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Welcome to Bluedot Living San Diego, a newsletter that gathers local good news, good food, and good tips for living every day more sustainably.
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Welcome to Bluedot Living San Diego, a newsletter that gathers local good news, good food, and good tips for living every day more sustainably.
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If you purchase anything via one of our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE /Â STORIES
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Daniel Lopez-Perez, architecture professor at the University of San Diego, is one of many entrepreneurs who hopes to bring the economies of scale common in manufacturing to the problem of high housing prices. Daniel’s company, Polyhaus, focuses on speed, sustainability, and fire resistance, issues especially important to Californians. Teresa Bergen takes us inside the Tetra-One model in Daniel’s La Jolla backyard.
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Quick Links |
Skip scrolling! Here's what you'll find in today's Bluedot San Diego newsletter:
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– Illustration by Elissa Turnbull
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Dear Dot,
I am feeling hopeful. I've dispensed with plastic baggies to preserve food, and upped my game on recycling. I buy organic, and try to get out of the market without too much plastic, and certainly no bags for the fruit and vegetables. All this has been manageable. But the other people in my house don't share my determination to make changes. I don't want to be a nag. Any tips?
– Ann
Dear Ann,
I urge you to let your family figure it out themselves, though by all means, model your own climate-friendly actions. Don’t forget to seek out the pleasure of it. If others see you joylessly eating Tofurky or growling about the plastic bag in which a friend brought you some strawberries, they are far less likely to want a piece of that lifestyle.
Depending on your kids’ ages, ask what they care about most — whales? Trees? Butterflies? — and encourage them to make connections between our impact on the planet and its effect on the things they cherish. (Be careful, though. I once traumatized my chicken-nugget-loving son by showing him a video of factory farm operations called “McTorture.”)
Meet people where they are, and then wordlessly invite them to join you. But make the path appealing by walking it with a smile on your face and, yes, hope in your heart. …
Read the rest of Dot’s answer.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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If you make a purchase through our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
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Four out of five American households do some kind of spring cleaning every year. If you’re gearing up and in need of supplies, consider trying eco-friendly refill concentrates. Compared to full-size products, which are themselves watered-down concentrates, these tiny workhorses use far less water and material and ship with a much lower carbon footprint. Don’t worry: They also get the job done.
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Blueland’s effective, plastic-free cleaning concentrates work just like Alka-Seltzer: You just pop a tab into water and you’re good to go. You can buy their sets with bottles, or use your own bottles and get refills only. We also love their foaming hand-soap refills.
Shop today or read our review.
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Public Goods, a membership-based platform, offers a well-curated assortment of “radically simple” and affordable products, including liquid cleaning concentrates. The easy-to-shop site also offers bath and body care, modest dishware and linens, and quality grocery items.
Shop today or read our review.
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While most cleaning refills come in three types (glass, bathroom, and surface cleaners), Earthy Edith’s features more specialized products, such as Stone Countertop Cleaner and Dusting Spray. Save 15% with code BLUEDOT. Shop on EarthHero or read our review.
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When you love what you do, it can be easy to take on more — more tasks, more deadlines, more hours – but before you know it, you don’t have time to do what you loved in the beginning. Don’t just do more – do more of what you do best. BELAY’s flexible staffing solutions leverage industry experience with AI systems to increase productivity without sacrificing quality. You can accomplish more and juggle less with our exceptional U.S.-based Virtual Assistants, Accounting Professionals, and Marketing Assistants. Learn how with our free ebook, Delegate to Elevate, and leave the more to BELAY
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Spring is a great time for a visit to the desert, and we’re getting good rain, which should set us up for a flowery spring. In addition to flowery, the desert is a quiet place, or at least it should be. But man
is a noisy beast, and the incessant drone of modern life — primarily our cars but also our ever-chirping devices — can tarnish the silence that’s so important to both wildlife and to human health. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California’s largest state park, preserves enough silence that it actually won an award for quiet.
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Paid Advertisement with Rooted Insight
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Empower yourself to live with purpose and leave a lasting impact. |
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Rooted Insight’s personal identity workshops guide you through a journey of self-discovery and growth, helping you align your strengths and values with conscious action. In our 1:1 sessions, you’ll gain clarity on how to live in harmony with your purpose and contribute to a sustainable future—for yourself, your community, and the planet.
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If you’re going to cook up an Irish specialty in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, you can’t go wrong with a recipe by someone named Mollie Doyle. The aptly appellated writer shares her soda bread recipe “because it is one of those special memory foods for me. Because this Irish soda bread reminds me of food’s incredible power to soothe, heal, and inspire. Because it is delicious.” Pair a
few slices of the sweet, citrusy bread with a Tipperary cocktail, made with Irish whiskey, for an extra-Irish (and extra-delicious) happy hour!
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Inside each issue of Bluedot Living Kitchen, you’ll find fresh cooking inspiration for seasonal, planet-friendly eating, tools and tips for creating a more sustainable kitchen, and inspiring stories of the people behind your food. Don’t miss the groundbreaking education and regenerative farming work of Vermont’s Shelburne Farms, our tribute to maple syrup, low-impact recipes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, and more!Â
Claim a free sample of this issue now! No payment information required.Â
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| Get Your FREE Sample
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Jamie Mitri, who has degrees in chemical engineering and biology, worked in biotech and as an environmental engineer before starting the company Moss Pure, which makes living wall art from moss (and succulents and cacti). Far from just being beautiful, Moss Pure’s designs work hard to capture indoor air pollutants, while Jamie’s high-tech backing makes them essentially self-sustaining and maintenance-free. “Every square foot of Moss Pure captures 300,000 ppm of CO2 and 1.5 million pollutant particles including allergens, dust, pet dander, wildfire, smoke, metals, bacteria, viruses, toxic gasses, and more,” Jamie says.
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Bluedot Marketplace has some great reusable paper towels. And don’t miss Bluedot’s tips on how to store produce to ensure longevity.
For more Bluedot Climate Quick Tips, click here.
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You Are What You Eat |
The way we feed ourselves has a massive impact on the planet. The average person needs about 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day to survive, and the world produces 5,000 calories per day per person. So it’s not a question of producing enough, it’s a question of how much we waste. Bluedot has always been on the food-waste beat, with stories about solutions new and old. Bluedot also offers a ton of sustainable recipes, as well as Bluedot Living Kitchen magazine for those of you who really want to eat right for our planet. We can all eat greener, and eat better.
Also, you may have heard that our neighbors to the north (in Canada, not L.A. or Oregon) have a new prime minister, Mark Carney. He's famous around the Bluedot universe as the dad of contributor and intern Cleo Carney, who started out as a student writer in our Bluedot Institute. For years, Mark has been working with the global financial sector to build a healthier, more stable, more sustainable future for all of us. Check out the interview Cleo did with him back in 2023 (when she was in high school and he was the UN Special
Envoy for Climate and Finance) in which she asks him about his “aha” moment about extreme weather, the future, and our role in making safe and healthy communities.
If you find value in these resources and stories, please consider contributing to our journalism. Together, we can make a difference.
One last thing: We were thrilled by the response to Bluedot Living’s first-ever Sustainable Living Giveaway! Thank you to everyone who participated and supported this collection of planet-friendly brands. Congratulations to Ann Q. from Michigan, who won the grand prize of $2,500+ in sustainable goodies, and to Gregory C. from Brooklyn and Ann M. from Toronto, who each won more than $1,000 in sustainable products. If you missed out on this giveaway, stay tuned — we have plenty more sustainable product giveaways coming soon!
We’ll see you in two weeks.
– Nicki and Jim Miller
Editors, Bluedot Living San Diego
sdeditor@bluedotliving.com
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We live in San Diego and love the opportunity to be on the water and in the mountains in one day. Nicki, a writer and editor, and Jim, a writer and environmental economist, are excited to combine skills as the editors of Bluedot Living San Diego. Since we’re avid cyclists, you may see us riding along the Silver Strand or hitting the trails in Cuyamaca (probably not on the same day). Thank you for joining us on this Bluedot ride! Â
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