The Vermont Legislature has passed H.536 – a bill that takes an important step toward making baby food safer and more transparent. The legislation requires baby food manufacturers to test their products for toxic heavy metals – arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury – and make those results publicly available through a QR code. This kind …
Toxic Heavy Metal Testing for Baby Food Heads to Governor’s Desk Read More »
Submitted by: ACLU of Vermont, Migrant Justice, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP), and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) Dear Members of the Vermont House of Representatives, We are asking you to vote to include federal officials in S.208 when it comes to the floor. The goal of the bill as introduced was to …
Joint Statement on S.208 (Law Enforcement Identification) Read More »
Late this morning, the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee voted 5-0 — unanimously, with bipartisan support — to advance a far stronger version of H.727, the data center regulation bill, than passed the Vermont House earlier this year. The bill now heads to the full Senate floor. VPIRG has been deep in this work for months. Here’s what …
Vermont’s Data Center Bill Clears Senate Committee 5-0 — Here’s What’s in It Read More »
For decades, Ben & Jerry’s has been more than just an ice cream company. It has been a bold voice for social, economic, and environmental justice, values that align deeply with VPIRG’s mission and the work we do together here in Vermont. Right now, that legacy is facing a serious challenge.1 You may have seen …
Today is Earth Day — and this year, one of the most important things you can do to protect Vermont’s climate future has nothing to do with Washington, D.C. – it’s happening right here, in the State House in Montpelier. You’ve probably heard about the massive boom in data centers nationwide, driven by the rapid …
There is an important but overlooked climate bill winding its way through the State House right now: H.740. It would create a new, robust statewide carbon pollution and fossil fuel reporting program. And thanks to the voices of Vermonters like you, H.740 passed the House of Representatives! But our work isn’t done, and the importance of …
We are drowning in plastic. It shows up in every corner of life, from our clothes to our food, in the environment around us, our oceans and waterways, and even, at times, the air we breathe. Our bodies are full of microplastics, and the chemicals contained within leach into our tissues and are passed on …
A week ago, I visited the federal courthouse in Rutland, where the office of Vermont’s Attorney General Charity Clark defended our state’s landmark Climate Superfund Act from attacks by the oil industry, Republican attorneys general from other states, and the Trump Administration. Here’s the update… Climate change is hitting Vermont hard and is costing us …
Legal Defense of the Climate Superfund Act: An Update Read More »
As the Vermont House Agriculture Committee prepares to consider H.739, legislation that would ban the toxic pesticide paraquat, a new statewide poll finds strong bipartisan support among Vermont voters for taking action. Scientific studies have linked paraquat exposure to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. Earlier testimony from Dr. James Boyd, a neurologist with UVM …
New Poll: Nearly Three-Quarters of Vermonters Support Banning Paraquat Read More »
It’s difficult to put into words the level of violence, intimidation, fear, and prolonged chaos that ICE agents brought to Vermont with their bungled raid in South Burlington on March 11. It started when ICE agents misidentified a suspect and began a car chase down a busy street during morning hour rush near two schools. …
