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And Dot Sets the Record Straight on Sustainable Coffee
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Every other week, Bluedot Living will share stories about local changemakers, Islanders’ sustainable homes and yards, planet-healthy recipes and tips, along with advice from Dear Dot. Did your friend send you this? Sign up for yourself here. Not interested? No problem — click here to be removed from Bluedot Living emails.
SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
Dear Dot
As the impacts of climate change become more apparent on Martha’s Vineyard and around the world, artist Cindy Kane has created a new work — a collection of painted suitcases called “Destination Unknown: Claiming the Baggage of Climate Change.” There is room, Kane tells writer Kelsey Perrett, for hope. Kane’s show at the Granary Gallery opens today.
This issue of the Bluedot newsletter is sponsored by Island Grown Initiative.
Take Our Breath Away
Take a look at this painting of Johnny Hoy on one of the Island's great ponds, by Island artist Colin Ruel. It takes your breath away, doesn't it? That's the power of art, of course — to evoke something in us that volumes of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports can't. We at Bluedot think a lot about how to communicate the importance and inherent opportunities of addressing this climate crisis. We share words and photographs. Sometimes we use numbers that tell the tale, like those in What. On. Earth.

For lots of us, the climate crisis seems etched on our days as we witness changes: the earth beneath our feet on a favorite trail, the songbirds at our feeders, the throaty frogs in the trees, the tang of in-season berries. Stories, all of them.

We are (guardedly) hopeful at the news late Wednesday night that President Biden’s climate initiatives may have a second life. We’ll keep our eyes on what the House and Senate do over the next two weeks with this clean energy and climate package.

Our Great Ponds are among our most distinctive features. And among our most imperiled. There’s a lot to hope for when we think of the work being done on-Island to protect them. We’re celebrating those efforts and urging Islanders to rally to the cause to preserve these treasures — not just for their beauty, but for the crucial role they play in the health of our communities. Martha’s Vineyard Bank is celebrating these gems by hosting an exhibit, “The Art of the Great Ponds,” at their Chilmark branch. Join us for an opening reception on August 12 at 5:30 pm. Show will be up until Sept. 1. More info here. –Leslie Garrett and Jamie Kageleiry
ADVICE
Need a bug net? A board game? A banjo? Make your way to West Tisbury Library’s Library of Things and check it out! Want more news you can use on composting, recycling, and sustainable Island living? Consult our Ultimate Simple, Smart, Sustainable Handbook to Martha’s Vineyard.
“Please know that I am not a lawn anarchist,” writes Bluedot editor Leslie Garrett. “I grew up with the suburban ideal of a lawn. I have fond memories of lying on my back outside, grass blades tickling my feet, my best friend Cathy beside me, the two of us staring skyward and sharing imaginings of elephants and bunnies in the clouds. A lawn is an invitation to recline, to kick a soccer ball. I get that. I am not anti-lawn at all. I am anti-so-much-lawn.” Can Garrett and her lawn-loving husband achieve a green new deal?
BUY LESS/BUY BETTER

Sandy Bernat’s paper and paper products are about as organic as you can get: She creates all her products using a variety of plant materials — many of them grown on the Island — such as corn husks, gladiola, iris and daffodil leaves, and various wild grasses, including phragmites — a wildly invasive species. More recently she has started working with seaweed.

LEARN MORE
Dear Dot,
Coffee: How do I choose? It says locally brewed but does that mean it’s better for the environment? What do all those labels mean? What should I look for?
–Curious Coffee Connoisseur

Dear Triple C,

I, too, am on a quest to reconcile my love of caffeine with my love for this planet. So over my sixth cup of coffee, I made a jittery call to Kim Elena Ionescu, Chief Sustainability and Knowledge Development Officer at Specialty Coffee Association, asking her to help us better understand the glut of sustainable labels — bird-friendly, shade-grown, organic, up-late-studying-friendly, etc — and figure out what actually has a positive impact...

RIGHT AT HOME
HOME/BUILDING
If You Must Mow
Columnist Mollie Doyle says mowing with an electric mower, “is an entirely different experience. No gas spills or fumes. No noise. A nearly meditative experience. And using clean energy felt so much more in tune with the healthy grass I was trying to cultivate.” Read more here.
The heat goes on, so time to whip out the blender. Frozen pineapple with coconut water and hints of thyme creates a frothy, smooth, and tropical summer cocktail. This recipe is from Eat Cool: Good Food for Hot Days by Vanessa Seder of Portland, Maine. Find more recipes at bluedotliving.com.
How many pounds of hair clippings do salons in the U.S. throw away each day? Find the answer (and more about beauty waste) in this story on Green Circle Salons — and learn what Maggie’s Salon in Vineyard Haven is doing to reduce this staggering amount of waste on M.V.”
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