Bluedot Living https://bluedotliving.com/ At Home on Earth Thu, 08 Feb 2024 01:37:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://bluedotliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cropped-Bluedot_site-icon-32x32.png Bluedot Living https://bluedotliving.com/ 32 32 Making More from Less https://bluedotliving.com/making-more-from-less/ https://bluedotliving.com/making-more-from-less/#respond Thu, 08 Feb 2024 01:37:31 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=18033 On a warm November afternoon, a gentle breeze blows through the vineyard in front of the Jadhavs’ house in Pimpri, a village in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The vines are heavy with bright green grapes. Farmer Vasudha Jadhav takes off her shoes before entering a white, tunnel-shaped greenhouse. She checks on the sliced […]

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/making-more-from-less/feed/ 0 A Kinder Silk https://bluedotliving.com/a-kinder-silk/ https://bluedotliving.com/a-kinder-silk/#respond Wed, 07 Feb 2024 20:07:01 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17995 Throughout the ages, silk products have been symbols of grace, luxury, and refinement. However, the standard method of raw silk production involves a cruel process. When silkworms begin pupating inside their cocoons, they are boiled or steamed alive to facilitate the extraction of the luxuriant fibers. The process is called stifling, which is undertaken to […]

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/a-kinder-silk/feed/ 0 Climate Champ: Joanna Underwood https://bluedotliving.com/climate-champ-joanna-underwood/ https://bluedotliving.com/climate-champ-joanna-underwood/#respond Wed, 07 Feb 2024 16:09:09 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17997 I arrived early to Joanna Underwood’s charming 1800s brownstone near Union Square in New York City. She was sailing out the front door and said, “Oh my goodness, you’re here already. I was just running to get our bagels at Trader Joe’s. Be right back.” Bagels fetched, we sat at her kitchen table, the epicenter […]

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/climate-champ-joanna-underwood/feed/ 0 Building Houses and Independence https://bluedotliving.com/building-houses-and-independence/ https://bluedotliving.com/building-houses-and-independence/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2024 21:31:00 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17952 In 2022, Pakistan was devastated by unprecedented floods that left millions displaced and without homes in the Sindh province. Following the floods, 1.4 million homes were demolished, and thirty-three million people were left without shelter. However, from this crisis emerged an initiative with the potential to reshape disaster response and empower local communities nationwide, led […]

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/building-houses-and-independence/feed/ 0 Safeguarding Buffer Zones https://bluedotliving.com/safeguarding-buffer-zones/ https://bluedotliving.com/safeguarding-buffer-zones/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:34:04 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17933 Arun Akshaylal Naika has lived his entire life in the Pench village in Madhya Pradesh. As head of the Forest Protection Organisation of his village, he has witnessed a transformation in his community. Where once there was a tradition of exploiting the forest for food, wood, and other necessities, with little regard for sustainability or […]

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/safeguarding-buffer-zones/feed/ 0 Preserving the Carpinteria Bluffs Not Only on Canvas https://bluedotliving.com/preserving-the-carpinteria-bluffs-not-only-on-canvas/ https://bluedotliving.com/preserving-the-carpinteria-bluffs-not-only-on-canvas/#respond Fri, 02 Feb 2024 21:51:47 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/preserving-the-carpinteria-bluffs-not-only-on-canvas/ In a decades-long fight against the development of the Carpinteria Bluffs, Oak Group artists call attention to the beauty of the natural space.

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/preserving-the-carpinteria-bluffs-not-only-on-canvas/feed/ 0 Dear Dot: Should I Burn Paper or Send it to Landfill? https://bluedotliving.com/dear-dot-should-i-burn-paper-or-send-it-to-landfill/ https://bluedotliving.com/dear-dot-should-i-burn-paper-or-send-it-to-landfill/#respond Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:04:20 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17830 Dear Dot, I am charged with supplying toilet paper in public toilets. This consists of replacing eighty to 100 rolls per week, leaving me with 80 – 100 tubes and wrappers. Which is worse for the environment, to burn them (CO2) or landfill (methane)? These are the only feasible choices due to location. —Cary Gilbert […]

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/dear-dot-should-i-burn-paper-or-send-it-to-landfill/feed/ 0 Saving Manatees From the Bottom Up  https://bluedotliving.com/saving-manatees-from-the-bottom-up/ https://bluedotliving.com/saving-manatees-from-the-bottom-up/#respond Tue, 30 Jan 2024 21:55:29 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17758 Over the past three winters, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission estimates that 2,400 manatees  — more than a third of the entire population — have died, overwhelmingly by starvation due to the loss of seagrass, their primary food source.

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/saving-manatees-from-the-bottom-up/feed/ 0 Making Mardi Gras Greener https://bluedotliving.com/making-mardi-gras-greener/ https://bluedotliving.com/making-mardi-gras-greener/#respond Tue, 30 Jan 2024 17:08:01 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17026 New Orleans nonprofit groups are getting creative to reduce trash and waste at the iconic Mardi Gras festival.

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]]> https://bluedotliving.com/making-mardi-gras-greener/feed/ 0 Are Coconuts an Environmental Superhero? https://bluedotliving.com/are-coconuts-an-environmental-superhero/ https://bluedotliving.com/are-coconuts-an-environmental-superhero/#respond Wed, 24 Jan 2024 22:59:19 +0000 https://bluedotliving.com/?p=17566 In India, the coconut has long been utilized as food, building material, art supply, and medicine for soul and body. Now the rest of the world is discovering just how versatile and valuable it is — including in shoreline restoration.

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