At Home On Earth

SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES

Drones have a lot to do beyond military activities. Here, Brian Taggert, co-owner of Oceans Unmanned, launches a drone in the Maldives. He and Matt Pickett, both former pilots for NOAA, use the devices around the globe to map coastlines to track sea-level rise and to monitor wildlife — whales, seals, otters — up close for organizations such as NOAA. “We were circling over otters, and the pups were playing,” Pickett told Bluedot writer Sam Moore. “A biologist with us said he’d never been able to see that behavior. When you’re in a helicopter at 750 feet … the animals hear that and they hunker down. With a drone, you get much more natural behavior.”

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.

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art …”
– Ursula Le Guin, acceptance speech to American Letters Award, 2014

A few years ago, one of Bluedot’s editors came to us with an idea. Lily Olsen, a painter herself, was struck by much of the art she was seeing — that it not only depicted our experience of a changing climate, but also provided commentary, warnings, maybe even lights for our path forward.

Artists have, of course, not simply been documenters of our times (as important as that role is). They’ve also told us what we should be paying attention to. Le Guin puts it this way: “There are always areas of vast silence in any culture, and part of an artist’s job is to go into those areas and come back from the silence with something to say.”

Despite the vast majority of Americans wanting their elected leaders to take stronger action on climate change, few of us talk to our friends or family about it. Artists step into that silence, articulating our fears and our love for the planet. Curious about what we mean? Check out Bluedot’s collection of Works in Progress stories, where we shine a light on the art and artists who have something to say about climate.

• Weird Things to Compost

• Good News: Local Climate Action Leads to Big Gains 

• Dear Dot: Any Advice for On-the-Go Stain Removers?

• What’s So Bad About … Geoengineering? 

• Spotting Wildlife From the Sky

• Get Your Kitchen Ready: Ecozoi Containers and Bamboo Organizing Trays

• Eradicating Ice Plant on Santa Barbara Bluffs

• Art Has Something to Say: Works in Progress

• Insulate Your Attic: Mr. Fix-It Shows You How

• Recipe: Hot Apple Cider

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

Hot Apple Cider

What’s So Bad About … Geoengineering?

Geoengineering consists of “deliberate, large-scale attempts to alter the climate system in a way that halts, slows down, or reverses global warming,” writes Bluedot editorial director Leslie Garrett, citing the definition from the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists. Though the term “geoengineering” was first coined in the 1970s, the concept dates back much further. “Humans have been interfering with nature in very consequential ways for more than a century,” says University of Delaware Professor Salim Ali. “We have changed entire ecosystems.” Nonetheless, geoengineering proposals and practices are accelerating to match the pace of climate change. While they might seem like something out of science fiction, could they slow down warming and preserve our planet? Read on.

Dear Dot: Any Advice for On-the-Go Stain Removers?

Dear Dot,

I saw your post about using shaving cream on tomato stains. Does it work for most stains? My grandson threw up on my shirt. I rinsed it out right away, but I was traveling and wasn’t able to wash it for a few days. When I washed it, the stain remained. I would like to find something that is Earth-friendly and non-toxic that I can take with me anywhere and use to effectively pre-treat stains. Do you have ideas? 

– Julie

Dear Julie, 

Let’s save your clothes from future sticky situations, whether it’s grandchild vomit, chocolate sauce, pomegranate juice, or spilled coffee. As we shared in the Climate Quick Tip you’re referring to, shaving cream is an affordable and Earth-friendly stain fighter — travel-friendly, too, since it’s probably already in your toiletry bag. It works not only on tomato stains, but also on coffee, mustard, and makeup stains. You might have benefited from shaving cream on your latest travel fiasco, because it can actually help remove vomit stains, too! However, when Better Homes and Gardens tested it, they found it to be less effective on some other stains, such as ink and nail polish. In addition, they found that while it did work somewhat on coffee and oil stains, it didn’t completely erase them. Your best bet with shaving cream is getting it on the stain right away. (Sidenote: Make sure you use the foam kind of shaving cream, which has the active ingredients that fight stains. Gel and cream shaving solutions do not.) And incidentally, shaving cream works really well on carpets!

If shaving cream isn’t right for the stain you’ve got, there are plenty of other Earth-friendly and non-toxic alternatives. What are they? Read on.

Be among the first to experience a Bluedot Living–curated travel experience, where you’ll connect with local environmental change-makers and enjoy carefully designed all-inclusive itineraries and farm-to-table dining, all in exquisite locales. With five trips scheduled for 2026, ranging from Hollywood, California, to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, there’s a destination to suit every traveler.

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Peak Pine Time

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

Looking to fill your home (or someone’s stocking) with the scent of pine, without hacking down trees? Juniper Ridge’s Christmas Fir line perfectly conveys the magical scents of pine needles snapping underfoot and a lit tree near the fire. That’s because Juniper Ridge upcycles Christmas trees each year, preventing them from going to waste while capturing their essential oils. The resulting candle, soap, incense, and more are ideal gifts for conscientious Christmas-lovers. 

Shop now.

What You Can Do: Insulate Your Attic

Just like a lot of body heat disappears out of the top of your head (wear a hat, our mothers would say!), a lot of a home’s heat disappears out its head … errrr … attic. Insulating is not only climate-smart, it’s wallet-smart. Let Bluedot’s Mr. Fix-It show you how.

The Keep-This Handbook

If you’re thinning out your holiday decorations before bedecking your home, you might be wondering what the heck to do about festive decor you no longer want. Don’t throw it away! Check out our How to Get Rid of (Almost) Anything Guide. 

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Sometimes, You Just Have to Buy Things

Ever wish you could go to a marketplace or a mall or a department store and know that everything you shopped for was ethically sourced, planet-friendly, packaged sustainably (and beautiful and fun)? Welcome to Bluedot’s Shopify store!

My daughter recently moved into a new (to her) house, and having come from a tiny apartment, she needed to get some things. I sent her links to the Countertop Compost Bin, these Ecozoi Stainless Steel Containers, and these Bamboo Organizing Trays. 

And for a housewarming gift, I’m buying her this set of three steel Sunflower Luminary Pillars from Northern Forge that will soak up the sun on her sunny back deck, then twinkle through her windows in these earlier evenings. 

Happy shopping, and we’ll see you next week. 

– Jamie Kageleiry (and Emily Cain, Leslie Garrett, 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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