H. 688, the Global Warming Solutions Act, which was vetoed just last week by Governor Phil Scott, will officially become law after the Governor’s veto was overridden in both the House and the Senate. These votes reaffirmed the legislature’s, and the Vermont peoples’, commitment to climate action, despite efforts to…
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PFAS chemicals pose a danger to human health unlike any other. For the past several years, our state has been focused on how Vermonters might be exposed to PFAS pollution through drinking water – and rightfully so. This concern stemmed from the now well-known 2016 discovery of high levels of PFAS in hundreds of drinking water wells in Bennington County. As of August 2020, nine public water…
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Just two days after Governor Scott vetoed the Global Warming Solutions Act, the House of Representatives has voted to override that veto, surpassing the 100 votes needed to do so in a 103-47 vote. As the House was preparing for its ultimately successful override vote on Thursday, however, the chair…
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VPIRG Joins Broad Coalition of Groups Calling on Legislature to Override Governor’s Veto of the Global Warming Solutions Act Governor Scott has vetoed the Global Warming Solutions Act, which was overwhelmingly passed by both the Vermont House and Senate. The historic climate bill requires Vermont to reduce its climate-damaging emissions…
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On Wednesday, the Vermont House passed the finalized version of the Global Warming Solutions Act, officially sending it the Governor’s desk for final approval. The Solutions Act is the first major piece of climate legislation to pass in the VT legislature in years. It will effectively create a roadmap for…
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The VT legislature reconvenes today for a session aimed at passing a budget for 2021 and working on bills whose progress was interrupted by COVID-19. Elected leaders will be in session for a short time, likely just 4-6 weeks, so VPIRG and our members will be working to ensure no…
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In a huge win for the health of Vermont’s people and environment, the Vermont Senate unanimously passed S.295 today, a bill banning PFAS in certain products including firefighting foam, carpets/rugs, and food packaging. The term ‘PFAS’ refers to a very large (and ever growing, with more research being done all…
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Last week VPIRG and a coalition of allies sent the following letter to Governor Phil Scott and Secretary of State Jim Condos calling on them to immediately institute a vote-by-mail system in Vermont. The letter was accompanied by a petition signed by just over 1,180 Vermonters in support of this…
Read MoreEvent Details: Thursday, April 2, 2020, 12:30pm VPIRG Board Member and UVM student Anna Marchessault talks with Jon Erickson, VPIREF Board Member and Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at the University of Vermont, Rubenstein School about the economics of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to use the current upheaval…
Read MoreEvent Details: Wednesday, April 1, 4pm VPIRG’s Maeve Power facilitates this conversation with Jenna Koloski (Vermont Council for Rural Development), Carrie Baker Stahler (Green Mountain United Way), Rebecca Sanborn Stone (organizer in the White River Valley), and Monique Priestly (organizer in the Upper Valley). Tune in for information on how…
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