An open letter to the VPIRG community from Clay Francis, VPIRG’s new Clean Energy Advocate. Clay will be working with Clean Energy Program Director James Moore on building weatherization, heating fuels efficiency and other clean energy campaigns: I just started as VPIRG’s new Clean Energy Advocate in the middle of record setting heat waves, and …
VPIRG produces a scorecard of key votes at the conclusion of each legislative biennium. You can use this year’s scorecard to find out how your representatives in the Vermont House and Senate voted on VPIRG-backed legislation to promote clean energy, reduce exposure to toxins, make health care more accessible and affordable and protect our democracy. …
Vermont’s health care costs are rising by almost $1 million per day – over $350 million a year. Picking up this tab is already too big a burden for our families, state programs and local economy to bear. Times are especially tough for small business owners and their employees, who often go without health coverage …
Vermont is holding its primary elections Tuesday, August 24th. You can find your polling location and the time it opens below; doors close at all locations at 7pm, so you need to be in line before then. Happy voting! Town Primary Polling Place Primary Polls Open Addison Town Clerk’s Office 7:00 AM Albany Town Clerk’s …
Vote! Tue, Aug 24th is primary election day: polling locations below. Read More »
In 2008, VPIRG worked to pass a law that required manufacturers of mercury-containing thermostats to share in the costs and responsibilities of recycling their discarded products. This law required manufacturers to establish collection programs and provide a $5 incentive for those who turn in a mercury thermostat for recycling. That program is now up and …
Have an old mercury-containing thermostat? Turn it in and get $5! Read More »
What are all those chemicals in your shampoo? Your lipstick? Your aftershave? And what do they have to do with asthma, breast cancer and learning disabilities? Learn, share and help change this toxic mess: Watch The Story of Cosmetics, a 7-minute film exposing the ugly truth about personal care products – brought to you by …
While VPIRG has been hard at work here in Vermont winning credit card reform in the state legislature and working with our delegation on the financial reform legislation making its way through Congress, our partners at USPIRG have been hard at work in DC. Ed Mierzwinski, the Director of the Consumer Program at USPIRG, has …
Vermont’s Health Care Reform Commission (HCRC) moved our state one step closer to comprehensive system reform yesterday. Members voted unanimously in support of a consulting team, lead by Harvard Professor, Dr. William Hsaio, to move state health care reform efforts to the next level. His team, which includes Jonathon Gruber of MIT and Steve Kappel …
Earlier this week there was yet another new problem at the Vermont Yankee reactor, and this time it was related to the reactor core cooling system, which is critical to reactor safety.1, 2 The new leak was causing the reactor cooling system to lose 1.6 gallons of coolant per minute. It took Entergy nearly six …
VY springs another new leak, narrowly avoids emergency shutdown Read More »
Just two months after fixing their most recent leak of radioactive material, Vermont Yankee is at it again. Hours after the plant powered up after its recent refueling outage workers found a previously undiscovered leak in the piping excavated during the investigation into the just-fixed tritium leak. Entergy Vermont Yankee officials claim the hole, which …