May 8th was a great day in Montpelier! Governor Shumlin signed Vermont’s GMO labeling bill into law making Vermont the first state that will require labels on genetically engineered foods. The law will require labels on genetically engineered foods (also called genetically modified organisms, or GMOs) sold at retail outlets in Vermont, and will go …
With less than 48 hours left to pass a bill that will protect kids from dangerous toxins in children’s products, we need your help RIGHT NOW to pass this bill! The legislative session ends on Saturday, and right now it looks like the Toxic-Free Families Act could run out of time. We need just one …
VPIRG brought together some of the biggest names in Vermont’s efficiency and clean energy sectors to share ways that Vermonters are saving money and cutting pollution at the same time, thanks to the clean energy options they specialize in.
The Vermont House of Representatives voted 120 to 20 today in favor of a bill (S.239) designed to protect children from exposure to toxic chemicals found in everyday products.
The Toxic-Free Families Act (S. 239), a VPIRG-led bill that aims to protect Vermonters’ health by better regulating known toxic chemicals, passed the Senate 18-12 and prompt action in the House is essential to the success of this important legislation. Fortunately, the bill has already gained approval of the House Fish & Wildlife Committee, the House Committee on Ways & Means, and the Appropriations Committee in the last couple of weeks.
Following the 18-12 approval by the Senate, prompt action in the House is essential to the success of this important legislation. With time in the 2013-2014 legislative biennium running short, industry lobbyists stepped up their pressure on the Vermont House, which must also pass the legislation for the law to take effect.
VPIRG’s Clean Energy advocate Ben Walsh testified in the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, offering VPIRG’s position that modern, cold-climate air source heat pumps are a key technology to reduce total energy use and help enable a transition of our heating sector to renewable fuels. To read a full-text version of VPIRG’s testimony, click …
Earlier today the Vermont Senate made history by giving preliminary approval to the nation’s first GMO labeling bill that does not rely on other states to go in to effect. The bill now needs final approval from the Senate before the House of Representatives will decide if they will accept the Senate’s bill, or form a conference committee. Today’s 26-2 vote is one of the last major hurdles to getting the bill to the Governor’s desk, and we could not have cleared it without you.
Vt. program could grow to meet heat pump boom April 14, 2014 —Times Argus “People who install heat pumps are finding they can cut their heating bills in half over the cost of older technologies and energy sources, including oil and propane furnaces and electric baseboard systems, said Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Orange.” Read the full …
This Tuesday the VPIRG and Rural VT intern team and Slow Food UVM took part of one of the best days of the year- Ben and Jerry’s free cone day! The Rural Vermont outreach team set up at the downtown Burlington Scoop Shop, while VPIRG and Slow Food talked to ice cream-hungry students at the …
New Report: Vermont Receives an “A-” in Transparency of Government Spending Montpelier – Vermont received a grade of A- today on government spending transparency, according to “Following the Money 2014: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data,” the fifth annual report of its kind by the Vermont Public Interest …
RELEASE: Vermont Earns A- in Spending Transparency Read More »
