On Thursday, the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) voted 5-2 to approve the rules governing wind sound as proposed by the Public Utility Commission (PUC), imposing a sound restriction of 39 decibels at night and 42 during the day. This rule will likely make it impossible for any large wind projects to be approved …
Over the course of the last week, VPIRG organizers met with regional Mother Up! groups in Burlington, Montpelier, and Brattleboro to discuss our climate and clean energy priorities for the 2018 legislative session, as well as best practices for citizen lobbying. Mother Up! Is a node of 350VT geared towards parents who, despite having their …
When he was running for governor, Phil Scott made a point of saying that “Listening is more important than talking; and actions speak louder than words.” He added that “By genuinely listening to Vermonters, I have found that constituents have the best ideas…”1 But in a social media post last week, Gov. Scott summarily dismissed …
On Wednesday night 65 people crowded into the banquet room of the Kingdom Taproom in St. Johnsbury to offer varying perspectives on how the Governor’s newly formed Climate Action Commission should address the climate crisis here in Vermont. Of the 65 people present, 37 provided comments to the four commissioners in attendance. Over half of …
Climate Activists Demand a Price on Carbon Pollution in St. Johnsbury Read More »
On Monday August 7th, the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) passed with broad bipartisan support a resolution (starts pg. 42) urging Congress to fully fund the Department of Energy’s (DOE) appliance efficiency standards program. The resolution, which passed with broad bipartisan support, was sponsored by Vermont Representative Curt McCormack (Chittenden-6-3), who co-chairs the NCSL …
On Friday, July 7th, the Public Utility Commission (PUC), formerly known as the Public Service Board, rejected the Scott Administration’s recommendation of an 8% cut to Efficiency Vermont’s budget. Instead, they chose to adopt the recommendation put forth by the organization that runs Efficiency Vermont, the Vermont Electric Investment Company (VEIC). This is essentially a …
Commission Rejects Scott Administration’s Proposed Efficiency Cut Read More »
In May 2017, the Public Service Board issued a final proposed rule on sound from wind turbines. Unfortunately, they chose to ignore the clear evidence and issue a rule that, if approved, will functionally take wind off the table as a viable resource here in Vermont. VPIRG has been involved in this proceeding since its …
Montpelier, VT – President Donald Trump thinks climate change is a “hoax.” Today, he’s poised to quit the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which united most of the world around a plan to fight global warming. In fact, of the 197 countries that are part of the United Nations group on climate change, only two failed …
VPIRG calls for climate action in Vermont in the face of presidential retreat Read More »
Given what’s happening in Washington DC and the real threats to what we would consider Vermonters’ well being–our health, our environment, many of our values–we expected more activity on the part of Vermont legislators to push back against these threats. Some people have suggested that the new leadership in the State House needed time to …
On Friday, March 17, the House Energy & Technology Committee voted to pass H.411, a bill that protects the Federal appliance efficiency standards from Federal rollbacks. The bill passed with tripartisan support, with only one representative (Representative Van Wyck, Addison-3) voting against it. It then passed the full House on a voice vote and has …
House Moves Toward Protecting Appliance Efficiency Standards Read More »
