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
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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Wild, Wet, and Wonderful Water
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Friday, March 22, is the United Nations World Water Day. This annual observance focuses on the importance of fresh water in a world where 2.2 billion people don’t have regular access to safe drinking water, and roughly half the world’s population experiences water scarcity at some point each year. The 2024 theme is Water for Peace, highlighting the growing conflicts over fresh water. Despite the fickle nature of water in California, we can all be thankful we have safe supplies, and that we can all play a part in protecting it. Bluedot Living has tons of water stories from all over: cool tech like Hydropanels that pull water out of the sky or floating solar panels; inspiring stories like wetland restoration in Kenya providing farmers with water or parks in Boston dealing with flooding; and for your home, we have tips for harvesting rainwater and a guide to growing food in a waterwise garden. Cedar Creek Falls (pictured) is a great hiking destination right here in San Diego, with its seasonal waterfall (before you go, a permit is required). Never take water for granted.
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Quick Links
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Skip scrolling! Here's what you'll find in today's Bluedot San Diego Newsletter:
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This week we feature a pair of stories about how materials affect the environment. First, our LA Home Front columnist Krista Halverson gets a stark lesson when she comes upon a huge Utah copper mine: Just because your vehicle is an EV doesn’t mean there is no environmental cost. Maybe take a bike when you don’t need a big rig? Then writer Alec Ross sheds light on
concrete, a sneaky dirty material that requires a lot of energy to make, and actually emits CO2 as the limestone is reduced to lime to make cement. Concrete is responsible for about eight percent of global carbon emissions, more than every country in the world except China and the U.S., but there are companies working to create cleaner concrete.
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Dear Dot: Does Recycled Toilet Paper Really Make a Difference?
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– Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
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Dear Dot,
My husband is harping about the toilet paper I purchase, the super-soft kind that’s easy on my delicate nether region. He says I’m a tree killer and that it’s bad for our septic. But doesn’t toilet paper pretty much dissolve in water? How much difference can one product make?
– Tender Tush
Dear Tender Tush,
You, my tender-tushed friend, have hit upon one of Dot’s bugbears — people’s insistence upon multi-ply, silky soft toilet paper. If there is one exceedingly simple but impactful change people can make in their day-to-day purchasing, toilet paper is it.
Why? Unfortunately, industrial logging is decimating more than a million acres of crucial forest every year, much of it in never-before-logged (what are called “primary”) forests, which have particular value as an ecosystem.
“Much of this logging is driven by demand, particularly in the United States, for toilet paper and other tissue products like facial tissue and paper towels,” says Jennifer Skene of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The three biggest tissue producers, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and Georgia Pacific, continue to make their top toilet paper brands (Charmin, Cottonelle, Angel Soft, and Quilted Northern) entirely from virgin forest fiber, a significant proportion of which comes from the Canadian boreal. This means that, when customers buy these brands, they are unwittingly flushing some of the world’s most globally significant forests down the toilet. Bummer, huh? …
Read the rest of Dot’s answer.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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Paid Advertisement
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BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Happy Houseplanting
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The San Diego newsletter and The Bluedot Marketplace include affiliate links.
If you purchase a product through one of our links, we may earn a small digital finder’s fee.
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Living plants in the home grow and change, sparking wonder and appreciation for the natural world. And we could all use a little more of that,
right? Here, a few finds for your indoor gardens.
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Marvelous Microgreens
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Microgreens pack tons of beauty, flavor, and nutrition in a tiny package, but buying them usually involves lots of money and plastic. True Leaf makes it easy to grow them yourself.
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Buy now or
read our review.
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Houseplant Helpers
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Our marketplace editor purchased a few brass plant animals from AnotherStudio on Etsy and testifies that they’re as charming in person as they look on screen. They make great gifts and arrive in biodegradable packaging.
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Buy now or
read our review.
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For Kaitlin Mitchell, a volunteer gig to get her kids’ San Diego school’s garden back on track has led to a bigger calling: getting us all digging. After developing Rutabaga Education, a school curriculum that
connects gardening with STEM education, she saw the need for Rutabaga Garden Tools with ergonomic handles and made from plastic plucked from the oceans. All this from the seed of wanting to help her kids’ school. “I needed to create something that would exist beyond me and my children being there,” says Kaitlin. Read more to get inspired to garden.
Do you have a special San Diego nature photo or story to share?
Email sdeditor@bluedotliving.com.
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BLUEDOT KITCHEN: The Root of the Matter
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Spring is coming, but right now we’re still knee deep in delicious winter greens and root veggies that are hearty and perfect for those still-too-gloomy days. Try this salad, which cleverly marinates the root veggies in the dressing overnight before adding fresh lettuce and citrus right before serving. And this roasted veggie salad with kale features a warm pistachio, honey, and garlic vinaigrette that is surely a cure for any residual winter blues.
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Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, we present this story of Irish whiskey producers and their commitment to reducing their environmental impact, including lowering water usage,
supporting local farmers, becoming energy efficient, planting trees, and protecting pollinators. The word “whiskey” comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning “water of life.” And remember that Irish and American spirits are whiskey, while Scotch and Canadian are “whisky.” Raise a glass to sustainable cocktails. Slainte!
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Here are some more changes you can make in your bathroom routine to be greener overall. For more Bluedot Climate Quick Tips, click here.
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The Wearing of the Green
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In the wake of the American and French revolutions, Irish revolutionaries adopted the color green to signify their struggle for their country at the end of the 1700s. Here in the 21st century, the environmental movement has adopted the same color to represent our struggle to keep our whole planet habitable. On St. Patrick’s Day, the Irish and environmentalists can celebrate with pride.
Once the Irish started wearing the green, it took them over a hundred years to achieve independence. To keep the Earth green, we don’t have that kind of time. But we at Bluedot Living keep our eyes forward, seeking out stories of the revolutionary and inspiring people and businesses that are fighting to make our world a greener place. If you haven’t already, consider giving some green and supporting our solutions-focused journalism at Bluedot.
Enjoy the long evenings. We’ll be back in two weeks.
– Nicki and Jim Miller
Editors, Bluedot Living San Diego
sdeditor@bluedotliving.com
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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!
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