Here's a great new issue for the CCA

An environmental guide on how to shit in the woods

Shari Edelson, Penn State and B. Derrick Taff, Penn State

A pilot program to distribute waste bags to hikers on
Mount Elbert in Colorado successfully cut down the amount
of human waste on the massive mountain. Shari Edelson, CC BY-ND

If you’re one of the 63 million Americans who went hiking last year, chances are you’ve found yourself needing to go, with no toilet in sight.

Aside from personal inconvenience, why is this such a big deal?

Human fecal contamination is a public health concern in natural areas.

Pathogens in human poop can remain active for a long time – over a year in outdoor environments – meaning that waste left behind today can cause severe gastrointestinal disease and other sicknesses for future visitors. Fecal waste can enter waterways after storms or snowmelt, harming water quality. 

Finally, it can be upsetting – or at the least, unpleasant – to encounter someone else’s poop and used toilet paper in nature.

Toilet paper waste on Mount Elbert in the San Isabel
National Forest in Colorado. Shari Edelson, CC BY-ND

As a researcher and a Ph.D. candidate who study human impacts on parks and protected areas, we have been thinking quite a lot about poop and ways people can tread more lightly on the landscape. 

Our focus is on Leave No Trace, an environmental education framework – created by an organization with the same name – that helps people implement minimal-impact practices in the outdoors.

Study reveals for the first time the extent to which nanoplastic pollutes the North Atlantic

Underestimated sources of marine pollution

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

Plastic particles less than one micrometer in size are found across the globe – from the peaks of the Alps to the depths of the oceans. A research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Utrecht University, and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) investigated the presence of nanoplastic in the North Atlantic. 

The findings show that nanosized plastic particles are present at all depths between the temperate and subtropical zone of the ocean. By mass, the amount of nanoplastic is comparable to that of microplastic. An article published in Nature concludes that nanoplastic plays a far greater role in marine plastic pollution than previously assumed.

Plastic waste pollutes oceans across all regions of the world. Marine animals may become entangled in larger plastic debris such as nets and bags or mistake smaller pieces for food. Ingested plastic can block or injure the gastrointestinal tract. The smallest plastic particles in the micro and nano range are mostly excreted, but a small proportion can pass through the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream.

URI Cooperative Extension program aims to rescue and recycle food by changing the way Rhode Islanders interact with it

Course applications now open for six-week Food Recovery for Rhode Island

Kristen Curry

Applications are open for Food Recovery for Rhode Island at the University of Rhode Island (FRRI), a community education program for Rhode Islanders offered through URI Cooperative Extension. The six-week course includes online coursework and field experiences that can be completed at participants’ convenience.

Attendees learn how to make the most of their grocery purchases, preserving and storing them properly. Through hands-on experiences exploring the local food system on farms, community gardens, and in kitchens, participants will:

• Gain skills in canning, pickling, dehydrating and freezing the harvest
• Improve their home composting 
• Get involved with community composting
• Rescue surplus food
• Network with inspiring organizations making changes at the grassroots level
• Learn about employment helping schools establish share tables and compost sorting stations in the cafeteria

The reasons for making changes are clear. Wasted food is the most common item in Rhode Island’s Central Landfill with 100,000 tons entering the landfill each year. Yet 38% of state residents experience food insecurity and the demand for food assistance has increased 9% in the past year. Each month, approximately 84,400 Rhode Islanders seek assistance at food pantries across the state.

All Rhode Islanders benefit from reduction of greenhouse gasses by diverting material from the state landfill. In the meantime, community members also benefit when food can be diverted to hunger relief agencies, helping to bolster the state’s emergency food system. 

One participant, Laurel Spears, is using what she learned in her work at the Tomaquag Museum, teaching the indigenous community about modern composting methods, exploring traditional food preservation techniques, and promoting the importance of foraging, growing, and utilizing produce in its entirety.

Bad bottle bill news

Bottle bill shelved in favor of another study while CRMC reform effort is set adrift

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Upon first mention of the phrase “bottle bill” at the State House Tuesday night, Rep. Carol McEntee’s face dropped.

“I am not happy,” the South Kingstown Democrat said.

That’s because 24 hours earlier, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson unveiled amended legislation gutting McEntee’s 57-page bill. Gone is the proposed 10-cent fee on recyclable bottles redeemed upon return to designated redemption sites. 

In its place, another study, this time, by a third-party consultant hired by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM). The compromise aims to find middle ground for environmental advocates and beverage makers and retailers, who failed to reach consensus on a deposit-refund program.

Meanwhile, a separate environmental priority to overhaul the troubled Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) also appears dead in the water amid hesitation at the corresponding price tag, with a less extreme alternative in its place.

R.I.’s bottle bill faces fierce industry opposition despite commission’s two-year effort

Spending big bucks to block needed legislation

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

It was supposed to be a compromise between environmental and business interests. Rhode Island’s beverage sale industry representatives agreed to help work on a solution two years ago when a legislative study commission formed to study the best way to craft a deposit-refund program for recyclable bottles and cans.

But at least two of the commission’s 20 members, both of whom work in the industry, remained firmly opposed to two of the “three bottle bills” receiving an initial vetting before the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture Wednesday.

Their displeasure was targeted toward a bill sponsored by Sen. Bridget Valverde, a North Kingstown Democrat, and another bill by Sen. Mark McKenney, a Warwick Democrat, calling for a 10-cent fee on individual beverage containers. Consumers could get their money back upon returning the containers to designated redemption sites run by a nonprofit contractor hired by beverage producers.

The point of a redemption program is twofold: to discourage littering and to reduce the waste accumulating in the state’s Central Landfill in Johnston. A report published last month by the commission notes roughly 1,000 tons of microplastic was detected by University of Rhode Island researchers within the sediment of Narragansett Bay — which ultimately end up being consumed by marine species that humans then eat.

Of the six New England states, only Rhode Island and New Hampshire do not have a bottle refund program.

But reaching a compromise with industry leaders was always going to be an uphill battle. Even before the final report was issued in April, five beverage industry members who sat on the commission issued a letter stating they supported none of the recommendations for a proposed bottle deposit program, citing concerns over cost, implementation, and balance issues in the region.

“The intention of this bill is definitely honorable,” Rhode Island Food Dealers Executive Director Scott Bromberg, who served on the commission, told lawmakers Wednesday. “But we beg the question: Is this the right time to propose additional fees to everyday, regular Rhode Islanders?”

He added that businesses would ultimately pass on the 10-cent fee to consumers — at a time when tariffs threaten to drive prices even higher.

“While 10 cents may not seem like a lot on one bottle, $2.40 for a case of $5 bottles of water is significant,” Bromberg said. “This can be recouped, but return is often unpredictable.”

Nicholas Fede Jr., executive director for the Rhode Island Liquor Operators Collaborative, also served on the commission, said the state should instead focus on updating existing curbside infrastructure to better sort out recyclable materials that may end up crushed in the landfill.

“People want to do the easiest thing possible, and that is curbside,” Fede told the committee. “The fact that we’re going to make people take their recyclables to a redemption center is a massive inconvenience.”

McKenney, commission co-chair, sees a bottle bill as an obligation to a cleaner future.

“We can kick the can down the road — it can be our children’s problem, it could be our grandchildren’s problem,” said McKenney, a Warwick Democrat. “But we do have to ask what kind of state we are leaving for them.”

Lack of consensus

Bottle bill supporters and opponents have tried to show the public is on their side. But the results of surveys on the subject favor whoever commissioned the poll.

A survey released Tuesday by a group calling itself Stop the Rhode Island Bottle Tax found that 60% of 600 respondents were opposed to the legislation. The group is backed by the American Beverage Association. EDITOR'S NOTE: I was one of those called for this poll. I said I supported the deposit bill. It was a "push" poll where the questions were designed to give them the answers they wanted, but not with me. - Will Collette

Study Commission Recommends R.I. Implement Both Bottle Bill and Extended Producer Responsibility Program

Or perhaps we'll get neither

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Ban nips - reduce roadside litter AND drunk driving

After 18 months of study, more than a dozen meetings, and hundreds of pieces of testimony, evidence, and presentations, Rhode Island’s joint study commission on plastic waste released its report, which revealed, unsurprisingly, that legislation in support of a bottle bill faces steep opposition.

The bottle bill is one of those pieces of environmental legislation that remain stuck in a state of political limbo. Advocates and pro-bottle bill lawmakers every year lobby heavily for the state to adopt a bottle deposit system, where consumers can turn in empty plastic bottles and other containers in exchange for a small refund, but the legislation rarely escapes committee.

It’s popular with environmental groups and residents who say they are sick of finding alcohol nips and other plastic waste littering parking lots, waterways, roadsides, and parks. But the legislation has always been extremely unpopular with the state’s beverage distributors and liquor stores.

The bottle bill commission, led by Rep. Carol McEntee, D-South Kingstown, a longstanding sponsor of such legislation, and Sen. Mark McKenney, D-Warwick, was an attempt to study the issue more thoroughly and hopefully reach some kind of compromise between bottle bill advocates and opponents.

Monday Charlestown Town Council meeting will include long-overdue action to give residents a Homestead property tax credit

 

Fellow Charlestown Residents, The Charlestown Town Council will have their first regular meeting of the month on Monday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. The agenda packet can be read here. There is also a link for watching the live stream of the meeting. Discussion and potential action about adoption of a Tentative 2025-2026 budget and any potential warrant Items for presentation at the Budget Public Hearing that will be held on May 5, 2025. Discussion and potential action about amending the fees for disposal of material at the Charlestown Residential Collection Center (CRCC). Discussion and potential action to request legislation from the General Assembly to allow Charlestown to enact a Homestead Exemption (details starting on page 435 of the agenda packet). Discussion and potential action regarding possibly moving the Charlestown Parks and Recreation Department from the Town Hall to Ninigret Park (details starting on page 458 of the agenda packet) I hope to see you there! There are some future meetings that may be of interest: Town Council Second Monthly Meeting, Monday, April 28, 2025, 7:00 p.m. at Charlestown Town Hall, Council Chambers Budget Public Hearing, Monday, May 5, 2025, 7:00 p.m. at Charlestown Town Hall, Council Chambers. Town Council Regular Meeting Monday, May 12, 2025, 7:00 p.m. at Charlestown Town Hall, Council Chambers With Thanks, Tim Quillen, Chair Charlestown Residents United Paid for by Charlestown Residents United P.O. Box 412 Charlestown, RI 02813 Visit our Website   Charlestown Residents United | PO Box 412 | Charlestown, RI 02813 US EDITOR'S NOTE: see previous article on the passage of Homestead exemption legislation for residents of South Kingstown.

Tariffs won’t just hit your wallet. They could also increase food waste.

Wednesday, on April 2, Trump plans to announce major new tariffs

Frida Garza, Staff Writer

Spring has sprung, and you can tell by looking at Dig’s online menu. The fast-casual chain known for its bountiful salads and bowls is promoting a new sandwich for the spring — the “avo smash,” wherein a hearty piece of chicken or tofu is embraced by a brioche bun, pesto aioli, and plenty of bright-green avocado. 

The lunch spot’s seasonal menus are planned at least three months in advance, said Andrew Torrens, Dig’s director of supply, meaning the avo smash has been in the works for a while. However, if the United States decides to escalate a global trade war next month, Dig will have to come up with a backup plan fast.

“If avocado prices explode, what’s our backup? How do we pivot?” said Torrens on a recent phone call. 

Since his inauguration in January, Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada — creating confusion for restaurant owners, food distributors, grocers, and consumers who rely on the United States’ neighbor to the south for fruits and vegetables year-round. 

On February 1, Trump signed an executive order levying a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico. However, he has twice pushed back the start date; earlier this month, he paused tariffs on most goods coming in from Mexico and Canada until April 2. What will actually happen on that date — which Trump has dubbed “Liberation Day” — is still largely unclear.

A tariff on goods from Mexico, the single largest supplier of horticultural imports to the U.S., would almost certainly mean higher prices at the grocery store. It could also, according to experts, increase food waste along the supply chain.

Dig sources most of its avocados from Mexico, where the warm climate is ideal for growing these fruits. This is common — in fact, about 90 percent of avocados consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Microplastics in ocean linked to disabilities for coastal residents

Mobility, self-care, independent living disability higher in areas with high microplastics

American Academy of Neurology

Tiny bits of plastic found in the ocean may be tied to a higher risk of disability for people who live in coastal areas with high levels, according to a preliminary study released February 25, 2025, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 77th Annual Meeting taking place April 5–9, 2025, in San Diego and online. 

The study looked at disabilities affecting memory and thinking, mobility and a person’s ability to take care of oneself. The study does not prove that microplastics cause disabilities; it only shows an association. 

Marine microplastics are microscopic pieces of plastic, less than 5 millimeters in length, found in oceans and seas. They come from broken-down plastic trash or products like face scrubs, fishing nets and food wrappers or take-out containers. 

“The environment can play a crucial role in our health, and factors such as pollution may impact a person’s risk of developing cognitive decline and other neurological disabilities,” said Sarju Ganatra, MD, of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. 

“Our study found in coastal communities with higher levels of microplastics in the water, there were higher rates of disabilities that can affect a person’s life in many ways through thinking and memory, movement and their ability to take care of themselves and live independently.” 

The study looked at 218 coastal counties in the United States across 22 states. Researchers looked at marine microplastic levels across the counties, sorting them into four groups based on marine microplastic levels in the nearby ocean surface. 

Counties in the low group had zero to 0.005 microplastic pieces per cubic meter (pieces/m³) of ocean water, the medium group had 0.005 to one pieces/m³, the high group had between one and 10 pieces/m³ and the very high group had 10 or more pieces/m³. 

On average, counties with very high levels had more than 1,000 microplastic pieces/m³ of ocean water, while those with low levels had fewer than 10. They then looked at the amount of disability among residents in these categories: memory and thinking, mobility, self-care and independent living. 

Self-care disabilities include difficulty performing activities such as dressing, bathing or getting around inside the home. Independent living disabilities include difficulty performing tasks such as managing finances, shopping or using transportation. 

Bamboo takeout containers offer a sustainable alternative free of ‘forever chemicals’

This might actually work

Lou Bosshart

Researchers examine bamboo takeout containers
—one intact and one deteriorated.
Photo: Lou Bosshart/UBC

A UBC student has developed bamboo-based takeout containers that are as durable as conventional options, don’t rely on harmful “forever chemicals” and break down quickly in natural conditions.

Forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are commonly used in disposable packaging for their oil- and grease-resistant properties. However, they persist in the environment and have been linked to plastic pollution and serious health concerns.

With support from industry partner Bambooers Lifestyle Concept Limited, Camryn Collette, a forestry master’s student, has developed takeout plates made from bamboo and a natural, starch-based PFAS alternative. This biodegradable substance provides similar grease resistance to PFAS without the environmental cost, and meets U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety standards.

Drop off electronic waste at Rippy's on February 15th

Fellow Charlestown Residents, The Charlestown Town Council will have their first regular meeting of the month on Monday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. The agenda packet can be read here. There is also a link for watching the live stream of the meeting. CRU is sponsoring an Electronics Recycling Drop Off: Date: February 15th, 2025 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Location: Rippy's Parking Lot More information: see the CRU website Hope to see you there! With Thanks, Tim Quillen, Chair Charlestown Residents United Paid for by Charlestown Residents United P.O. Box 412 Charlestown, RI 02813 Visit our Website

Looming Budget Deficit Bad News for Environmental Advocates Seeking Beefed-Up State Programs

Not enough money for environment progress

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Lawmakers return to Smith Hill to two very different chambers, and one big problem.

In the Senate, the leadership drama that had been simmering since the last session came to a head during the annual leadership vote, when 12 senators, all Democrats, voted “present” instead of voting to re-elect Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, D-North Providence, for a new term of leadership for the chamber.

It also resulted in a changing of the guards. Sen. Alana DiMario, D-North Kingstown, was demoted from chair of the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee. In her place, Ruggerio appointed Sen. V. Susan Sosonowski, D-South Kingstown. It’s Sosnowski’s second time as chair of the committee; she led the eight-member body for much of the past decade, before assuming leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee in 2021.

Over on the other side of the building, the House of Representatives was a very different story. No drama, no leadership fight, just a near unanimous vote for Speaker Joe Shekarchi, D-Warwick, to lead the chamber again.

But outside of any opening-day drama is a bigger problem: the state’s looming budget deficit, estimated to total more than $300 million. The final numbers won’t be known until the state budget office makes its final estimate in May.

That’s bad news for state environmental groups seeking funding for new programs or money to beef up existing environmental enforcement. In its biannual Green Report Card released last fall, the Environment Council of Rhode Island, a coalition of the state’s environmental advocacy groups, wrote that the state’s efforts “to mitigate climate change remain insufficient to meet the goals of the Act on Climate.”

First-of-its-kind study uses remote sensing to monitor plastic debris in rivers and lakes

Find it and grab it

University of Minnesota

A first-of-its-kind study from researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities shows how remote sensing can help monitor and remove plastic debris from freshwater environments like the Mississippi River.

The research, published in Nature, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, helps to increase the understanding of plastic debris behavior in freshwater environments.

Plastic pollution in oceans continues to be a growing environmental issue, with the United Nations Environment Programme naming it one of the leading pollution challenges. But, plastic pollution in lakes and rivers, or freshwater environments, has garnered less attention.

That is something the researchers wanted to change, because much of the plastic debris in oceans makes its way there through rivers. Previous studies in removing plastic waste use labor-intensive sampling, which can be time-consuming and expensive.

To help with those challenges, this study used remote sensing technology that can provide cost-effective solutions and reach a wider area. The technology uses spectral reflectance properties, or wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, to pinpoint specific types of plastic. It’s important to find the specific wavelength of the plastic materials, so that the sensing technology can filter out materials found naturally in freshwater environments, such as seaweed, sediments, driftwood, and water foams.

Microplastics in the Air Could Be Causing Cancer

Could be contributing to male and female infertility

By University of California - San Francisco

Tires and degrading garbage release tiny plastic particles into the air, contributing to air pollution that researchers at UC San Francisco believe may be linked to respiratory issues and other health problems.

A comprehensive review of approximately 3,000 studies highlights the potential dangers of these particles. They have been associated with serious health concerns such as male and female infertility, colon cancer, and impaired lung function.

Additionally, these particles may trigger chronic pulmonary inflammation, which could elevate the risk of lung cancer.

Microplastics in the air may be leading to lung and colon cancers

Road friction on tires a major source

University of California - San Francisco

Tires and degrading garbage shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air, creating a form of air pollution that UC San Francisco researchers suspect may be causing respiratory and other illnesses.

A review of some 3,000 studies implicates these particles in a variety of serious health problems.

These include male and female infertility, colon cancer and poor lung function.

The particles also may contribute to chronic pulmonary inflammation, which can increase the risk of lung cancer.

"These microplastics are basically particulate matter air pollution, and we know this type of air pollution is harmful," said Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSF.

Woodruff directs the Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment (PRHE) and is the senior author of the study, which appears in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Ditch Bottled Water Now: Hidden Health Risks and Environmental Damage Uncovered

So little benefit, so many problems

By BMJ Group

The huge and growing toll bottled water is taking on human and planetary health warrants an urgent rethink of its use as 1 million bottles are bought every minute around the globe, with that figure set to rise further still amid escalating demand, warn population health experts in a commentary published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

Some 2 billion people around the world with limited or no access to safe drinking water rely on bottled water. But for the rest of us, it’s largely a matter of convenience and the unshaken belief—aided and abetted by industry marketing—that bottled water is safer and often healthier than tap water.

Health Risks From Bottled Water

It isn’t, insist the authors from Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar.

That’s because bottled water often isn’t subject to the same rigorous quality and safety standards as tap water, and it can carry the risk of harmful chemicals leaching from the plastic bottles used for it, especially if it’s stored for a long time, and/or exposed to sunlight and high temperatures, they explain.

Between an estimated 10% and 78% of bottled water samples contain contaminants, including microplastics, often classified as hormone (endocrine) disruptors, and various other substances including phthalates (used to make plastics more durable) and bisphenol A (BPA).

Microplastic contamination is associated with oxidative stress, immune system dysregulation, and changes in blood fat levels. And BPA exposure has been linked to later-life health issues, such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, they add.

“While there are short-term safety thresholds, the long-term effects of these contaminants remain largely unknown,” observes the author, adding that microplastics can also enter the food chain. 

Nearly 200 compounds linked to breast cancer found in food packaging, tableware

We've got to stop doing this to ourselves

Brian Bienkowski 

An estimated 189 compounds linked to breast cancer are found in food packaging and tableware, according to a new study.

The study, published today in the Frontiers in Toxicology journal, comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — which is responsible for regulating potentially harmful substances in food and packaging — is reassessing how they manage chemicals in food additives and packaging, something that health researchers have long called for.

In the new study, researchers compared the Food Packaging Forum’s database on potentially harmful chemicals that can migrate out of food packaging and tableware to a recently published list of chemicals linked to breast cancer — including PFAS, bisphenols such as BPA and phthalates — developed by the Silent Spring Institute.

They found 189 potential mammary carcinogens in food contact materials, with 143 of these found in plastics and 89 found in paper or cardboard.

“This study is important, because it shows that there is a huge opportunity for prevention of human exposure to breast cancer-causing chemicals,” said Jane Muncke, managing director of the Food Packaging Forum and co-author of the study, in a statement. “The potential for cancer prevention by reducing hazardous chemicals in your daily life is underexplored and deserves much more attention.”

Muncke and colleagues pointed out that breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer for women around the world. While the study was not set up to prove whether there is any relationship between cancer rates and food packaging and tableware, it does open the door for research exploring possible links and prevention strategies.

The study underscores a situation “that likely should have been mitigated by existing regulations,” said Lindsey Parkinson, data scientist and scientific editor at the Food Packaging Forum and co-author of the study, in a statement.

Can you trust companies that say their plastic products are recyclable?

US regulators may crack down on deceptive claims

Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law & Graduate School

Keurig, maker of K-Cup single-use coffee pods, was recently
fined for claiming the pods were recyclable. 
Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post, via Getty Images

Plastic is a fast-growing segment of U.S. municipal solid waste, and most of it ends up in the environment. Just 9% of plastic collected in municipal solid waste was recycled as of 2018, the most recent year for which national data is available. The rest was burned in waste-to-energy plants or buried in landfills.

Manufacturers assert that better recycling is the optimal way to reduce plastic pollution. But critics argue that the industry often exaggerates how readily items can actually be recycled. In September 2024, beverage company Keurig Dr Pepper was fined US$1.5 million for inaccurately claiming that its K-Cup coffee pods were recyclable after two large recycling companies said they could not process the cups. California is suing ExxonMobil, accusing the company of falsely promoting plastic products as recyclable.

Environmental law scholar Patrick Parenteau explains why claims about recyclability have confused consumers, and how forthcoming guidelines from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission may address this problem.

Using Fungi to Transform Food Waste Into Culinary Masterpieces

I'd give it a try (but I'll try anything)

By University of California – Berkeley

The East Javan food called oncom is made by growing orange Neurospora mold on soy pulp left over from making tofu. In about 36 hours, the soy pulp is turned into a tasty and nutritious food. Credit: Vayu Hill-Maini, UC Berkeley

Chef-turned-chemist Vayu Hill-Maini has a passion: to turn food waste into culinary treats using fungi.

One of his collaborators is Rasmus Munk, head chef and co-owner of the Michelin two-star restaurant Alchemist in Copenhagen, who serves a dessert — orange-colored Neurospora mold grown on rice — inspired by Hill-Maini.

For the past two years, Hill-Maini has worked with a team of chefs at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a Michelin two-star restaurant in Pocantico Hills, New York, to generate tasty morsels from Neurospora mold grown on grains and pulses, including the pulp left over from making oat milk. At Blue Hill, you may soon be served a patty of grain covered with orange Neurospora with a side of moldy bread — orange Neurospora grown on rice bread that, when fried, smells and tastes like a toasted cheese sandwich.

A sauteed patty composed of soy pulp innoculated with Neurospora mold and left to ferment for several days. UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow Vayu Hill-Maini prepared and cooked the patty, plating it with a cashew cream sauce, baked yams and a fresh cherry tomato and cucumber salad. Credit: Vayu Hill-Maini, UC Berkeley

On a telephone call-in to Fox & Friends, Trump said Vice President Kamala Harris was “real garbage.”

Hey Trump, Who’s the Real Garbage?

Robert Freeman for Common Dreams

Former U.S. President Donald Trump just gave Vice President Kamala Harris what might prove to be the most effective line of attack for the entire presidential election campaign.

On a telephone call-in to Fox & Friends, Trump said Harris was “real garbage.” It was typical of Trump’s ad hominem attacks against all of his opponents.

But such attacks have never really been effectively parried, so he’s gotten away with them. They’ve worked. Everybody remembers “Crooked Hillary,” “Little Marco,” and other epithets.

But since it was Trump who uttered the line, it is now fair game for Harris to take it up and use it against him. It will be utterly devastating, throwing back into his face the truth about who he is.

First, let’s remember who Kamala Harris is.

She has a law degree from the University of California Hastings School of Law. In 2003, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco. From there, she was elected attorney general for the state of California. In 2016, she was elected to the U.S. Senate, the second African-American woman to serve in the Senate and the first Asian-American woman to serve.

In 2020, she was elected vice president of the United States, receiving over 81 million votes on the ticket with Joe Biden. That is almost 8 million more votes than were cast for Donald Trump. She is the first woman ever to hold that office, the highest elective office in the U.S. ever filled by a woman.

She has performed those duties for a president, Joe Biden, who is already ranked as the 14^th best president in American history by 154 presidential scholars. In that same survey, Trump was voted the worst president in history.

This is the profile of one of the highest achieving women in the history of the country, and a double-minority one, to boot. In no world is it even close to “garbage.”

But since Trump offered the opening, Harris should make it a standard part of every appearance she makes—from rallies to debates—asking, “Who’s the real garbage?” And then, marching through the astonishing litany of Donald Trump’s character as revealed by his own actions.

For example…

Donald Trump has accused me of being “real garbage.” I’m serious! Let’s take a look at who’s the real garbage.

I’m not a convicted criminal. He is. Thirty-four times over! So, who’s the real garbage?

I never had an affair with a porn star and tried to hide it by buying her off to keep her quiet. He did. So, who’s the real garbage?

I don’t owe more than half a billion dollars(!) in legal judgements for things like tax evasion and defamation, but he does. So, who’s the real garbage?

The Washington Post says—and I’m quoting here—“Trump Was Found to Have Raped E. Jean Carroll.” Let me say that again. This is the headline. Quote: “Trump Was Found to Have Raped E. Jean Carroll.” RAPE! So, who’s the real garbage?

My boss wasn’t ranked the worst president in American history by a group of 154 presidential scholars. HE was. The worst president in American history. Look it up. So, who’s the real garbage?

I didn’t try to overturn a presidential election and steal the votes of 81 MILLION people who voted for Joe Biden and me. He did. So, who’s the real garbage?

And, I haven’t been lying about it for four years because I couldn’t admit that I was a loser. But he has. He’s not just a loser. He’s a sore loser, which everybody hates. So, who’s the real garbage?

I didn’t inherit $413 million from my daddy, and then pretend for decades that I was a self-made man. But, he did. So, who’s the real garbage?

I didn’t go bankrupt six times while stiffing thousands of workers of their rightful pay. All the while claiming to be a business genius. He did. So, who’s the real garbage?

I’m not a pathological liar, telling more than 30,000 DOCUMENTED lies during four years in office. THIRTY THOUSAND! But he did. So, who’s the real garbage?

Very quickly, the refrain will be taken up by everybody in the audience, in a question-response manner that will become a signature statement of the campaign. It will carry from rally to rally, through the convention, naming the lowlife for what he is, in a way that he will never be able to escape.

This is so important. We can already see that Trump is going to wage a vicious, scurrilous campaign. Harris cannot let him control the narrative, nor define her in his terms, as he’s trying to do with “real garbage.” Trump’s prior opponents have mistakenly allowed him to do that.

“Who’s the real garbage?” needs to become the “Lock her up” of Harris’ campaign. That is, the repeated, raucous, reflexive recitation of contempt for Trump that becomes embedded into the culture and, therefore, larger than life.

“Who’s the real garbage,” curated to an epigram in the culture, can become the four-word death knell for Trump’s re-election bid, exposing in his own words, and illustrated by his own actions, just how unfit he is to be president. Every American will know it.

The deliciousness of it comes from the fact that it’s all true, and that somebody, for the first time, is truly nailing Trump for who he is. It will make him the central figure in the campaign, as he’s always so desperate to be. He deserves no less. Nor do we.

Robert Freeman is the Founder and Executive Director of The Global Uplift Project, a leading provider of educational infrastructure for the developing world.  He is the author of The Best One Hour History series whose titles include World War I, The Cold War, The Vietnam War, and many others.