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News Release | Denver Streets Partnership | Transportation

Denver Earns “C“ on 2018 Progress Toward Safe Streets Goals

A new progress report card released by safety advocates with the Denver Streets Partnership awarded Denver an overall “C“ grade for the City and County of Denver’s progress on the Vision Zero Action Plan designed to improve the safety of Denver’s streets. The progress report card looked at Denver’s 2018 infrastructure goals in eight categories and found that, while Denver met its goals for miles of bike lanes constructed and operational improvements at major intersections, it failed to meet its goals for sidewalks constructed, traffic calming work, and street lighting enhancements.

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

New report: Food recalls increased 10 percent since 2013

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.  CoPIRG Foundation’s new report How Safe is Our Food?, released today, reveals how fundamental flaws in our current food safety system have led to a jump in these recalls since 2013.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Fiat Chrysler Settlement Fails to Protect Consumers

While we are glad that Fiat Chrysler is paying something for damaging the health of Americans and deceiving customers, this settlement does not go far enough. It neither ensures these violations of the public trust won’t happen again nor makes consumers whole.

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Antibiotics

Victory: McDonald’s Takes Step to Protect Public Health

Today, McDonald’s released a new policy to restrict medically important antibiotic use in its beef supply chain. The company will monitor antibiotic use in its top ten beef sourcing markets and set reduction targets for medically important antibiotic use by the end of 2020. Principles in the policy include restricting the routine use of the drugs to prevent disease, a practice that the World Health Organization recommends ending because it breeds antibiotic resistant bacteria. As the largest beef purchaser in the United States, McDonald’s new commitment could spark an industry-wide change to help keep antibiotics effective. 

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation and I-70 Coalition | Transportation

#BaldTiresSuck: New campaign calls on Coloradans to check tires before driving to mountains

As Colorado’s mountains get blanketed with snow, advocates with CoPIRG Foundation and the I-70 Coalition gathered at a Park-n-Ride in Golden to launch a new campaign called #BaldTiresSuck aimed at educating drivers to check their tires before driving into the mountains. The groups highlighted that driving on bald tires along I-70 and other mountain roads in winter weather conditions is unsafe for you and for the travelers around you, and it can cost you a stiff penalty if your car causes a crash or lane closure. Even if you have a vehicle with adequate tires, CoPIRG and the I-70 Coalition encourage travelers to take advantage of transit options to travel along and around I-70 communities including Bustang's new West Line service. 

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Make VW Pay

Grant announcement by Gov means 33 electric vehicle charging stations coming soon

Communities across Colorado will be getting 33 fast-charging stations for electric vehicles soon thanks to an announcement today from Governor John Hickenlooper and the Colorado Energy Office. Colorado has officially awarded $10.33 million to ChargePoint to construct 33 stations at critical points across Colorado, building an electric charging backbone from Durango to Burlington. The funding comes from the settlement with Volkswagen after they were caught selling vehicles with emission cheating software that allowed cars to exceed emission limits and pollute Colorado’s air. 

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Popular toys contain toxics and other hazards

This holiday season, watch out for dangerous and toxic toys. CoPIRG Foundation’s 33rd annual Trouble in Toyland 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.

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Transportation

Over 7,600 Coloradans Call for Clean Car Standards Ahead of Vote This Week

On Tuesday, CoPIRG Foundation organized an event for clean car advocates to announce that over 7,600 Coloradans have called on Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to adopt state emission standards for gas-powered vehicles. The AQCC will be voting on whether to adopt the standards on either Thursday, November 15th or Friday, November 16th, depending on when the hearing on the rule concludes.  

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Antibiotics

Chain Reaction report urges burger restaurants to beef up policies to eliminate routine use of antibiotics

Two growing burger chains, Shake Shack and BurgerFi, stand out from the herd when it comes to serving beef raised without the routine use of antibiotics in the burger industry. They were the only restaurants to earn an “A” on the fourth annual Chain Reaction scorecard released today by six major consumer and environmental organizations. The vast majority of hamburger chains — 22 of the top 25, including giants such as McDonald’s — got an “F” grade because they lack established policies restricting antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG response to reports of Facebook security breach

Facebook announced today that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Tax

Settling for a Lack of Accountability?

When large companies harm the public through fraud, financial scams, chemical spills, dangerous products or other misdeeds, they almost never just pay a fine or penalty, as ordinary people would. Instead, these companies negotiate out-of-court settlements that resolve the charges in return for stipulated payments or promised remedies. These agreements, made on behalf of the American people, are not subject to any transparency standards and companies often write them off as tax deductions claimed as necessary and ordinary costs of doing business.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2015

For 30 years, CoPIRG Foundation has conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to over 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years, and has helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and wellbeing of children. Check out the 2015 survey.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation and SWEEP | Transportation

Transportation Toolkit

This guide is intended to give you a sense of what some of the options are for making our communities better places - places where residents can safely and comfortably get around by walking, riding a bike, or riding transit, in addition to driving. Whether you are headed to school, work, the store or entertainment, there are too many places where the infrastructure, land use patterns and available services make it difficult to use your legs, your bike, a bus or a train (on their own or in combination).

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation and Citizens for Tax Justice | Tax

OFFSHORE SHELL GAMES 2015

U.S.-based multinational corporations are allowed to play by a different set of rules than small and domestic businesses or individuals when it comes to the tax code. Rather than paying their full share, many multinational corporations use accounting tricks to pretend for tax purposes that a substantial portion of their profits are generated in offshore tax havens, countries with minimal or no taxes where a company’s presence may be as little as a mailbox. Multinational corporations’ use of tax havens allows them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Transportation

Who Pays for Roads?

Many Americans believe that drivers pay the full cost of the roads they use through gas taxes and other user fees. That has never been true, and it is less true now than at any other point in modern times. Today, general taxes paid by all taxpayers cover nearly as much of the cost of building and maintaining highways as the gas tax and other fees paid by drivers. The purchasing power of gasoline taxes has declined as a result of inflation, improved vehicle fuel economy, and the recent stagnation in driving.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Deadly infant products sold after recalls at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that discount stores T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods sold 19 different recalled products to consumers between 2014 and 2019. In the case of five products, the stores’ parent company TJX initiated the recall. The products included the Rock ‘N Play and Kids II inclined infant sleepers, which are responsible for a number of fatalities, rattles that can break and pose a choking hazard, and electronics that overheat or explode.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

New study outlines issues, case studies and remedies for U.S. recycling across the country

Recycling challenges vary across the country, but, overall, states are failing to both reduce unnecessary waste and adjust to a changing recycling landscape, according to a new study from U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center.

News Release | U.S. PIRG

CDC estimates at least 35,000 die from drug-resistant infections annually

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its new Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States report, which estimates at least 35,000 Americans die annually from infections that antibiotics can no longer effectively treat.

Report | CoPIRG and Eco-Cycle

State of Recycling in Colorado 2019

2018 and 2019 have been tumultuous years for recycling markets around the U.S. and the world, some of the worst ever seen. Here in Colorado, we have weathered the storm better than most states, and we continue to inch forward on recycling with new community programs and a slight increase in tons recycled. However, we still lag far behind the national average and must substantially pick up the pace if we are to meet our state recycling goals. 

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Nestle cookie dough recalled, may contain pieces of rubber

  • Trouble In Toyland
    Our report highlights the toys that have been recently recalled, explains the hazards they pose, and shines a spotlight on those that may still be available for sale online.
    Get the tips
  • STOP UNFAIR INSURANCE RATE HIKES
    Our new Rate Watch project is pushing insurers to lower costs and cut waste. Find out how you can help.
    Learn More
  • Changing Transportation
    Our researchers have documented a dramatic shift in how Coloradans get around. Now, we're pushing for more transportation options to meet growing demand.
    Learn More
  • Energy Efficient Colorado
    As we rebuild after the floods, we have an opportunity to reduce electric bills by investing in smart upgrades.
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