SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES

One of Bluedot founder Victoria Riskin’s favorite things to do as a child was to accompany her mother, actress Fay Wray (above, with Cary Grant), to Romanoff’s in Hollywood, where, she says, “deals were made over martinis and a salad could seem as glamorous as the people eating it” — especially when it was a Caesar salad, tossed tableside with flair. Victoria’s mom loved that salad so much, she convinced the Romanoff’s chef to share the recipe with her. Happily, Vicki tells us, "you can easily make a wonderful Caesar at home. All it takes is a little care, a few good, fresh ingredients, and a willingness to treat it not as an afterthought, but as a star."

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“Children grow up hearing how broken the environment is, how broken beyond repair. Plant strawberries together, make wild medicines, paint the sunrise. Show them proof that for every act of destruction, they can sow a seed, however small, of beauty.” 

–Nicolette Sowder, founder of Wilder Child, a website dedicated to helping you raise children more attuned to nature. 

• Readers! Take Our Survey and Get 20% Off in Our Shopify Store

• Podcast: Can Music Help Heal the Planet?

• Dear Dot: Are BBQs Bad for the Environment?

• Take Action with Other Parents to Protect the Planet

• Talking With Billie Eilish’s Mom, Maggie Baird

• Where Caesar Salad Reigned

• Recipe: Romanoff’s Caesar Salad

• My Mother the Pinchpenny (and Early Environmentalist)

• Time to Shop for Your Garden Gear!

• A Conversation With Youth Arts Program Founder Linda Cabot

• Forest Schools in Santa Barbara

• Recipe: Individual Dacquoises With Berry Sauce and Shaved Dark Chocolate

FEATURED STORIES

BIG IDEAS AND LOCAL CHANGEMAKERS

When gifting food like Warmed Sweet and Spiced Nuts, present it in a reusable jar (and not a plastic one). And check out these eight low-waste gift ideas straight from the garden.

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Bluedot Kitchen

Individual Dacquoises With Berry Sauce and Shaved Dark Chocolate

A recent report from Reverb, a nonprofit group that helps musicians implement eco-friendly practices, called Billie Eilish’s latest tour a breakthrough: The pop star and her team convinced venues to offer plant-based concessions, sold merchandise made from recycled materials, and raised $13.3 million for climate action and community organizations. Eilish’s commitment to sustainability stems from her mom, Maggie Baird, an actress and the founder of Support + Feed, a nonprofit organization that works to make plant-based food more accessible, with the ultimate goal of mitigating climate change and addressing food insecurity. Bluedot founder Victoria Riskin spoke with her about going vegan, raising musicians, and feeding everyone with healthy, nourishing food.

For just $5/month, you can become a Bluedot Living member — investing in a healthier planet while unlocking real, everyday benefits for yourself. You'll enjoy 10% off every purchase from Bluedot Living Collection, our editor-curated marketplace of planet-friendly brands and products and you'll receive additional member-only store discounts each month. Many members recoup the cost of membership in just a handful of purchases from our store. From there, the savings continue — making sustainable living more accessible, affordable, and impactful.

Dear Dot: Are BBQs Bad for the Environment?

Illustration by Elissa Turnbull

Dear Dot,

How bad is it to use my barbecue? Are there good alternatives?

– Lee

Dear Lee,

Your timing, Lee, is impeccable. You reached out to Dot on what is very nearly the eve of Back to Barbecue Day, a holiday (May 27) entirely made up by the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association (it’s a thing, Lee!). And why not! Dot loves a good grill, a backyard barbecue, a patio party. 

But, while I’m delighted you’re carbon-curious about your grill habits, Lee, the fact is that outdoor cooking in North America makes up just a teensy-tiny part of carbon emissions. What’s more, Dot, as I’ve mentioned before, is Canadian: We Canucks have barely a nanosecond of weather conducive to outdoor grilling, so are more than a little wary of anyone who wants to pry those BBQ tongs out of our hands. After surviving a Canadian winter, we deserve to grill, goshdarnit! But even those of you who barbecue more frequently in more temperate parts of the continent aren’t likely to create an outsized carbon cook-print. In other words, Lee, while I’m happy to grill the experts on how to cut carbon, don’t sweat your outdoor cooking method too much.

There are parts of the world, including China, India, and regions of Africa, where cooking over “solid fuel sources” (typically wood) does contribute substantially to carbon emissions and harms local health. The Clean Cooking Alliance, a U.S.-based organization, works to shift the more-than-one-in-three people globally who cook on an outdoor or wood-burning stove toward cleaner, safer methods. So bravo to them! 

Nonetheless, Lee, when we know better, we do better, as the saying goes, so let’s consider the ways we can put the sustainable in our sizzle.

Keep reading!

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Garden Time!

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Catch Microfibers Before They Reach Our Water 

Every load releases tiny microfibers—many plastic—into our waterways, ending up in our food and bodies. The Cora Ball reduces shedding and catches fibers before they go down the drain. Just toss it in your wash to protect your clothes—and the planet. 

The Keep-This Handbook

If you’re planning to give Mom a makeup refresh or pamper her with skin care, you’ll find yourself navigating confusing beauty labels and ingredient lists. Use Bluedot’s Guide to Clean Beauty to know what to look for, what to avoid, and which certifications you can trust.

Have a Date With (Mother) Nature

Many years ago, I was hired by an educational publisher to write a biography of Canadian scientist, broadcaster, and climate activist David Suzuki. Speaking with him, I discovered that protecting our planet wasn’t humorless, strident work for him, but rather sprung from a deep visceral pleasure in our natural world. 

So I told him about my then-preschool kids’ obsession with the creatures in our backyard garden. I routinely found lifeless worms in my daughter’s pockets, I told him, and my kids collected toads in a makeshift terrarium they’d constructed in an old metal washbin. I worried that any hapless critters living in our yard weren’t likely to live to dinnertime. “Should I encourage a ‘look, don’t touch’ policy?” 

“No!” he practically yelled at me, explaining that his main concern wasn’t harm to these creatures but rather a fear or wariness of nature altogether in children. While acknowledging that my pleas to be gentle with creatures were warranted, he lamented that far too many kids don’t spend enough time outdoors. Consequently, what’s happening to our planet feels remote for too many. But it’s natural for children to explore, to experience nature through all their senses. I, he made clear, was not to get in the way of that. 

We hope you enjoy the weekend exploring your particular part of the world. And, if you can, take our survey. We’d like to know how Bluedot helps in your daily life. We’ll see you next week. 

– Leslie Garrett (and Emily Cain, Jamie Kageleiry, 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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