As Americans become more conscious of what’s in the food they are eating and feeding their families, industrial food and chemical producers have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a public relations campaign to confuse consumers and drive the media narrative about their products. These are the findings from a new report issued …
Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) goes into effect today. The law was passed unanimously by the Vermont legislature in 2012. VPIRG believes that Act 148 will be a great complement to our state’s most successful recycling law – the Bottle Bill. Act 148 will provide an excellent opportunity to expand recycling rates for items …
After a slew of cost increases, Vermont regulators are weighing whether to “re-open” the permit process for the fracked gas pipeline Vermont Gas wants to build. After 15 hours of testimony, 12 witnesses and 10 pages of notes, VPIRG’s Energy and Democracy advocate, Julia Michel, offers her impression of the key takeaways. The total cost …
The 5 Things You Need to Know about the Vermont Gas Technical Hearings Read More »
VPIRG was able to pass substantial legislation in the first half of the 2015-2016 legislative biennium and lay the groundwork for even more gains next year. We cracked through on long overdue reforms to our electoral system – including a vigorous new lobbyist disclosure law and the institution of Election Day voter registration. We ushered …
The United Nations Environment Programme has released a new report in which it recommends a ban on microplastics, including microbeads, found in personal care products. The report states, “for the last 50 years, microparticles of plastic, or microplastics, have been used in personal care products and cosmetics, replacing natural options in a large number of …
On Friday May 15th, the Vermont Senate passed H.40, the “Renewable Energy Standard” bill. Shortly thereafter the House (which had passed the bill back in March) approved the Senate’s changes, sending it to the Governor’s desk. He was been a supporter of the bill from day one, and is expected to sign it in the …
Vermont just passed a Renewable Energy Standard. Here’s what it does. Read More »
We asked VPIRG Interns to tell us how global warming has affected them and explain why they think we must act now to address this problem.These are testimonials from the generation who will be left to deal with the some of the still-unseen consequences of climate change if we fail to do something. Do you …
We’re working to pass legislation to ban microbeads in consumer products in Vermont. These beads are found in numerous varieties of home beauty products: toothpaste, facial cleanser, soap, and body wash to name a few. And even a little tube can pack a big punch when rinsed down the drain- The 5 Gyres Institute estimates that one …
Right now Vermonters have an important chance to help improve 2016 Vermont Health Connect plans. The Department of Vermont Health Access has proposed increasing the out of pocket expenditure for a number of the most popular plans on Vermont Health Connect. Though many of these increases are required to keep Vermont Health Connect in line with federal …
