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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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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One of Krista Halverson’s favorite cars was actually a pickup truck, which she used to haul supplies for local food pantries, help her friends move, and assist her sister when her plant business had a big job. So when she and her husband recently decided to replace her hybrid car, they settled on an electric truck. When she plugs the truck in at home and charges the battery through her home’s solar panels, she says, “I can imagine when I’m driving that the whole rig is being propelled through space and time by the sun itself.” But a recent road trip through Utah forced her to reconsider the truck’s environmental cost and ask herself: For a suburban family of five, does it make sense to invest in an electric truck?
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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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As a Southern Californian, you’re probably well aware of the pros of waterwise landscaping, and you likely know that rain barrels can help you minimize your water use in the garden. But did you know that the acidity
in rainwater benefits your plants and soil? Or that rainwater often contains light organic material, which means it’s infused with natural fertilizer? That’s not all, either: Gardening columnist Laura McLean’s breakdown of the benefits of rain barrels will have you scouting spots in your backyard to install one. In searching for solutions to the climate crisis, activist Joanna Underwood hit on the idea of turning organic waste into renewable natural gas. She started Energy Vision, a nonprofit aimed at ending
transportation’s addiction to petroleum-based fuels, and eventually convinced the cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and Sacramento to convert to buses and trucks that run on methane gas. Bluedot Living founder and president Vicki Riskin spoke with Underwood about her ongoing efforts to tackle climate change. “There is no one solution,” she says, “So I just look for what’s doable.”
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Dear Dot: Is There an Eco-Friendly Way to Whiten My Whites?
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–Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
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Dear Dot,
To enhance whiteness, are you suggesting to add lemon juice, white vinegar, and baking soda with the laundry strips? How much? Thank you.
– Kathy
Dear Kathy,
While Dot is happy to let pet fur and dirt congregate in corners, and to allow furniture to don a veneer of dust, when it comes to getting my clothes clean, I am a dedicated and determined laundress. So before I address your query, let us first revisit Dot’s rules of the load:
Wash less frequently. Is that cardigan you wore for an hour when you were chilly actually dirty? Could those jeans withstand another wearing (or two)?
Wash in cold water. Today’s HE detergents (the HE stands for “high efficiency”) are designed to work well in cold water. Cold water reduces energy consumption and is easier on our clothes. What’s more, it reduces the shedding of microfibers from our synthetic clothes.
Use a laundry filter to further reduce the microplastics going into our waterways.
But, when it comes to whitening, Dot was a bit stumped. So I enlisted our brilliant intern, Emily, to see if she could enlighten us.
Read the rest of Dot’s answer.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Happy Houseplanting
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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.
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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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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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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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Good Libations: Irish Whiskey Goes Green
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If you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this week, pull out the Irish whiskey and make an extra toast to the environment. In May 2022, the Irish Whiskey Association launched “Irish Whiskey: Sustainable Together,” a roadmap for how the industry will undertake major projects for ecological, social, and economic sustainability. Soon after, Midleton (the distillery that produces Jameson,
Redbreast, Powers, and the Spots) announced their plans to become Ireland’s first carbon neutral distillery by 2026. Good Libations columnist Julia Cooper explores the industry’s green investments and offers up a cocktail recipe so you can enjoy the results of their efforts.
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Bluedot Kitchen: Spill the Beans
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Whether you’re an omnivore trying to reduce the amount of meat in your diet or a vegetarian hoping to increase your protein intake, beans could be just the thing you’re looking for. These two easy recipes provide a hearty, flavorful base for any meal.
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Share the Wealth
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Fresh-off-the-tree citrus fruit: It’s one of the joys of living in Southern California in the wintertime. In my neighborhood, it seems like every other house has a citrus tree; each February, I see boxes at the end of neighbors’ driveways filled with lemons, oranges, and grapefruits for the taking. However, I also see some trees heavy with fruit that are, for whatever reason, not properly harvested, leaving the oranges or lemons to rot. Groups across the region are working to reduce this kind of waste: L.A.-based Fallen Fruit created a map of public fruit trees in L.A. County, and Food Forward is one of many SoCal organizations that harvests backyard trees and donates the fruit to local hunger relief organizations, reducing food waste and fighting food
insecurity at the same time. It’s just one of the many things L.A. residents are doing to solve the climate crisis; if you know of an organization or person you think we should feature as a climate champ, drop us a line at laeditor@bluedotliving.com.
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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