Every other Sunday, Bluedot Living Martha's Vineyard will share stories about local changemakers, Islanders’ sustainable homes and yards, planet-friendly recipes and tips, along with advice from Dear Dot. Did your friend
send you this? Sign up for yourself here. Do you know someone else who would enjoy it? Forward to a friend.Â
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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–Photo by Oceans Unmanned, taken as part of research under NOAA MMPA permit #21719
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Just an adorable seal pup wishing us happy holidays? Not exactly. This seal pup, lounging on Muskeget Island, was captured on film by a drone as part of research under NOAA — detailed in contributor Sam Moore’s “Eyes in the Sky” story. “Counting seals, identifying whales from the sky, mapping coastlines to track sea level rise — all things that once required a
human-piloted aircraft — are now feasible on a much smaller budget,” Sam writes.
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Quick Links
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Skip scrolling! Here's what you'll find in this edition of the Bluedot Newsletter:
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Happy Winter Solstice
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We know we say it a lot, but we’re not going to apologize for saying it again: The Martha’s Vineyard community is the best. There are plenty of examples of that in our Fall/Winter print issue, which is on the stands this weekend (find it at Cronig’s, at the Steamship, among other places). If you don’t already know the Islanders we’re featuring, you can meet them on our pages: the Binney-Posin-Allens at the Allen Sheep and Wool Farm in Chilmark are readying the next generations to run the 260-year-old operation;
Micah Thanhauser, of Merry Farm Pottery, built a kiln that brings Island potters together; our Local Hero for this issue is Jen Randolph, whose work with her tribal family is changing lives (and protecting Mother Earth). Geoff Currier is back on the Cruising
beat; read about his ride with Margaret and Rob Hannemann in a romantically meaningful red Mustang EV.
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Speaking of support, a deep thank-you to our advertisers with whom we share the pages of the magazine, and all of you who support Bluedot Living (you can chip in here) and the Bluedot Institute. Your moral support and encouragement means so much, and your financial contributions allow us to carry on this work, to keep our stories free to all, and to help us nurture new generations
working to address the climate crisis. Happy holidays, all. Oh – and please take a few minutes to fill out our reader
survey (thank you).
–Jamie Kageleiry and Leslie Garrett
Note: We were sad to hear that Vineyard visitor and friend of Bluedot Norman Lear died last week at 101. As most know, Mr. Lear was the producer behind “All in the Family,” among many other beloved (and groundbreaking) television series. We had the good luck to have a conversation with him and his wife, film producer Lyn Lear, at their Beverly Hills home this past spring. You can read Lily Olsen’s story about the Lears’ decades of climate activism here. Rest in Peace, Norman Lear, and thank you.Â
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Is your mailbox jammed with end-of-year fundraising appeals and unwanted catalogs? Opt out:
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Remove your name from mailing lists using Epsilon’s website and unsubscribe from unwanted catalogs online at CatalogChoice.org to reduce the amount of junk in your mailbox. Dot tells you more.Â
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          Paid Advertisement
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A Sunset With Mustang Margaret
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The Ford Mustang of yore has been reinvented as an EV and “it’s a beauty,” as Geoff Currier reports in his latest Cruising column. Geoff hitched a ride with Margaret and Rob Hanneman, noting that “Both Hannemanns are environmentally
conscious … When they heard about the electric Mustang, they were sold.” Why so fast? “The first car they ever owned together was a red 1970 Mustang, and they had great memories of the car; it had served them well. In 2021, they went online and ordered the new Mustang from a Ford dealer in Bourne.”
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Favorite Gifts: It’s All Local
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BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Last-minute Gift Ideas
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The Bluedot Marketplace includes affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of our links, we may earn a commission, essentially a small digital finder’s fee. These commissions help us fund the valuable journalism that you see on Bluedot. Thank you for supporting us!
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Do you have a few more hard-to-buy-for folks on your gift list? Here’s an abbreviated gift guide, featuring some of our favorite items — including online classes, the perfect last-minute gift.Â
If you want more ideas, check out our recommended gifts for women, gifts for men, gifts for teens, gifts for kids and babies, as well as our gifts for hosts and a fun list of sustainable stocking stuffers.
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DEAR DOT: Must I Remove Packing Tape from Boxes for Recycling?
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–Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
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Mudroom filling up with boxes from holiday packages? You, like Emily (below), might be wondering if you need to remove all the packing tape before recycling. Dot delivers the answer:
Dear Dot,
While Amazon and other online stores are using more recyclable packaging, they all come covered with packing tape and labels. Can cardboard boxes be recycled when covered with all of that, or does that need to be removed before recycling (which almost no one does or is willing to do)?
–Emily Steinberg
Dear Emily,
Covid acquainted Dot with Amazon boxes. And more Amazon boxes. And yet more Amazon boxes. I suspect many of us became extremely familiar with Amazon boxes. And bags. And paper mailers.Â
What we might be less familiar with is what to do with all those boxes and bags (paging Dr. Seuss), beyond collapsing them, tossing them curbside, and hoping they are reincarnated into another form to deliver another package.Â
Amazon talks a good line. And they do go further than many other companies by providing info detailing how to dispose of their packaging.Â
Is it that easy? Almost. Read on.Â
See more Dot here. Got a question for her?Â
Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.comÂ
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Sign up here for Your Daily Dot newsletter! Get a daily dose of Dot's eco-friendly wisdom when she answers your sustainability questions.
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All Clap for the Tap Map!
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Remember the days of water fountains? They’re (kinda) back. Thanks to the Vineyard Conservation Society, MV is home to plenty of taps — eight new locations — where you can refill your reusable water bottle. “Refill stations and Take Back the Tap businesses can be found on the Tap Map,” VCS tells Bluedot. “In 2024, we’re looking forward to more stations at Niantic Park and downtown Oak Bluffs, MVRHS athletic fields,
Robinson Road Rec area in Edgartown, Owen Park in Tisbury, and the Chilmark Town Hall.”
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HANDBOOK
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Has a bit too much takeout left you with an oversupply of single sauce packets? Terracycle and Taco Bell have partnered to take them pack, offering free mailing labels. Find out more with Bluedot’s Guide to Getting Rid of (Almost) Anything. And for more Island eco-resources, consult our Ultimate Simple, Smart, Sustainable Handbook to Martha’s Vineyard.
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What’s Behind the Name “Bluedot”?
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“There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world,” astronomer Carl Sagan wrote in 1994’s Pale Blue Dot. “To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” Sagan’s humbling words inspire us to deliver stories to you that reflect his and so many others’ work to cherish this blue dot. Please consider forwarding this newsletter to your friends and family to share and inspire real-world eco-actions we can take at home and in
our Martha’s Vineyard community.Â
Thanks for being part of our Bluedot community!
–Jamie Kageleiry and Leslie Garrett
Editors, Bluedot Living Martha’s VineyardÂ
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Jamie Kageleiry, a longtime magazine and newspaper editor from Oak Bluffs, says her favorite spot on earth is on the trails around Farm Pond, and out in a kayak there, looking at birds.
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Leslie Garrett has been covering climate stories for close to two decades. A newcomer part-time to the Vineyard, she’s still figuring out her favorite spot but it’s definitely near the water.
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