At Home On Earth

SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES

As the growing season began to draw to a close, Bluedot contributor (and copyeditor) Laura Roosevelt pondered a single question: What was worth the effort, and what wasn’t? “It may seem obvious,” she writes, “but the most important factor in determining what’s worth growing in your garden is what you like to eat.” A friend of hers drove the point home by noting, “You need to garden the way you actually eat, not the way you think you want to eat.” As you, perhaps, put your garden to bed and begin to consider next year’s, give some thought to what’s worth it. And what’s not. 

Our New Store Is Here!

We’re making it easier for our readers to shop sustainably with our new online store, Bluedot Living Collection. From home essentials to clean beauty, and wardrobe staples to low-waste swaps, you can find planet-friendly products all in one place. We've already partnered with a curated array of brands we believe in, and we’re just getting started. As we continue to vet new products, you’ll see even more options added, each one selected for quality, responsibility, and real-world functionality.

“As COP30 opens in Belém, the message from mayors and local leaders is clear: We are ready to help national governments go further and faster. Only together can we meet the challenge of the climate crisis.”

– statement from C40, a global network of cities taking action on climate change

When the global climate summit COP30 opened on Nov. 6 in Belém, Brazil, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “This COP must ignite a decade of acceleration and delivery.” 

We are making progress. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, the clean tech revolution is “exponential, disruptive, and now.” Climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe points out in her newsletter that “By the end of the decade, 14 countries will source all their power from renewable sources and seven countries are already doing so — Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, Kenya, Bhutan, and Paraguay. Wind and solar are cheaper to build than fossil fuel plants almost anywhere on the planet, and China makes more money from its clean energy exports than the U.S. does from its fossil fuel exports.”

But we can applaud this progress while recognizing that we still need more, faster. 

And even though U.S. federal leaders have opted out, there are representatives around the world at the city, state, provincial, and regional level who are pushing forward to accelerate progress. Bluedot has long believed that much of the climate action we’re seeing is being driven by grassroots and local efforts. As Matt Simon writes in Grist, “People can influence communities, communities can influence cities, and cities can influence nations. These critical junctures, then, can spread like a contagion — in a good way.”

• What’s Worth It, and What’s Not, in the Garden

• An All-in-One Cleaning Solution

• Creating Joy at Home With Susan Branch

• Co-op Gardening, One Yard at a Time

• An Indigenous Islander’s Search for Identity

• Protecting the Tongass National Forest in Alaska

• Bluedot’s Favorite Gifts for Hosts

• Dear Dot: Are Winter Tires Bad for the Environment?

• Festive Recipes: Grandma’s Stuffing and Cranberry Marmalade

• Hosting This Year? Get Tips for Setting a Sustainable Dining Table

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.

FEATURED STORIES

BIG IDEAS AND LOCAL CHANGEMAKERS

Thanksgiving Stuffing and Cranberry Marmalade

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and we’re feeling generous: Here are two delicious recipes by bestselling author Susan Branch. 

First up, Grandma’s Turkey Stuffing. This old-fashioned recipe is a classic, but Susan encourages you to make it your own, tasting it along the way and measuring with your heart, just like Grandma. (And you won’t want to waste a bit of it! Leftovers are great in post-holiday sandwiches.)

Next, here’s a recipe Susan discovered one Christmas with leftover cranberry sauce. This Cranberry Marmalade is a happy accident that is beyond easy to make and can be a pretty gift, too! Pour it in an upcycled jar, top it with a vintage coaster, tie it with a ribbon, and give it to a friend. They’ll love it spread over toast or on fresh-baked biscuits. Yuuum!

Read more about the simple, sustainable life Susan Branch built …

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Author Susan Branch Seeks Out Simplicity and Sustainability

Dear Dot: Are (Winter) Tires Bad for the Environment?

Dear Dot,

I recently swapped out my regular tires for winter ones. But what impact do winter tires have on fuel economy? What about pollution? Are certain tires better for the environment than others?

–Bob

Dear Bob,

While swapping out all-season tires for a winter version isn’t a universal experience (my daredevil New England colleagues tell me they don’t do it!), it’s a ritual that has forever been a part of my Canadian driving experience. Each November, Mr. Dot hauls out his car jack, rolls the winter tires out of our shed, and proceeds to undertake the loathed task. And then, for at least a week after, he moans about his sore back and vows to pay someone else to do this job next year. It’s a ritual as Canadian as vinegar on fries and maple syrup (the real stuff!) on pancakes.

While it’s true that my fuel economy goes down in the winter, it’s not entirely due to winter tires. Winter tires do increase what those in the biz call “rolling resistance” — deeper treads create more friction between road and tire, thereby requiring more fuel to move the vehicle — but other culprits have a more significant impact on winter fuel economy. 

What are they? And where can you recycle your tires, wherever you live? Read on.

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: 
Sustainable Gifts for Gracious Hosts

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

It always seems to happen the same way: One minute it’s summer, and the next, darkness falls before dinner and the invites start rolling in. ’Tis the season of dinner parties, tree-trimmings, candle-lightings, and presents. This year, thank the host with the most by being the guest with the best (gift, that is). The items below are designed to elevate mundane tasks and make spirits bright.
Keep reading for even more unexpected, affordable, sustainable gift ideas. 

Beautiful Tools for Every Cook 

Montana-based Earlywood handcrafts kitchen tools that effortlessly marry form and function. The Flat Sauté Set includes a trio of slender, multipurpose tools that sautés, stirs, scrambles, spreads, and serves and is available in a variety of gorgeous, sustainable woods. This hardworking, space-saving set is destined to become a favorite. Shop Now

Plants With a Promise

Modern Sprout, a family-owned company based in Chicago, makes it easy to garden wherever you are. These cleverly designed hydroponic herb kits are guaranteed to grow, so even folks who are less botanically inclined can enjoy fresh herbs all year long. Choose lavender, basil, parsley, mint, rosemary, or cilantro, or get more than one! Shop Now

A Cooler Gift Bag

Bringing a special bottle to a party? Instead of a single-use gift bag, try packing the bottle in this reusable, insulated wine and spirits tote. Made from leather-like, FSC-Certified Supernatural Paper, the attractive lightweight bag is the coolest way we know to carry wine. Like Bluedot Living, Out of the Woods is a 1% for the Planet member company and last year donated to the National Forest Foundation. Shop Now

What You Can Do: Join Forces!

Most of us concerned about climate issues don’t realize just how many of us there are. We now know, thanks to extensive polling, that 89% of us around the world want our political leaders to do more to address climate change. Let’s join forces in a global movement like Count Us In, which aims to inspire 1 billion of us to take practical steps in our own lives and challenge our leaders to take bold action. If we all act, Count Us In says, we could cut as much as 20% of global carbon emissions. Ready to get involved? Click here.

The Keep-This Handbook

Hosting Thanksgiving is an art that comes together with a lot of care and attention to detail. If you’re in charge of bringing the family together this year, remember to save a seat for sustainability! Check out our tips for how to host with the Earth in mind with our guide to resetting the dining table.

In Praise of Darkness

Where I write this, we just got our first big snow of the year, reminding all of us that fall is on its way out (no matter how many leaves cling stubbornly to trees) and that, like it or not, winter is coming. 

I’ve long loved the different seasons, the dramatic changes to what’s outside my door. I made soup last night as the wind howled. Lit a fire. Considered what dessert to take to my sister-in-law’s Thanksgiving dinner. 

The sun was down before I sat down to my soup, and the days will only grow shorter until winter solstice. I welcome it. Cold snowy nights let me off the hook in the way that sunny days never will. I don’t feel obliged to get outside, to gather with friends, to bike or swim or picnic. Instead, I relish the low expectations of winter: a good book, a sleepy cat, and darkness with the promise of brighter days to come.

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

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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