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Welcome to Bluedot Living Los Angeles, 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 Los Angeles, 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 / STORIES |
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Spring Fever |
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Lately you can’t walk a block in my Long Beach neighborhood without seeing a patch of golden California poppies. That means one thing: It’s wildflower season! We may not be looking at a superbloom this year; California State Parks is predicting a more modest bloom due to the below-average winter rainfall. But we think even a small field of colorful lupine, brittlebrush, and poppies is enough to erase winter doldrums, and we recommend heading out to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park or the California Botanic Garden in Claremont while they’re in bloom. If you find yourself inspired to grow wildflowers in your own neighborhood, Bluedot gardening guru Laura McLean offers step-by-step instructions on how to create seed bombs and where to plant them.
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Quick Links |
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Skip scrolling! Here’s what you’ll find in today’s Bluedot Los Angeles newsletter: |
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This week, we offer a couple of eco-friendly home stories. First, architecture professor Daniel Lopez-Perez 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 his Tetra-One model. Then, Jamie Mitri 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, and Jamie’s high-tech frames make them essentially self-sustaining and maintenance-free. |
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Pet insurance could help you offset rising veterinary costs
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Veterinarians nationwide reported that corporate managers pushed clinics to focus on profit, with vets often paid based on revenue. This encouraged them to see more pets, order more tests, and upsell services, creating a growing burden for uninsured pet owners. Pet insurance could help you offset some of these rising costs, with some providing up to 90% reimbursement. View Money’s top pet insurance picks to see plans starting at only $10/month. |
| SEE PROVIDERS |
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–Illustration by Elissa Turnbull |
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Dear Dot,
I know moving to a plant-based diet is good for the planet. But I wonder about whether some nuts (cashews and almonds, for example) have a large footprint as well in terms of land use, water use, and transportation. What say you?
– Ann
Dear Ann,
Over the past few decades, powerful marketing campaigns have convinced us that nuts, while calorie dense, are healthy. Researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine determined in a study of more than 200,000 men and women in the Southern United States and Shanghai that the more nuts people consume, the lower their death rates from all causes, and especially from heart disease and stroke!
Less death is a good thing, Ann. We can all agree on that. But nuts, like any food, have an impact on our environment. Alas, we cannot live on air. So let’s consider how nuts stack up environmentally against other foods. Let’s, ahem, crack this climate nut open. …
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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Spring has finally sprung, and it’s glorious. Some of you may be embarking on major cleaning projects; others may just want to pull on whatever’s closest and take a long walk outside. Either way, chances are you’ll want to wash at least the socks and undies you wore doing it. This week, we’re showcasing two Bluedot laundry faves and two innovations that may just change how you do laundry. |
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Dirty Labs makes super-concentrated, enzyme-powered, plastic-free detergent that’s available fragrance-free and in two sophisticated scents (think magnolia and matcha). They also make an excellent enzyme booster for particularly dirty loads. Save 15% on your first order with code BLUEDOT. Shop today or read our review. |
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All dryer balls reduce static cling, decrease drying time, and prevent the need to buy wasteful, often toxic dryer sheets. Only Friendsheep dryer balls make us smile every time we do the wash. The Fair Trade brand’s cheerful colors and patterns have elevated dryer balls to an art. Save 10% with code BLUEDOT. Shop today or read our review. |
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A newsletter reader emailed us about the Terra Wash+Mg, a little magnesium-filled satchel that she uses to wash clothes. “I haven't bought bottled detergent in four years,” she wrote, yet “very dirty clothes come out clean.” Our marketplace editor started using it in January and has been amazed. Shop on Amazon or read our review. |
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If you often re-run your dryer due to tangled-up sheets, you’ll love the Wad-Free, a little device that you connect to the corners of sheets before washing. Miraculously, it prevents wads, saving you — and your dryer — precious time and energy. Shop on Amazon or read our review. |
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. |
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January’s wildfires in Pacific Palisades burned through neighborhoods mere feet from the Pacific Ocean. Firefighters couldn’t make use of that ocean adjacency, though, because saltwater corrodes metal firefighting equipment and absorbs moisture from soil, hindering plant regeneration. But what if ocean water could be used to help fight fires and solve other water shortages? Oneka Technologies, a small Quebec-based company that builds desalination plants, thinks it can, and is currently testing its largest plant off the coast of Nova Scotia. |
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The intrepid Secondhand Sisters, Bluedot’s experts on thrifting and upcycling, recently gave browser extension Beni a try while searching for the perfect dinner-date dress. After finding a $160 Anthropologie dress for just $25, Sophie gives the tool, which helps shoppers sift through multiple secondhand sites at once, a thumbs-up.
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Curious about coffee’s impact on the environment? Read this.
For more Bluedot Climate Quick Tips, click here.
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Paid Advertisement with Rooted Insight |
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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Cheers to Cleo |
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You may have heard that Canada has a new prime minister, Mark Carney. Here at Bluedot, we know him as Cleo’s dad. Cleo Carney, who introduced her father at Canada’s Liberal leadership convention, was a student writer in our Bluedot Institute when she was in high school and is now a contributor and intern. In 2023, she interviewed her dad for Bluedot Living, who for years has worked with the global financial sector to build a healthier, more stable, more sustainable future. It’s a great conversation and provides a window into what the leaders of our neighbors to the north are thinking about extreme weather, the future, and our role in making safe and healthy communities.
See you in two weeks!
–Robin Jones
Do you have a special Los Angeles photo or story to share?
Email laeditor@bluedotliving.com. |
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Robin Jones is a Southern California native who served as an editor at Westways magazine for more than a decade. She currently lives in Long Beach and teaches journalism at Cal State Long Beach, where she advises the award-winning student magazine, DIG MAG. She loves road-tripping across California, especially when the itinerary includes stops in Arcata and Trinidad. |
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