The Bottle Bill is Vermont’s most successful recycling program, achieving more than double the recycling rate of any other program in the state. Over the past 40 years, the number of containers that have been recycled through the Bottle Bill they would fill the Empire State Building more than 3 times over. VPIRG will be …
VPIRG Launches Bigger Better Bottle Bill Activist Toolkit Read More »
The Trouble in Toyland report provides a list of dangerous toys that surveyors found on toy store shelves within the past month. The list includes a dangerous magnet toy, a plastic food set that is a choking hazard and a toy guitar that is harmful to little ears. Each year, thousands of children continue to be injured …
A number of new wind projects have been built in Massachusetts in recent years. To ensure renewable energy developments can be built while maintaining the health and well-being of project neighbors, the Commonwealth convened an extensive study of public health concerns. Their scientific, peer-reviewed study concluded that there are no health impacts that can be …
Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of Independent Expert Panel Read More »
Global warming is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Our over-dependence on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels only exacerbates the problem. The solution—developing clean renewable sources like wind power, a resource that already displaces about 68 million metric tons of global warming pollution a year. Read the report here!
As the development of renewable energy sources—wind in particular, continues to increase, so does the oil and gas industry’s fear that one day fossil fuels and renewables will be on a level playing field. As a result, the oil and gas industry hasn’t shied away from pumping millions of dollars into efforts to defeat clean …
In October 2012, Governor Shumlin appointed a commission to look at the energy generation siting process in Vermont. The committee is tasked with making specific recommendations for how the state might improve the siting process when compared to other states, as well as how to best integrate public participation in the process. Read the report …
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group released its 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard on public interest issues today. As the state’s largest consumer and environmental advocacy organization, VPIRG is involved in a broad range of policy debates in Montpelier, from health care reform to banning fracking. The 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard tracks votes on clean energy, health care, consumer protection, …
The Back-to-School Guide for Safer School Supplies provides parents with information on many common back-to-school items – from backpacks to binders – that may contain toxic chemicals and suggests some safer alternatives. For example, a lot of children’s products, including backpacks, paper clips, 3-ring binders, and lunch boxes, are decorated with PVC coatings. Polyvinyl chloride, …
Global warming is happening now and its effects are being felt in Vermont, across the United States and around the world. Among the expected consequences of global warming is an increase in the heaviest rain and snow storms, fueled by increased evaporation and the ability of a warmer atmosphere to hold more moisture. Click here …
Jewelry being sold in Vermont stores contains alarming levels of toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, nickel and arsenic, according to a study conducted by The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit environmental organization that conducts product testing for hazardous ingredients in items average American families use daily. Many of the products tested are aimed at children. …
