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STANDING UP FOR CONSUMERS—For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

Independent Research and Education

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund conducts research and public education on behalf of Arizona’s consumers and the public interest. Our research, analysis, reports and outreach serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. The Arizona PIRG Education Fund works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer citizens meaningful opportunities for civic participation.

For information about a specific report, please contact the author. If you are a foundation interested in supporting the Arizona PIRG Education Fund's work, or if you have general inquiries, please contact us here.

Our Top Priorities

 

Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

CONNECTING ARIZONA WITH RAIL

Arizonans drive more miles, experience more congestion and produce more pollution than they did two decades ago. It’s clear that we need to update and expand our transit system to meet our needs in the 21st century.
 


 

SAVING ENERGY AND MONEY, CUTTING POLLUTION

Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest and cleanest way for Arizona to meet its growing energy needs. Arizona PIRG Education Fund is working to educate Arizonans on this clean and healthy alterntative to dirty energy.
 


 

ENSURING SPENDING TRANSPARENCY IN ARIZONA

Seeing how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Spending transparency checks corruption, bolsters public confidence, and promotes fiscal responsibility.

 
 

For information about a specific report, please contact the author. If you are a foundation interested in supporting the Arizona PIRG Education Fund's work, or if you have general inquiries, please contact us here.

Arizona PIRG Education Fund Staff - A Partial List

Arizona PIRG Education Fund is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, Arizona PIRG Education Fund speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest.

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DIANE E. BROWN

Executive Director

(602) 252-9227

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SERENA UNREIN

Public Interest Advocate

(602) 252-1184

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PHINEAS BAXANDALL

Senior Analyst for Tax & Budget Policy

(617) 747-4351

>CONTACT
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THE FEDERATION OF STATE PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUCATION FUNDS

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund is an independent, state-based organization that conducts research and educates for the public interest. 

 

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund is a member of the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.  Together in our state and across the country, we have delivered results-oriented policies, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRG Education Funds employ close to 400 policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and organizers and are active in 47 states, with a federal office in Washington, D.C. On national issues, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact.

 

What's New

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

McDonald’s Takes Step to Protect Public Health, Commits to Reduce Medically Important Antibiotic Use in Beef Supply

McDonald's Commits to Reducing Medically Important Antibiotic Use in its Beef Supply Chain 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

New car seats made without toxic flame-retardant chemicals

Car seats are supposed to keep our youngest children safe. But though they may protect infants and toddlers during accidents, car seats have a history of containing toxic flame-retardant chemicals.

That’s finally changing.

Today, a coalition of groups including U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Ecology Center’s “Healthy Stuff” program released test results on car seats in a new report, Hidden Hazards:Flame Retardants and PFAS in Children’s Car Seats. The authors collaborated with researchers from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble In Toyland

For over 30 years, PIRG Education Fund has conducted an annual survey of toys to look for safety problems. This research has led to more than 150 toy recalls and other regulatory actions over the years. Our work has also helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and well-being of children. This year, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) passing, which strengthened protections against dangerous consumer products.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Arizona PIRG Education Fund’s Annual Trouble in Toyland Report Finds Dangerous Toys on Shelves During Holiday Shopping Season

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund’s annual Trouble in Toyland report once again found potentially hazardous toys on store shelves and online.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

Major Arizona Municipalities Are Below the National Recycling Rate | Diane Brown

To mark America Recycles Day, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund thought it would be helpful to shine a light on the recycling and compost rates for ten of the most populated municipalities in Arizona and offer solutions for improvement.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health

U.S. PIRG statement on $289 million verdict against RoundUp

Today, a jury ruled against the chemical company Monsanto, awarding $289 million in damages to Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper who said he got terminal cancer from Monsanto’s best-selling weedkiller Roundup.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Arizona PIRG Education Fund Denounces Federal Proposal to Stall Clean Car Standards

According to the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, Americans stand to breathe more polluted air as a result of a rollback announced today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler proposed to roll back the “Clean Car” fuel economy standards which, if left in place, would eliminate more than two billion metric tons of emissions. The proposal would also deny states the right to create their own more efficient fuel standards.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health

U.S. judge allows Monsanto’s Roundup cancer lawsuit to go to trial, victims will be heard in court

Federal judge found sufficient evidence to move to trial hundreds of lawsuits alleging that Monsanto Co.’s glyphosate-containing weed-killer Roundup causes cancer.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health

Johnson & Johnson commits to disclose fragrance ingredients in baby products by August 1

J&J said it intends to disclose 100 percent of the ingredients in its babycare products next month.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

New Report Identifies Nine Wasteful Highway Projects Across the Country

Highway projects are notorious for wasting taxpayer dollars. Now, a new report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group identifies nine wasteful highway expansion projects across the country, slated collectively to cost at least $30 billion.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2014

Among the toys surveyed this year, we found numerous choking hazards and five toys with concentrations of toxics exceeding federal standards. In addition to reporting on potentially hazardous products found in stores in 2014, this installment of the report describes the potential hazards in toys and children’s products.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund and Demos | Democracy

The Dominance of Big Money in the 2014 Congressional Elections

In 2014, large donors accounted for the vast majority of all individual federal election contributions this cycle, just as they have in previous elections. Seven of every 10 individual contribution dollars to the federal candidates, parties, PACs and Super PACs that were active in the 2013-2014 election cycle came from donors who gave $200 or more. Candidates alone got 84 percent of their individual contributions from large donors.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Big Money Dominates in Congressional Primaries

Our analysis of fund-raising data from 2014’s congressional primaries examines the way these dynamics are playing out state by state across the country. While some states show markedly more inequity than others, the picture painted by the data is of a primary money race where large donors carry more weight than ordinary Americans. Nationwide, just under two-thirds of all candidate contributions came from the largest donors (those giving over $1,000). And fewer than 5,500 large donors matched the primary contributions coming from at least 440,000 donors nationwide.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Highway Boondoggles

Even though the Driving Boom is now over, state and federal governments continue to pour vast sums of money into the construction of new highways and expansion of old ones – at the expense of urgent needs such as road and bridge repairs, improvements in public transportation and other transportation priorities. Eleven proposed highway projects across the country – slated to cost at least $13 billion – exemplify the need for a fresh approach to transportation spending.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Weak Medicine

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria infect more than 2 million people per year in the United States, causing more than 23,000 deaths. State governments, the FDA and other branches of the federal government should take steps to protect human health from the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can develop on factory farms.

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Blog Post | Public Health

A Soggy Statement from Subway | Anya Vanecek

Subway recently made a statement about their antibiotics policy. Here's where they fall short.

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Blog Post | Public Health

A Fresh Celebration | Anya Vanecek

How do you get a major chain like Subway to celebrate public health? You keep the issue fresh in their minds.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Meet the [antibiotic-free] Chef: Hosea Rosenberg, BlackBelly | Anya Vanecek

Recently, I sat down with Chef Hosea Rosenberg, owner of BlackBelly restaurant in Boulder, CO, to find out why antibiotic-free meat was as good for business as it is for public health.

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Blog Post | Public Health, Consumer Protection

What’s up with the ‘DARK Act’? | Anya Vanecek

The House just passed the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015. This will have major implications for GMO labeling and consumer information about the foods they eat.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

The CFPB is 4 years old and has a lot to show for it! | Ed Mierzwinski

Tuesday, July 21, marks four years to the day since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened its doors to protect consumers and make financial markets work. We've summarized some of the ways CFPB works for you on a new web page.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Arizona Public Service to Restore Partial Funding for Energy Efficiency Programs

Yesterday, Arizona Public Service (APS) let the Arizona Corporation Commission know it is willing to partially restore funding for its energy efficiency programs. Energy efficiency advocates wasted no time calling on the Arizona Corporation Commission to move swiftly to approve financial relief for more ratepayers.

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.

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Trouble In Toyland 2019

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Trouble in Toyland Report Provides Tips on Keeping Kids Safe

Hundreds of thousands of children go to the emergency room every year because of toy-related injuries. To help ensure kids’ safety, the PIRG Education Fund is releasing its 34th-annual Trouble in Toyland report, which identifies dangerous products still for sale in 2019 and provides tips for parents and gift-givers.

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.

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Arizona PIRG Education Fund 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 getting things done.