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Welcome to Your Daily Dot where Dot will share tips, advice, and stories on how we can make our world better. |
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All Dear Dot illustrations by Elissa Turnbull. |
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Dear Reader,
With all the Young Dots newly away at various schools stuffing their brains with information, we Empty-Nester Dots are a bit at loose ends. What did we do before with our spare time? we’ve wondered aloud.
My project, I’ve decided, is for the two of us to eat our way through our too-full freezer. With three children (and their various friends and partners) no longer around, it might take awhile. But Dot is nothing if not determined. And, at the moment, hungry.
It turns out that there is a sweet spot in terms of freezer fullness at which this hard-working appliance operates at peak efficiency: three-quarters full means that food will stay frozen for up to 48 hours in the event of a power outage and that there’s still enough room for air to circulate and keep things appropriately frigid. And the beauty of a freezer is that you can extend the life of leftovers, an overharvest of herbs or veggies, bones for stock, and much more, helping us reduce food waste. Which makes our freezer a powerful ally in the climate fight. We know, because I repeat it endlessly, that food waste contributes to climate change. A refresher: When we waste food, we also waste all the resources that went into growing/raising, harvesting, processing, packaging, and transporting it. Project Drawdown puts “reduced food waste” right at the top of its 100 climate solutions. And newer freezers are highly energy efficient. Want tips on enlisting your freezer in your food-waste fight? Let Zero Waste Chef offer up guidance.
And while we’re considering our appliances, let’s pause at our gas stoves. While some of the furor around findings that gas stoves are harmful to our indoor air quality has died down, the danger to those of us breathing that indoor air remains. Colorado has responded by putting warning labels on gas stoves. If you have a gas stove, Dot recommends steps you can take to improve safety. And if you’re in the market for a new stove, induction is a delight. (One caveat: If you have a pacemaker, you are advised to keep up to two feet away from induction stoves — and electric car chargers — because exposure to the magnetic source can interfere.)
Coolly,
Dot
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