traveled before it landed on our plate. That’s why at VPIRG, we think it’s essential that consumers be informed if the food they are buying is the product of genetic engineering (also known as “genetically modified organisms” or GMOs). As part of the Vermont Right to Know GMOs campaign VPIRG is working with a coalition of consumer, public health, agricultural and environmental groups to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in Vermont.
60 Vermont cities and towns pass Citizens United resolutions
March 7, 2012
Town Meeting Day in Vermont marked a milestone for the movement to take back our democracy. Sixty Vermont cities or towns passed resolutions calling upon Congress to amend the US Constitution to state that “corporations are not people” and “money is not speech.”
Citizens United Resolutions on Local Ballots
February 28, 2012
Cities and towns across Vermont have taken up the call to ask Congress to begin the process of amending the Constitution – stating that corporations are not people and money is not speech.
Important Information About Wind and Vermont’s Energy Future
February 7, 2012
VPIRG continues to show support for the responsible development of wind power in Vermont. Wind, as one of the cleanest and environmentally responsible forms of electricity out there, must play a significant role in our clean energy future. With just the 5 permitted wind projects in the construction phase, or already built, around 58,800 Vermont homes will be powered with clean, local, renewable energy!
