At Home On Earth

SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES

Solar power is having a moment — or maybe a decade. In 2024, global solar power generation was more than 10 times higher than in 2014, growing faster than all other types of energy over that time. Adoption of solar has been much slower in North Dakota, but that hasn’t stopped one rooftop solar company, Lightspring Solar, from trying to change people’s minds about the renewable energy source. Bluedot editor Jim Miller talked with Lightspring’s owners about the hurdles they’ve faced and why they’re so committed to finding “win-win situations” for their customers.

Be among the first to experience a Bluedot Living–curated travel experience, where you’ll connect with local environmental change-makers and enjoy carefully designed all-inclusive itineraries and farm-to-table dining, all in exquisite locales. With five trips scheduled for 2026, ranging from Hollywood, California, to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, there’s a destination to suit every traveler.

“Our agricultural footprint is already the size of all of Asia plus all of Europe, and the more it expands, the more nature’s footprint shrinks, expelling the carbon stored in its soils and vegetation into our overheated atmosphere. The conversion of natural land into farmland and rangeland is also wiping out biodiverse habitats, driving the worst mass extinction since an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. We’re clear-cutting and broiling the planet to stuff our faces.”

— Michael Grunwald, We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate (available on Amazon and ThriftBooks) 

What we put on our plates can be a powerful climate solution (or problem!). Our agriculture industry produces roughly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions — from methane in cows’ burps and decomposing food in landfills to nitrous oxide released by fertilizers. And we’re going to need to generate 50% more food to feed our growing planetary population by 2050, which means a lot more land swallowed up to produce it. At the same time, we need to dramatically reduce emissions from agriculture. What do we do? Michael Grunwald has some ideas, including using some of that farmland to also produce energy via wind and solar farms. While humans aren’t very good at giving things up for the planet’s wellbeing, such as meat, Grunwald argues, we are good at inventing things.  

Whether any of the innovations currently being explored can feed more of us with far less emissions remains to be seen. But, calling himself an “idealist enough optimist,” Grunwald thinks we’re going to see some cool ideas brought to scale. 

Make sustainable living simple with the Bluedot Living’s Green Home Deluxe Kit — a $170+ value collection of our editors’ favorite Earth-friendly products, free with your membership. You’ll also enjoy exclusive member savings, inspiring community connections, and more planet-positive perks.

• Divest from Fossil Fuels

• Dear Dot: Help Me Smell Good (Without Toxic Chemicals)!

• Recycle Your … Guitar!

• Check out Bluedot Living Trips!

• Growing Fresh Food for the Neighborhood in Pittsburgh

• Pull the Plug on Wasted Electricity

• Oregon Pear Farmers Go Green

• Joining Forces to Make More Sustainable Wine

• Changing the Forecast on Solar Power in North Dakota

• Recipe: Wild Mushroom and Walnut Puff Pastry Tart

• Felco Gardening Shears

• From the NYT: Polluted Cave to Kentucky Tourist Attraction

• Crested Ibis Make a Comeback in Japan

FEATURED STORIES

BIG IDEAS AND LOCAL CHANGEMAKERS

 Bluedot Living Kitchen

The Return of the Ibis

Crested ibises once thrived in Japan. But by the early 1980s, the striking birds with long curved bills and pink-hued feathers were critically endangered due to overhunting for the feather trade, post-war logging, and pesticide use. Today, however, the ibis population on Japan’s Sado Island exceeds 500, and the Japanese government is planning to release the birds outside the island for the first time. Bluedot contributor Chris Loew tells us the story of how farmers and government officials worked together to bring the iconic birds back from the brink.

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Dear Dot: How Can I Smell Good Without Toxic Chemicals?

Dear Dot,

I like to wear fragrance. Is there a company that will make me smell great but has healthy ingredients for both me and the planet?

– Bobbi

Dear Bobbi,

Spritzing on your signature scent before you leave the house is luxurious, confidence-boosting, and — carcinogenic? As you mention, the ingredients in your perfume bottle might really stink — there may well be some dark secrets lurking in your perfume bottle. 

If you’ve ever checked out the ingredients on a bottle of perfume or cologne — or for that matter any number of scented products from shampoo to detergent — you might have noticed one ingredient simply labeled “fragrance.” Well, it turns out that there are over 3,000 chemical ingredients that could be included in the “fragrance,” but there are no current laws in the U.S. requiring manufacturers to list fragrance ingredients. The EU, on the other hand, requires the individual labeling of certain ingredients listed as allergens when they appear in concentrations greater than 0.001 percent in leave-on products and greater than 0.01 percent in rinse-off products. And among these fragrance ingredients are some harmful chemicals that have been linked with endocrine disorders, cancers, and other adverse health effects. 

So without a mandate on ingredient transparency, how can you verify that the perfume you want to buy is free of such harmful synthetic chemicals? Dot sniffs out some answers. Read on.

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Felco Gardening Tools

If you make a purchase through our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.

If you don’t want your investments funding fossil fuels, consider divesting. Bluedot helps you find out how. The Invest Your Values tool provides the deets on specific funds. 

The Keep-This Handbook

Turns out you’re not Jimmy Page on the guitar? Alas, none of us is. If you smashed yours one too many times, send it to TerraCycle, which will responsibly recycle parts. And to get rid of (almost) anything else, check out Bluedot’s Guide to Getting Rid of (Almost) Anything. 

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Veterinarians nationwide reported that corporate managers pushed clinics to focus on profit, with vets often paid based on revenue. This encouraged them to see more pets, order more tests, and upsell services, creating a growing burden for uninsured pet owners. Pet insurance could help you offset some of these rising costs, with some providing up to 90% reimbursement. View Money’s top pet insurance picks to see plans starting at only $10/month.

The Story Behind Bluedot

“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 communities. 

Tired of the alarming climate reports in the news? If you’d like to support our solutions-focused journalism, consider becoming a Bluedot Member. There are some pretty good benefits: a treat box of eco-friendly products for your home (worth almost as much as the membership fee), and discounts at our store (and on our Bluedot Trips!). Plus, you’ll help us continue to bring you stories of people making real changes in their neighborhoods, gardens, and kitchens. 

Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you next week.

–Jamie Kageleiry (and Emily Cain, Leslie Garrett, and Robin Jones)

Editors

Write us at editor@bluedotliving.com

Leslie Garrett has been covering climate stories for close to two decades.  She makes her home in Canada, west of Toronto. She’s still figuring out her favorite spot but it’s definitely near the water.

Jamie Kageleiry, a longtime magazine and newspaper editor from Martha’s Vineyard, says her favorite spot on earth is out on a kayak there, looking at birds.

Robin Jones is a Southern California native who served as an editor at Westways magazine for more than a decade. She lives in Long Beach and teaches journalism at Cal State Long Beach.

Emily Cain is a recent graduate of Cal State Long Beach, where she wrote and edited for the university’s award-winning magazine, DIG.

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