BOSTON, August 9, 2021 — The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its first global assessment of the science of global warming since 2013 on Monday. The report details the potential catastrophic impacts on the world’s oceans, ice caps and land in the coming decades if we fail to rapidly reduce emissions and meet our climate goals. […]
U.S. PIRG
Posted inEnviro
Activist investors pick up third Exxon board seat
WASHINGTON, June 2, 2021 – After a surprise win last week, activist investors have picked up a third ExxonMobil board seat, according to reports. This development will provide additional leverage to press the oil giant to address growing concerns about climate change. This comes after Chevron, Exxon and Shell — three out of the four […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Mike Litt: Protections from evictions set to expire Friday
WASHINGTON, July 23, 2020 –Unless Congress acts,millionsof renters will be at risk of eviction starting tomorrow. That’s when the federal moratorium on evictions, which the federal government put in place at the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, expires. These protections covered most residents of federally-backed properties. (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac haveextendeda moratorium on […]
Posted inLife
Tainted hand sanitizers pose ongoing threat to consumer health
CLEVELAND, July 21, 2020 – Consumers using hand sanitizer to kill the coronavirus may be unwittingly putting toxic substances on their skin. In the weeks since first discovering the problem, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has found nearly three dozen brands of potentially tainted sanitizer. Last month, the FDA flagged five brands of […]
Posted inUS
Top healthcare professionals sign open letter to U.S. leaders saying it’s time to shut back down, start over and do it right
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2020 – A group of high-profile public health experts joined with U.S. PIRG to release a letter Friday calling on America’s leaders to shut back down, start over and do it right in light of the uncontrolled spread of the novel coronavirus in many parts of the United States. Signees include: University of […]
Posted inUS
Price gouging on medical equipment risks lives, 90 mayors call for action
WASHINGTON, March 2, 2020 – Across the country, government leaders and health care providers are going to extreme lengths to ensure a steady supply of gloves, masks, ventilators and other critical medical equipment as the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases skyrocket. But a new investigation by ProPublica, along with reporting by numerous other outlets, […]
Posted inLife
2019 year in review: consumer, public health and environmental highlights
WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2019 – Advocates for consumer, public health and environmental issues made great strides in 2019, while simultaneously defending existing policies that protect Americans from regressive changes by the federal government and unsustainable corporate practices. “Too many of the federal regulations that keep our water, air and bodies clean and healthy — or […]
Posted inUS
More than a third of U.S. states get an “F” for economic development transparency
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2019 – More than one-third of U.S. states are failing to make critical information about how governments are subsidizing business projects with taxpayer dollars readily available to the public online, according to a new report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group. Following the Money 2019, the organization’s tenth evaluation of […]
Posted inLife
New government data & U.S. PIRG investigation reveal impact of unsafe toys on children
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 21, 2019 – Toys sent an estimated 226,000 kids to the emergency room in 2018, according to newly released data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The 34th-annual Trouble in Toyland report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund, released on the same day, helps identify dangerous products still for sale in 2019 and […]
Posted inLife
Investigation finds 1 in 9 used cars for sale at AutoNation have unrepaired safety recalls
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2019 – AutoNation, America’s largest auto retailer, is selling used vehicles with unrepaired safety recalls including explosive Takata airbags, faulty GM ignition switches and defects with no fix available. Unsafe Used Cars for Sale, a new report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) Foundation, […]
Posted inUS
Major textbook publisher merger will cost students
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2019 – The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and a coalition of student and consumer advocates submitted a series of letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) today opposing the proposed merger of textbook publishers Cengage and McGraw Hill. The companies are two of the largest college textbook publishers in […]
Posted inCalifornia
California avocados recalled in six states over listeria fears
Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2019 – Henry Avocado Corporation is recalling avocados potentially contaminated with the deadly listeria bacteria. Listeria is especially serious when contracted by young children or elderly whose weakened immune systems can turn a simple infection into a fatal disease. Pregnant women can also suffer miscarriages or stillbirths. Consumers often fail to […]
Posted inEnviro
Two-thirds of states examined receive failing grades for efforts to reduce lead in school drinking water
March 25, 2019 – A total of 22 states earned an “F” grade for their performance in eliminating lead from school drinking water, according to a new study by Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Of the 31 states tested, Illinois was the only one (along with the District of Columbia) to […]
Posted inUS
New Report: Hazardous meat and poultry recalls double
Jan. 17, 2019 – From E. coli-infected romaine lettuce to Salmonella-tainted beef, contaminated foods lead to illnesses that sicken as many as 1 in 6 Americans annually. In 2018, this epidemic helped spur major recalls, which caused stores and restaurants to toss millions of pounds of meat and produce. U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s new report […]
Posted inEnviro
It’s “America Recycles Day.” Is the United States set up for recycling success?
November 15, 2018 – While a recent survey says that 94 percent of Americans support recycling and 74 percent say it should be a priority, the national average recycling rate is only 34.7 percent. Almost two-thirds of our waste ends up in landfills, incinerators, or as litter blighting the environment, often because recycling is prohibitively […]
Posted inLife
Lab results show many school supplies safe, but some contain asbestos, lead and other hazardous chemicals
Aug. 9, 2018 – Many parents and teachers shopping for their students’ 2018-19 school supplies look for a “non-toxic” label on the products, but many products don’t have that label. U.S. PIRG Education Fund is releasing a guide that advises consumers which products are actually non-toxic and which to avoid. This guide is being released alongside […]
Posted inWorld
EU Bans Bee-Killing Pesticides
April 30, 2018 – In a historic vote, the European Union (EU) passed a continent-wide restriction on the use of bee-harming pesticides. Despite immense pressure from the pesticide industry, the EU nations sided with bees. Citing concerns for food production, the environment and for biodiversity, the EU is set to completely ban the outdoor use […]
Posted inUS
Superfund Sites Need Testing and Funding Following Hurricane Harvey Flooding
Sept. 7, 2017 – In Texas, officials are still trying to confirm whether Texas floodwaters have spread contamination from the toxic waste sites known as “Superfund sites” to residential areas. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says 13 Superfund sites were flooded and potentially damaged by Hurricane Harvey. There is some evidence that the danger from […]
Posted inCalifornia
Emily Rusch: California Moves to Study, Not Ban, Toxic Chlorpyrifos
Aug. 18, 2017 – Today, California officials at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced planned steps to address the threat of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, including further planned scientific reviews of the pesticide by both OEHHA and DPR, and the potential listing […]
Posted inUS
US Department of Education Strips Protection for Students at For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON, DC, Aug. 17, 2017 – Christine Lindstrom, Higher Education Program Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) today released a statement on the decision by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to allow for-profit colleges to publish data on the earnings that their graduates make in ways that may misrepresent the truth. “With […]