Welcome to Bluedot Los Angeles! Every other Sunday, we share stories about local changemakers, sustainable homes and yards, the nature all around us along with planet-friendly recipes, and advice from Dear Dot. Please email us with story ideas at laeditor@bluedotliving.com. Together, we can make a difference for the blue dot we call home.
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If you purchase anything via one of our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a commission.
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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If last week’s spring equinox set off your internal spring cleaning alarm, we’re here to help! The Bluedot Buy Better Marketplace rounded up a few of our favorite earth-friendly cleaning products to make scrubbing, vacuuming, and polishing greener. And once you’ve sorted through your closets, drawers, and dressers for items you no longer need, Bluedot’s guide to getting rid of (almost) anything will help you figure out how to dispose of everything from batteries and computers to prom dresses, yoga mats, and wine corks. Happy cleaning!
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Quick Links
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Skip scrolling! Here’s what you’ll find in today’s Bluedot Los Angeles Newsletter:
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Does it seem like all the cars and trucks on your daily commute are getting bigger and bigger all the time? You’re not imagining things. The most popular vehicles in the U.S. today are the Ford F-Series trucks, led
by the F-150, which is just shy of 17.5 feet long, with a width of 6.6 feet. The trend prompted Bluedot editorial director Leslie Garrett to look at the term “autobesity,” first coined in the Guardian, which describes the phenomenon of cars getting bigger and heavier year by year. Concrete earned its popularity as a building material for a reason: It’s fire-resistant, waterproof, long-lasting, and incredibly strong. There’s just one problem: Making it generates massive amounts of carbon dioxide. That’s why startups and builders around the world are working on ways to decarbonize concrete, and they’re starting to see some success.
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Dear Dot: Should I Burn Paper
or Send It to Landfill?
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–Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
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Dear Dot,
I am charged with supplying toilet paper in public toilets. This consists of replacing eighty to 100 rolls per week, leaving me with eighty to 100 tubes and wrappers. Which is worse for the environment, to burn them (CO2) or landfill (methane)? These are the only feasible choices due to location.
—Cary Gilbert
Dear Cary,
This is an interesting question and produced an answer that surprised me. Dot called in the calvary on this question, in the form of Bluedot’s intrepid intern, Emily Cain. Of course, recycling is the first, best option for all your tubes and wrappers — although, Emily discovered, of almost sixty-eight million tons of paper and cardboard produced in 2018 (the most recent year for which the EPA seems to have data), just forty-six million tons was recycled. Which tells us that about one-third of the paper produced in 2018 ended up in landfill or an incinerator. Which would have been better?
Read the rest of Dot’s answer.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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Our Fave Paper Towels
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Sometimes I really do want paper towels to pat down a chicken or clean up a hairball. Who Gives a Crap makes great toilet paper and paper towels and donates 50% of profits to charity.
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Buy now or
read our review.
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The 18-in-1 Original
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The product you’re most likely to find in a Bluedotter’s cleaning arsenal has to be Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap.
The iconic 18-in-1 formula works for laundry, dishes, and even mopping.
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Buy now or
Read our review.
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Good Libations: Yes, Wine in Boxes
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When you think of boxed wine, you probably picture the huge crates of barely drinkable swill that have served as the punchline to many jokes. Good Libations columnist Julia Cooper says it’s time to rethink that old notion. Italian winemaker Fuoristada, for example, is now selling its Bianco, Rosato, and Sangiovese wines in environmentally conscious Tetra Paks. “Don’t judge a wine by its packaging — boxed wine isn’t just for keeping something cheap shoved in the back of your fridge for “emergencies” anymore,” Cooper says. “Now, you can enjoy glass after glass without any moral hangover since you know your wine was ambitiously
crafted with climate impact in mind.”
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Bluedot Kitchen: Climate-Friendly Kid Food
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When you have pint-sized picky eaters in your house, it can be hard to consider the climate while you’re planning meals. These recipes take care of that by transforming two kid favorites into healthful, eco-friendly meals.
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Rebirth and Renewal
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Every spring, as I watch the trees in my yard blossom with new flowers and leaves, I’m reminded of our capacity for renewal. It helps me remember that we can start over, change course, and approach challenges in new ways — and we don’t have to wait until spring to do so. People all over the world are taking on climate change with that fresh mindset, and here at Bluedot Living, we love telling you about them. If you love reading about them, we hope you’ll consider a contribution to support our journalism.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in two weeks!
–Robin Jones
Do you have a special Los Angeles photo or story to share?
Email laeditor@bluedotliving.com.
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Robin Jones is a Southern California native who served as an editor at Westways magazine for more than a decade. She currently lives in Long Beach and teaches journalism at Cal State Long
Beach, where she advises the award-winning student magazine, DIG MAG. She loves road-tripping across California, especially when the itinerary includes stops in Arcata and Trinidad.
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