Vermont Public Interest Research Group
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Citizen activists greet legislators on the
day of the historic 26 to 4 vote by the
VT Senate denying relicensing of VT Yankee
Photo by Roger Crowley, Courtesy of VPIRG |
In recent years the Lintilhac Foundation has developed an increasingly
strong interest in advocacy, particularly on issues of energy and
the environment, and works closely with one of the state’s most
successful watchdog organizations, the Vermont Public Interest
Research Group (VPIRG). VPIRG’s mission is to “promote and protect
the health of Vermont’s environment, people, and locally-based
economy.” Its small but aggressive staff in Montpelier works to
achieve its goals through public awareness campaigns, lobbying
state government, publishing reports, and energizing communities
and individuals to participate in the democratic process. VPIRG
was founded to be and is a protector and voice for the public;
its long list of victories since 1972 include anti-pollution measures,
resisting the expansion of the nuclear power industry, campaign
finance reform, and increasing access to health care for Vermonters.
Several of VPIRG’s flagship causes are of deep significance to
Crea for both humanitarian and scientific reasons. One prominent
example is a proposal to expand the storage of radioactive waste
by the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2005 Crea worked
with VPIRG to oppose this proposal by testifying at statehouse
hearings, attending committee meetings, and contributing to the
opinion pages of The Burlington Free Press. Crea’s empirical conviction
that there cannot be “safe” storage of nuclear waste is rooted
in her years as an oceanographer when she was on a team researching
a Department of Energy proposal to store nuclear waste beneath
the seabed of the Pacific Ocean. The study proved the theory untenable,
and the experience helped shape Crea’s view, shared and advanced
by VPIRG, that proactive engagement is necessary to address threats
to the environment with such serious consequences for society-at-large.
“The cost of pollution-based prosperity is getting loaded onto
the backs of future generations,” says Crea. “I consider myself
a free-market capitalist, but the economy needs to be more in tune
with the ecosystem.”
VPIRG’s work on legislation to promote clean energy sources in
Vermont inspired Crea to become more involved, and she began attending
meetings of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. Says
Paul Burns, Executive Director of VPIRG, “There were times we couldn’t
always have someone in committee. She was a fixed presence there,
our eyes and ears.” VPIRG’s efforts on clean energy resulted in
new legislation requiring utilities to meet elevated targets for
electricity generated from renewable resources, and new incentives
for utilities to invest in alternatives such as wind turbines and
hydroelectric upgrades.
Whether the issue is energy, safeguarding the future of agriculture
in Vermont, or keeping the state’s air and water free of pollutants,
VPIRG and the Lintilhac Foundation have values and priorities in
common. And for the Lintilhacs, the successful grassroots methods
of VPIRG demonstrate the great potential of individuals to participate
in the political process, and to play a hand in their own destiny.
“Citizen activism is so critical in a democracy,” says Crea. “In
order to have a balance of power you must have groups like VPIRG
that confront inequality. The only thing standing between citizens
and the interests of business and government are these organizations.”