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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Report: Getting off the hook of a predatory tow, state-by-state

Every year, millions of Americans have their cars towed without their consent from private property or a public street. U.S. PIRG Education Fund has identified 14 common sense towing protections that should be available to consumers in every state, and researched which states offer those safeguards.

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Blog Post

Who doesn’t want the Right to Repair? Companies worth over $10 trillion | Anne Marie Green

If we want the Right to Repair, more people need to stand up to the companies that lobby against it.

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Blog Post

There is a very high cost to cheap food | Sydney Riess

The conventional system of livestock production in the United States hinges on one word: “efficiency.” Time is money, therefore the faster animals progress from birth to slaughter, the cheaper the end product will be. While cost-conscious shoppers appreciate low prices at the meat counter, there is a steep, somewhat-hidden, societal cost to raising animals in the conventional way.  

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Blog Post

America can’t handle more highways. Let’s fix what we have, instead. | Mac Dressman

Spending on new highways is wasteful and destructive. America needs to repair what we have instead of spending on new highways.

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Blog Post | Public Health

The looming public health crisis we’re not talking about | Aaron Colonnese

Overusing antibiotics on factory farms threatens public health — so why is it still happening?

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Solid Waste

Comprehensive bill calls for U.S. to move beyond plastic

WASHINGTON -- As plastic pollution becomes an increasingly dire problem, elected officials in both chambers of Congress introduced legislation Thursday to address the issue. On Capitol Hill today, Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (CA) unveiled the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021, a bill to improve the health of our people and our planet.


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News Release | U.S. PIRG

Statement: Gov. Northam announces executive order to phase out single use plastics

RICHMOND, Va -- Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday Executive Order 77, eliminating disposable plastic bags and single-use foodware at all state agencies within 120 days, and phasing out  a wider range of single-use plastics in the state agencies and public universities by 2025. It also directs the state government to develop solid waste reduction and landfill diversion recommendations.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

PIRGs Join 300+ Groups To Urge Congress To Rescind "Fake Lender Rule"

The state PIRGs and  U.S. PIRG joined 300+ consumer, faith and civil rights groups urging Congress to rescind a "fake lender" midnight regulation, which would allow predatory lending, even in 18 states and the District of Columbia where usury caps protect over 110 million consumers. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

New report: COVID-19 cases in nursing homes drop by 80 percent after mass vaccinations

There are many reasons for optimism, particularly the huge turnaround that started in the second half of December when vaccines started rolling out. We found that has led to a decline in nursing home cases exceeding 80 percent. But this is not a time to act irresponsibly or get overly confident.

 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG

Statement: Congressional committee considers vital climate-friendly LIFT America Act

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is holding a full committee hearing Monday on the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America Act (LIFT America Act), which aims to revitalize the country’s energy, water and transportation systems. This goal would be met by making investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and upgrades to our drinking water infrastructure. The act would also expand broadband access nationwide and invest in public health and healthcare infrastructure.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Financial Reform

Positioned To Protect

With the CFPB under new management less interested in consumer protection and law enforcement, our new report highlights steps states, counties and cities are taking to protect consumers better. Coincidentally, the report was completed on the same day that the U.S. Senate confirmed Kathy Kraninger to a 5-year term as CFPB director. She replaces her mentor, the OMB director Mick Mulvaney, who has been serving as acting CFPB director for just over a year.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Paying for Electric Buses

Most of America’s school and transit buses run on diesel, a highly-polluting fuel, but there is a better option. All-electric buses are here, and they’re cleaner, healthier and save money for transit agencies, school districts and bus contractors to run in the long-term. 

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Solid Waste

Warranties in the Void

Six months after the FTC warned six companies their “void warranty if removed” labels are forbiddenunder warranty laws, a survey by the consumer group U.S.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

A Citizen's Guide to Reducing Energy Waste

The future is here—but we’re living in the past.

Clean energy from the sun and wind can provide for our energy needs without the global consequences of pollution, yet we’re still producing and consuming virtually all of our energy in ways that do lasting damage to our environment, our health and our climate. To make matters worse, much of the dirty energy we produce goes to waste.

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Report | Higher Ed

ACCESS DENIED: The New Face of the Textbook Monopoly

Across institutions and majors, an average of 32% of courses included access codes among the required course materials. At institutional bookstores, the average cost of an access code sold solo – i.e., not bundled with a textbook or primary course material of any form – was $100.24.

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Blog Post

Court case puts air ambulance memberships in spotlight. What does this mean for consumers? | William McGovern

Air ambulance bills can run in the thousands of dollars. Some companies sell "memberships" to consumers. But this option may not be a smart purchase for most consumers. 

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Blog Post

Why we need $25 billion for electric school buses | Ethan Evans

Rolling out electric school buses across the country would make our air safer to breathe, improve public health and eliminate millions of tons of greenhouse gases emitted by U.S. buses each year. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

PIRG to the Big Three credit bureaus: Weekly credit reports won't cut it | Henry Hintermeister

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

Consumers struggle as CFPB complaints break records, report finds | Henry Hintermeister

"The surge in complaints is a signal of the strain the pandemic put on consumers, and of the minefield of tricks and traps they face in the financial marketplace."

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

Shopping for safe cosmetics shouldn’t be hard. That’s why we’re partnering with Clearya. | Gina Werdel

A free Chrome extension and mobile app created by a passionate couple helps customers easily find non-toxic consumer products as they shop online.

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Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

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Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

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Blog Post

'This Infection is Resistant to Everything We Have'

Those are not words any patient wants to hear.

But a surgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital tells U.S. PIRG Education Fund that he and other doctors are being forced to deliver that message. He points to the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture as a major culprit.

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Blog Post

Monsanto Asks Court To Throw Out $289 Million Verdict In Roundup Case; Faces 8,000 Similar Lawsuits

Monsanto is back in court and probably will be for awhile.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

1 Year After Equifax Data Breach, Here's Everything You Need To Know

One year after announcing the biggest data breach in history, Equifax still hasn’t been held accountable or provided the information and tools consumers need to protect themselves. Since Equifax won’t help protect consumers, U.S. PIRG is stepping in.

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Blog Post

Right to Repair shows no signs of slowing down

From a win in the New York Senate, to a new bill in Congress: A roundup of news on Right to Repair

News Release | U.S. PIRG

Broad Right to Repair bill introduced in Congress

Consumer, environmental, repair advocates cheer Rep. Morelle’s new bill to help Americans fix modern products 

Report | PIRG Education Fund

Blocking Rooftop Solar

Solar power is helping move the United States toward a future of 100% renewable energy, while reducing global warming pollution, cleaning up the air in our communities, and empowering homeowners and business owners to generate their own electricity. And increasingly, solar power can do all that at a lower cost than electricity produced from fossil fuels. Utilities increasingly fear that the falling prices and rising availability of clean solar power will threaten their business model, which ties profits to the amount of capital investment they make in the grid, and sometimes to the amount of electricity sold. Consequently, in states across the country, utilities are using their money and clout to push policymakers to undercut solar power.

Blog Post

Man lost $124,000 in Amazon scam. Here are 10 ways to keep it from happening to you

In light of some of these newer cons, here is actionable information to help you avoid the aggravation, time and financial losses that come with sophisticated scams.

Blog Post

What’s it going to cost? Wide variation in prices for hospital care in Boston.

How one person "shopped around" for surgery in Boston using the new hospital price tools required by the federal government. 

Blocking Rooftop Solar

The companies, lobbyists and front groups undermining local clean energy

 

Farmers need to fix their equipment. Repair restrictions continue to get in the way.

Without access to digital repair software, farmers are too often forced to send their machines to authorized dealers for fixes they otherwise could have made themselves, leading to lengthy delays and inflated repair bills.

 

Public Health

PIRG backs Get the Lead Out Act to protect children's health

Lead exposure is particularly harmul for kids. The bipartisan Get the Lead Out Act would set aside $46.5 billion to replace the approximately 9 million lead service lines still in use today within 10 years.

 

Solid Waste

Shareholder advocacy wins plastic commitment from Target

In response to a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century and As You Sow, Target agreed on May 5 to set a goal for eliminating virgin plastic from its private brand packaging for fast-moving goods. Green Century is, like PIRG, a member of The Public Interest Network.

 

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U.S. PIRG is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.