At Home On Earth

SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES

Bluedot editor Leslie Garrett doesn’t understand why anyone would consider cooking outside, with few appliances, a form of vacation. Nevertheless, as we head into camping season, she has written us a nice guide to cooking while camping, with the help of staff camper Kelsey Perrett, Bluedot’s digital projects manager. And Bluedot Living Kitchen contributor Justin McChesney-Wachs contributes some yummy recipes. 

Ask someone if they would like more planetary warming, loss of species, and plastic pollution and most would recoil at the thought. And yet, “humanity is still stumbling down a dangerous path after decades of warnings backed by convincing research,” write the authors of a new U.N. report that aims to find out why. The authors point out that most of us continue to prioritize convenience and consumption. It’s possible, of course, to do things differently, the report notes, specifically pointing to Deep Change Theory, which works when personal change and system change work in tandem. There are examples, they say, where we can see this has already worked, such as smoking, which went from common practice and widely accepted to bans and social dismissal.

What seems particularly baffling is that studies tell us that increased consumption doesn’t lead to greater happiness. Or, as Lynne Twist proposes, sufficiency isn’t an amount, it’s an experience.
 

None of which is to say we should be complacent about basic needs like affordable housing, safe jobs, and healthy food. But it is to say that, until we stop chasing consumption, our planet and so many of its people will continue paying the price.

Enter Bluedot Living’s Sustainable Outdoor Living Giveaway for a chance to refresh your outdoor space sustainably just in time to enjoy the spring weather. One winner will take home a $2,500 POLYWOOD gift card to shop durable, sustainably made outdoor furniture crafted from recycled and reusable plastics. Don’t miss the chance to create your dream Earth-friendly outdoor space — on us!

Enter between May 8 at 9 a.m. EST and May 22 at 11:59 p.m. EST for your chance to win. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to U.S. residents aged 13 and older. See Official Rules for more details.

FEATURED STORIES

BIG IDEAS AND LOCAL CHANGEMAKERS

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 Bluedot Living Kitchen

Braised Leeks With Cheese Sauce

Bluedot copyeditor Laura Roosevelt writes about how her mom taught her to love local, seasonal foods in “How I Became a Gourmet,” which features this recipe for braised leeks. 

Get the recipe.

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Meet Oscar Carney

Some members of the Carney family (say, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney) have been getting a lot of attention recently. But Oscar, the Carney family’s cat, has his own claim to fame. Reporter Cleo Carney, a Bluedot intern for the last four years, likes to write about clean cooking, and investigated planet-friendly catfood. See how Oscar liked them.

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Dear Dot: Are Barbecues Bad?

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. 

Read more of Dot’s very nuanced advice about grilling.

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER:

Fab Flowers and Floral Gifts

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

A Three-Dimensional Bouquet

FreshCut Paper makes greeting cards that go from flat to fabulous in just seconds. Our Marketplace editor first spotted them in a botanical garden shop, and they’ve become one of her go-to gifts. Today, she also spotted one in the background on a team Zoom call. These lovely arrangements look even better in person than they do online — and they look great online. 

Shop on Amazon or read our review.

Beautiful Paper Flowers

Keeping fresh flowers in the house year-round is pricey, and while dried flowers make a nice alternative, they can shed and get messy. Enter Unwilted, a woman-run, Michigan-based brand that makes beautiful paper flowers by hand. Our Marketplace editor keeps Unwilted peonies in her Airbnb, and guests often ask her where they can find paper bouquets of their own. Save 20% with code BLUEDOT20. Shop today or read our review.

Traditional Floral Delivery

We always recommend shopping for fresh flowers at a local farmers market, but if that option isn’t available, or you’d like a cut-flower bouquet for someone out of town, we suggest Bloomsy Box. Bloomsy sells Rainforest Alliance Certified bouquets and potted plants. When your stepmother, who’s a stickler for quality, is impressed by two separate Bloomsy bouquets, it’s no small feat.

Shop today or read our review.

The Keep-This Handbook

Do you know the difference between “use by,” “best before,” “sell by,” or “expiration date”? Nope, neither do we. And that’s because those dates are largely arbitrary — based not on when food is safe to eat but when it’s likely to taste its best. Knowing what to eat and when can help you avoid a lot of expensive and planet-warming food waste. Check out Bluedot’s What to Know About Expiration Dates.

Thanks, Mom

One Monday night in the 1970s, when I was in middle school, my family sat down to dinner. “What’s this, Frances?” my father asked about the bowl of green soup in front of him. 

“Broccoli soup!” my mother chirped. “There’s salad and bread, too. We’re going to start eating some meals without meat,” she added. He was a good sport, so he went along with this, and so did my three brothers (some of them grudgingly) and I. While she knew eating less meat was better for us, and may have known that it was better for the environment, her main motivation (as with soooo many other things) was economic: eating less meat cost us less. 

So many moves that frugal moms made ended up being good moves for the environment, too. Laura Roosevelt, Bluedot’s Garden to Table columnist (and our copyeditor), wrote this essay for our inaugural print magazine on Martha’s Vineyard (four years ago this month!), My Mother, the Pinchpenny (and Early Environmentalist). Here’s an excerpt: “Food in our house almost never went into the trash. Another of my mother’s catchphrases was ‘use-uppa,’ a sort of mantra having to do with odds and ends in the fridge that might go bad if left too long. If two spears of uneaten broccoli from last night’s dinner reappeared in tonight’s salad, my mother would proudly proclaim, ‘Use-uppa!’... My mom candied citrus rinds and gave them as gifts. She stored vegetable peelings and chicken bones in a plastic bag in the freezer until it was time to use them to make a chicken stock. After that, they went into the compost, along with coffee grounds, eggshells, and other organic kitchen waste. Grass clippings from lawnmowing, pulled weeds, raked leaves, and shredded newspaper were also compost fodder, as was hair harvested from our hairbrushes and the cat brush. (‘It’s full of nutrients!’ my mother swore, and she was right: Hair contains traces of up to 14 different elements, including gold.)

All of that sounds planet-friendly to us (we might need to further investigate the nutritional value of hair). 

Happy Mothers Day; enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you in two weeks.

–Jamie Kageleiry (and Leslie Garrett)

Editors

Write us at editor@bluedotliving.com

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.

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.

Sent to: _t.e.s.t_@example.com

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