Last week – the Vermont House and Senate passed legislation outlawing the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, which poisons ground water and leads to earthquakes. Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin is expected to sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk.

The George W. Bush administration – chock-full of energy barons like Dick Cheney – exempted fracking from federal environmental regulations – meaning it’s up to the states to take action to protect their populations from fracking chemicals. So far – New York and Maryland both have moratoriums on fracking in place.

And overseas – fracking has been outlawed in France, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Germany. Let’s help Vermont’s bold actions trigger other states to “get the frack out.”