News & Updates

If I told you that VPIRG was teaming up with groups as varied as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Vermont NEA, Rights & Democracy, Main Street Alliance, Toxics Action Center, Justice For All and the Vermont Natural Resources Council to host a conference together you might say, “that’s out of the ...

The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), along with over 100 other groups including the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, strongly opposes the nomination of Michael Dourson to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dourson has a history of serving the interests of big business and industry, including working for ...

When he was running for governor, Phil Scott made a point of saying that “Listening is more important than talking; and actions speak louder than words.” He added that “By genuinely listening to Vermonters, I have found that constituents have the best ideas…”1 But in a social media post last week, Gov. Scott summarily dismissed the ...

At the end of August, the 2017 VPIRG Summer Canvass wrapped up what was the most successful canvassing operation in VPIRG history–by far. Led by ten canvass directors, VPIRG staffed over 100 canvassers throughout the summer, with a peak staff size of 94—the largest in VPIRG history. The campaign, called “Vermont Fights Back,” focused on ...

On Wednesday night 65 people crowded into the banquet room of the Kingdom Taproom in St. Johnsbury to offer varying perspectives on how the Governor’s newly formed Climate Action Commission should address the climate crisis here in Vermont. Of the 65 people present, 37 provided comments to the four commissioners in attendance. Over half of ...

The Vermont Public Interest Research Group announced today that it is going to federal court to urge review of two rules recently proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act. The petitions challenge final rules issued by the EPA concerning how the agency will prioritize chemicals for safety ...

The Vermont Public Interest Research Group’s Executive Director Paul Burns released the following statement concerning the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left at least three people dead and 19 injured: VPIRG denounces the acts of violent terrorism perpetrated by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville over the weekend. Our thoughts are with those who ...

While much attention has rightfully been focused on Congress’ and the president’s efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Vermonters still have important health care concerns to address here at home. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP Health Care have recently proposed rate hikes of 12.7% and 7.7% respectively to their 2018 ...