News & Updates

Last week, Marriott International revealed that it suffered a breach of its Starwood reservation database. The breach exposed the personal information of up to 500 million people. The breach began back in 2014 and anyone who stayed at any of Marriott’s Starwood properties (i.e. W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Element ...

A major new scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies on Black Friday serves as a dire warning about the ways in which climate change threatens the United States – now and in the future. The National Climate Assessment comes out every four years, but this is by far the most detailed look yet at ...

This holiday season, watch out for dangerous and toxic toys. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group today released its 33rd annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report found toxic amounts of boron in “slime” products and a failure by Amazon to appropriately label choking hazards. Boron can cause nausea, vomiting and other health issues. “No caregiver ...

A report released today reveals that major retail companies are making slow but meaningful progress at improving the chemical safety of the products, food, and packaging they sell, but nearly half of those scored — including every restaurant chain evaluated — have failed to take any public measures to help eliminate toxic chemicals from the ...

The results of this year’s midterm elections are in and there were many big wins for the health of Vermont’s families, environment and democracy in the mix — from the election of outspoken public interest champions to the passage of progressive local ballot measures. Leading up to the election, we were proud to have recruited more ...

In Montpelier on Election Day 2018, citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of Article 4, marking the first major step in the fight against plastic pollution in Vermont’s capital city. The measure was an official charter change that would grant the City Council of Montpelier an additional power to regulate the distribution of single-use plastic products ...

Conventional wisdom suggested that 2018 would be another year of very low voter participation in Vermont. After all, we didn’t have hot races for the US Senate or House, and in the last non-presidential election year – 2014 – Vermont experienced its worst voter turnout in more than 50 years. Boy did conventional wisdom get it ...

VPIRG has come out in support of Article 4 – a proposed charter change for Montpelier that would give city leaders the authority to address the growing problem of single-use plastic pollution. Specifically, the charter change, proposed by the Mayor and City Council, would enable Montpelier to regulate the sale and distribution of single-use plastics. ...