Read the 2015 Trouble in Toyland report to help you avoid potentially hazardous toys. For the past 30 years, US PIRG Education Fund and Vermont Public Interest Research and Education Fund have conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to over 150 recalls and other regulatory actions and has helped educate the …
Today we won an important victory in the fight to protect our children from toxic chemicals. Over the past few months, the Department of Health and the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) have been working through the rule-making process of Act. 188 to ensure the law is implemented as intended. Despite hearing from industry …
Lawmakers vote to require product-specific disclosure of toxic chemicals! Read More »
As a child growing up in southern Vermont I spent many afternoons collecting cans and bottles from friends and neighbors. This was a great way to make a little extra spending money, and to help clean things up a bit. This is an experience I am sure that thousands of Vermonters are personally familiar with …
We Won’t Let Coca-Cola Trash Vermont’s Bottle Bill Read More »
Probably a bit like sea salt, according to a new report published in Environmental Science & Technology. We’ve known the pervasiveness of microplastic pollution in our lakes and oceans has seriously disrupted marine ecosystems by fooling organisms into thinking it is food, among other things. Now researchers have discovered plastic in common table salt found …
VPIRG’s Paul Burns will debate Matt Cota, Lobbyist for the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, today at noon on VPR’s Vermont Edition. Time to get the facts straight! Vermonters deserve to hear an honest and open debate about climate change and the opportunities we have to do something about it including putting a tax on carbon …
VPIRG’s Paul Burns to Debate VT Fuel Dealers Lobbyist on VPR Today! Read More »
Just hours before planned events at Macy’s stores in ten states calling attention to the retailer’s sale of some furniture products containing toxic flame retardant chemicals, Macy’s announced it would end the practice. As part of the Mind the Store campaign, VPIRG and other public health and environmental groups around the country had been pressuring …
As we learn more about the impact that microbeads have on our environment, Vermonters are realizing they are something to be afraid of this Halloween. Microbeads are small plastic beads added to things like toothpaste and face washes to help with exfoliation. A recent article in the Washington Post noted that up to 8 trillion …
The executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group today challenged the Chairman of the Vermont Republican Party to a debate over the merits of policies leading to energy independence and climate solutions for Vermont. On Wednesday, Chairman David Sunderland issued a press release on behalf of the Republicans in which he mischaracterized a …
Kids seem to often have a better ability to recognize problems than adults do. This was certainly the case in a Windsor classroom this week as I spoke with middle school students about two major environmental issues we’re facing today- microbeads in personal care products and ever-present plastic bags. To the students, it’s simple: we …
VT students research innovative solutions to our plastic woes Read More »
Vermont has just taken another important step towards getting more eligible Vermonters registered to vote. On Thursday, Secretary of State Jim Condos announced the roll out of a new online voter registration system. Thanks to this new system, Vermonters can easily register to vote from home or wherever they access the internet, continuing to make …
