Welcome to Bluedot San Diego! Every other Sunday, we share stories about local changemakers, sustainable homes and yards, and the nature all around us, along with planet-friendly recipes and advice from Dear
Dot. Together, we can make a difference for the blue dot we call home.
– Nicki and Jim Miller
|
|
|
|
|
If you purchase anything via one of our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
|
|
|
SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
|
SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
|
|
|
|
|
Seafood is one of those things where what you eat can have either a small environmental impact, or a HUGE one. Shane Volberding wants you to eat the right fish: Plentiful fish caught in local waters, fish that are caught the right way, and low in heavy metal and high in nutrients. Mackerel, for example, is one of the fish he sells at the Seaport Village’s Tuna Harbor Dockside Market and to local eateries. “There’s quite a few customers that have never
tried this fish before. Because it isn’t very expensive, they are usually willing to give it a try. I tell them how to cook it. … They come back the following week and ask for five pounds instead of two.”
|
|
|
|
|
Quick Links |
Skip scrolling! Here's what you'll find in today's Bluedot San Diego Newsletter:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paid Advertisement from Purple Carrot
|
Transform Your Meals With Purple Carrot’s Prepared Plant-Based Meals
|
|
Purple Carrot is on a mission to prove that plant-based eating doesn’t have to be difficult, boring, or time-consuming.
We’ve all been there. You search for recipes, shop for groceries, and spend hours preparing a nutritious meal for your family, only to be left with a lackluster dish that leaves you craving takeout.
With Purple Carrot’s chef-prepared meals and perfectly curated meal kits, you’ll never have to deal with these challenges again. Purple Carrot provides everything you need to put tasty dishes on the table that everyone will love - choose from high-protein, lower-calorie, high-fiber, and gluten-free
options every week and skip or cancel whenever you want to take a break.
Purple Carrot also knows the power of eating seasonally.
That’s why, this month, they’re offering an array of delicious, summer-themed meals filled with seasonal ingredients, including: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Cucumber Chickpea Salad, Sticky Mango Tofu with Quinoa, and Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Blistered Tomato Salad.
Get these seasonal meals while you can
|
|
Press Play On Plant-Based Eating This Summer. Customize Your Purple Carrot Box Today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
– Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
|
Dear Dot,
A salesperson recently came to my door to ask me if I’d like my yard sprayed for ticks and mosquitoes and ants and silverfish. A number of my neighbors had signed up, apparently. I said no, but he told me the spray was “organic.” Should I have said yes? I really don’t like ticks, particularly.
– Suzanne
Dear Suzanne,
That pesticide salesperson is selling you a lie if they’re suggesting that only the bad bugs will be banished by their spray, organic or otherwise. That’s just not how insecticides work.
Beyond Pesticides, a nonprofit D.C.-based organization, reports that “Of 40 most commonly used lawn pesticides, 26 are linked with cancer or carcinogenicity, 12 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 32 with liver or kidney damage, 24 with neurotoxicity, and 24 with disruption of the endocrine (hormonal) system.” Now, “linked” is not the same as causes. But I often ask myself a very simple question when faced with the question of whether to use one product or a different product: If a safer alternative exists (or I can do without the product entirely), why wouldn’t I choose that? So, when it comes to lawns, is this level of risk necessary? Worth it?
And Cleo Carney, one of Bluedot’s young reporters — and student of the Bluedot Institute, our nonprofit arm aimed at nurturing tomorrow’s climate reporters — points out that, while “most, but not all, organic pesticides are less toxic than synthetic ones … [some] can nonetheless engender serious environmental and physical harm.” …
Read the rest of Dot’s answer.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
|
|
|
|
|
Paid Advertisement with getgorgie
|
Meet GORGIE, an energy drink that’s actually good for you.
|
 |
If you're tired of the nasty sugar substitutes in conventional drinks like aspartame, erythritol, sucralose, and artificial flavors — GORGIE is the energy drink you’ve been searching for.
GORGIE is sugar-free and low in calories (just 5 per can), but every can is packed with flavor. Choose from six tasty options: Watermelon Crush, Peach Tea, Paradise Punch, Mango Tango, Citrus Burst, and Electric Berry.
This energy drink is going viral on TikTok and it’s not just because of the cute cans. Not only does it taste good, but it also contains B vitamins, biotin, and L-theanine.
Bringing you the clean energy you need for Monday mornings, 3pm pick me ups, late night dance parties, and everything in between.
|
|
Try GORGIE today. Order your variety pack (and save 20% by setting up recurring orders with Amazon Subscribe & Save).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you make a purchase through our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
|
Gardeners know that July, when our plants are equally lively and thirsty, can bring mixed emotions. Herbs bolt, flowers wilt, and cucumbers double in size — all in the course of a day. So we’re recommending time-tested items to help you maximize your harvests and minimize your time in the midday sun. Happy gardening!
|
|
|
|
|
These gorgeous clay ollas from wind-powered ceramics studio One Wintry Night will keep your plants happy and your water bill down. Just bury the vessels, fill them with water, and cover; one olla can water a plant for a week.
|
Shop today or read our review.
|
|
|
|
|
If you want to give your plants a boost, consider installing one of Crown Bees’ hotels in your yard. The company specializes in native solitary bee species, which do a lot more pollinating and a lot less stinging than honeybees.
|
Shop today or read our review.
|
|
|
|
Since 1948, the Swiss-made Felco 2 shears have been the gold standard in gardening. When you buy a pair, you buy them for life; you won’t miss hacking your way through thick zucchini vines and woody hydrangea stems.
|
Shop today or read our review.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE BLUEDOT KITCHEN: Celebrating Summer Fruits |
It’s getting toasty out there, and the last thing we want to do is fire up the oven to feed ourselves. We’ve got a cooling duo of treats for you. First, Santa Barbara-based chef Pascale Beale loves to present the flavors of the season, so she created this amazing peachy tomato salad, with a Bellini dressing inspired by the Prosecco-and-peach-juice cocktail. To drink, you could double down on the bubbly, or take a backyard trip to the beach with a light, tropical whip, which is good with or without the rum. Probably better with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today is National Ice Cream Day, if your children haven’t already told you. It can sometimes be a challenge to get kids outside and onto the trail. Especially the younger ones tend
to lose the plot pretty quickly, and can end up face-down in the weeds refusing to move. So one mom has some tips to keep the young ones’ energy level up and their eyes on the prize.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See more tips on being water-wise in the garden.
For more Bluedot Climate Quick Tips, click here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Doing Well by Doing Good |
The stories we tend to like best are ones where people see an environmental need not being met, and start a business to fill that need. Of course we need government action on all levels to help move us to where we need to be. And environmental charities do great, important work. But market-based solutions don’t require distracted politicians or deep-pocketed donors to see the light, just a go-getter willing to think differently. These solutions-focused stories crush the persistent lie that environmental protection is inconsistent with economic prosperity. You can be a green fisherman like Shane, a green entrepreneur like Kaitlin, even start a grassroots economic/environmental movement like Luke and Kyle. Sustainable life isn’t just greener, it’s better.
We’ll see you in two weeks.
– Nicki and Jim Miller
Editors, Bluedot Living San Diego
sdeditor@bluedotliving.com
|
|
|
|
|
We live in San Diego and love the opportunity to be on the water and in the mountains in one day. Nicki, a writer and editor, and Jim, a writer and environmental economist, are excited
to combine skills as the editors of Bluedot Living San Diego. Since we’re avid cyclists, you may see us riding along the Silver Strand or hitting the trails in Cuyamaca (probably not on the same day). Thank you for joining us on this Bluedot ride!
|
|
|
|
|
