Voter turnout in the 2018 Vermont primary was one of the highest in Vermont’s history. Over 107,000 Vermonters voted, yielding an almost 22% voter turnout rate. Compared to a 9% voter turnout in 2014 — the last non-presidential primary year — the results of the 2018 summer election make it…
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It’s been one year since Gov. Phil Scott established his hand-picked Climate Action Commission. This anniversary follows on the heels of the release of the most recent Vermont Greenhouse Gas Inventory report two weeks ago — a sobering report detailing how Vermont climate progress is accelerating in the wrong direction, with…
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Last week, our canvass team was at it again — engaging Vermonters at their doorsteps and making change one conversation at a time. The team of over 70 canvassers, field managers, directors and administrators went truckin’ down to Windham County, where they spent the week working out of Fort Dummer…
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On July 5th, while Vermonters were suffering through a deadly heatwave, Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation released the latest Vermont Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory — and it’s scary stuff. Detailing Vermont’s greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution from 1990-2015, this report highlights a troubling trend: Vermont’s climate pollution is up 16% from 1990…
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Earlier today, VPIRG stood alongside business owners and environmentalists in the kick off for the Straws Upon Request Pledge, a statewide campaign aimed at reducing the number of single-use plastic straws used and thrown away in Vermont. The idea is pretty simple: businesses that take the pledge will make straws…
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Around this time last year, Governor Phil Scott stood in front of reporters, TV cameras and other onlookers on the waterfront in Burlington to reiterate his alleged support of Vermont’s climate commitments and the Paris Climate Accord, and to announce the creation of the Vermont Climate Pledge Coalition, a voluntary…
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Updated (5/29/18): Last week, Gov. Scott signed H.739 into law. Earlier today, the House and Senate passed H.739, a bill that creates a three year pilot program to give Efficiency Vermont more flexibility in working with some of the largest businesses in the state on custom efficiency and energy saving…
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As Washington D.C. continues to roll back progress on climate action and environmental protection, there’s a growing urgency to protect our planet for generations to come. This Earth Day, you can take three simple and timely actions to move Vermont forward on climate action and environmental protection: Support climate action…
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VPIRG has been working with partners including 350VT and the Vermont chapter of the Sierra Club in efforts to transition our state pension investments towards a low or no carbon future, in line with our state renewable energy goals. On Thursday, February 8th, 2017, Treasurer Beth Pearce released a letter…
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VPIRG and members of the Alliance for Clean and Healthy Vermont co-released a new report produced by national partners today that found that the lining of two out of three cans tested contain the toxic chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical that negatively impacts our hormonal systems.…
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