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Hunker down for the winter in this buttery soft waffle blanket made from regenerative organic bamboo. Available in three soothing colors, it offers a perfect blend of comfort and sustainability. Find this and more sustainable products to make it through winter in the Bluedot Living Collection.

“I’m going to make the observation that it’s going to be hard to figure out how to fight wars over sunshine.”

– Bill McKibben, The Crucial Years

• Buy Better: Bring Your Garden Indoors

• Listen In on Fascinating Climate Conversations: Imagine If ... Bluedot's New Podcast

• Growing Up Off the Grid

• Dear Dot: With Climate Action Under Threat, What Next?

• Find a Seed Library

• Why Are Farmers Installing Solar Panels in Their Fields?

• From Refinery Worker to Community Organizer

• Recipe: No-Cook Overnight Multigrain Breakfast Porridge

• The Real Meaning Behind the Bill Gates Memo

• Shop Your Fridge to Save Money and Avoid Food Waste

• Donate Your Fur Coats

What if the most effective climate solutions aren’t coming from Congress or global summits — but from mayors working city by city, block by block? This week on the Bluedot Living podcast Imagine If, former Los Angeles Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti joins us to explore how local leadership has quietly driven some of the biggest climate wins of the past decade. From the rise of Climate Mayors to L.A.’s vision for the first carbon-reducing Olympics, Garcetti shares why practical, community-based action cuts through partisanship—and why courage, joy, and connection are essential tools for climate leadership in uncertain times.

Listen in to imagine what’s possible.

FEATURED STORIES

BIG IDEAS AND LOCAL CHANGEMAKERS

Chef Pascale Beale avoids food waste by regularly checking her fridge and using up ingredients.

Bluedot Kitchen

Bill Gates Hasn’t Actually Given Up on Climate Action

In late October, just before COP30, the annual U.N. conference on climate change, Bill Gates released a “memo” (actually a post on his blog, Gates Notes) that summarized his current thinking on climate change. The reaction was swift and damning: Gates, long an advocate for climate action, was giving up the fight, capitulating to political pressure, people said. Not so fast, says Bluedot editor Jim Miller, who argues that the memo was “thoughtful, data-driven, and filled with insights.”

Dear Dot: With Climate Action Under Threat, What Next?

Illustration by Elissa Turnbull

Dear Dot,

What next?

– Kat

Dear Kat,

It is frightening, when those to whom we turn for calm, measured instructions on how to address our climate breakdown are, themselves, breaking down in the wake of what can only be considered a devastating defeat for U.S.-led climate action. One of my climate heroes recently posted something on social media that said something along the lines of, ‘I’ve avoided saying this but can’t hold back. We are f*#ked.’ Indeed, something like that might have prompted your question, Kat. And it is an important one. “What next?” when those we depend on for guidance are throwing out their maps, when the progress we thought we were making seems destined to be erased?

Thích Nhất Hạnh, the Vietnamese Buddhist Monk exiled during the war in his country, reminds us to do the next right action within arm’s reach, which, in this moment, might mean reaching for your child or your cat or a tub of ice cream. It has meant all those things for me, but also doing the one thing each week that takes me outside of my overactive brain and gives me deep pleasure: Volunteering at my local soup kitchen. There is something primally satisfying about putting warm food into hungry bellies. I highly recommend it. (Incidentally, our soup kitchen is part of a system whereby grocery stores and catering organizations donate their leftovers, so we are also preventing food waste by rescuing food destined for landfill. Everybody wins!)

I’ve been reaching further and deeper, both inside myself, where I have had to spend some time getting still, and outwardly, where I’ve sought the wisdom of those who have walked through fire themselves and returned with buckets of water. 

Dot has lots more to say. Keep reading.

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Indoor Gardening

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Taking care of a plant is a tiny act of hope. When the days are short, the light thin, and the weather uncooperative, a home filled with plants can make all that time spent indoors better. Studies link indoor plants to reduced stress, improved mood, and a greater sense of well-being. We feel pride when we watch new leaves unfurl, guide vines one step farther along a trellis, or see that a cutting has finally started to sprout. 

A Windowsill-Worthy Mister

A mister is a satisfying upgrade for anyone who takes their houseplants seriously. The fine, even coating this mister delivers mimics the natural humidity that tropicals like ferns and air plants love. But it has plenty of other uses, too. Misting helps clean leaves, discourage pests, and coax stubborn leaves and fronds to unfurl. ($34) Shop now.

Fresh Herbs All Winter Long

In winter, when cooking leans toward long-simmered stews and comforting casseroles, finishing a dish with fresh herbs really brightens things up. These Garden Jar Organic Herb Kits make it easy to grow your own herbs indoors, so you can snip what you need as you cook. No last-minute store runs, no wilted bunches forgotten in the fridge, just a simple way to bring fresh flavor into cold-weather meals. ($20) Shop now.

An Elegant Copper Trellis

A good trellis keeps a plant upright and exposes more surface area to light, helping it grow more vigorously. We love these hand-hammered copper trellises from Bean & Bear, a woman-founded, solar-powered jewelry studio that donates a portion of all sales to environmental nonprofits. Choose from two designs: Leaves (shown) or Snake. ($22) Shop now.  

Paid Advertisement with Our Place

Some Things Do Last Forever

Our Place reimagined nonstick with the Titanium Always Pan Pro—chef-approved, virtually indestructible, and completely free of coatings and forever chemicals. Now, that same breakthrough design is available across the brand-new 10-Piece Titanium Cookware Set. With a pure titanium interior and fully clad tri-ply construction, it delivers top-tier performance, withstands up to 1000°F, and is designed to last a lifetime.

What You Can Do:
Use Your Local Seed Library

Just four companies control 60% of the world’s seeds. But a diverse selection of plants in your garden will attract a broader diversity of insects and wildlife and provide them with a healthier habitat. You can help by getting seeds from a local seed library. There are more than 2,600 of them in the U.S. alone, and many more around the world. Seed libraries make seeds free to gardeners and help local plants maintain greater genetic diversity and build resilience. Find one near you — or create your own!

We believe small changes can add up to big impact, and Bluedot wants to inspire and empower you to live more sustainably with our new membership program. As a member, you can receive not only a curated collection of some of our favorite planet-friendly products to help you green your home, but also connection to a community of like-minded people making impactful changes.

Ready to make a difference?

The Keep-This Handbook

While it’s tempting to don a fur coat in frigid temps, the cruelty behind most real fur has led even luxury brands to stop using it. But your (or your great-grandma’s) fur coat can still serve a valuable purpose. Check out Bluedot’s Guide to Getting Rid of (Almost) Anything for ideas.

Imagine If…

Our boss, Bluedot Founder Victoria Riskin, loves talking with people. Get her in a group and she’ll ask a million questions — and pretty soon, everybody’s talking big ideas, and how to make a difference, and what exactly a person can do about climate change. 

That’s what you’ll find in Bluedot’s new Podcast, Imagine If, hosted by Victoria, Cleo Carney (a sophomore in college who’s worked for Bluedot since she was 14!), Janet Kraus (a Bluedot board member who loves starting companies), and Janet’s daughter Ally (a college freshman intensely interested in sustainability). 

We have three episodes available now. In our premier episode, film producer Adam Leipzig (Dead Poets Society, March of the Penguins) talks about the legislation that his film Plastic Ocean inspired (more than 100 new laws!). Jordan Thomas, an anthropologist who worked as a wildland firefighter in California, argues that communities can reclaim “good fire” as a tool for resilience. And Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of Los Angeles, discusses how to create a net-zero Olympics (among many other things). You can find all the playlists on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. 

– Jamie Kageleiry, Leslie Garrett, Emily Cain, 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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