6.5.22: Are GMO’s really that bad? Mushrooms really are that great; take-out without the trash.

Policy Matters

Our early summer issue is headed for newsstands in the next week! That’s beekeeper Brent Brown on the cover, and the issue is full of gems, some of which we’re highlighting here.

In 1963, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which gave the federal government the authority to reduce air pollution, regulate emissions standards, and invest in technologies to remove sulfur from coal and oil. In 1965, the Clean Water Act passed, creating federal standards for statewide water quality. Also in 1965, the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act established federal car emission standards. In 1968, the National Trails System Act protected U.S. trails.

The list goes on: The National Environmental Policy Act in 1970 required federal agencies to prepare Environmental Impact Statements for all legislation. Manufacturing technology kept pace with legislation, removing lead from gasoline and adding catalytic converters to car engines to eliminate lethal emissions.

Depending on who we’ve elected, the pace of environmental legislation has ebbed and flowed. But all of it transforms the country and how we live our lives.

It’s not just legislation but lawsuits that bring about change. Just last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ lawsuit against oil company Exxon Mobil can move ahead, thwarting Exxon’s attempts to have it thrown out. The suit accuses Exxon of lying about the climate crisis and covering up its role in worsening its impact. Earlier in May, a federal appeals court ruled that a lawsuit by Rhode Island against 21 fossil fuel companies can move ahead in state court. Similar rulings have been made in Colorado, Maryland, and California.

While we can only be spectators in the legal proceedings, we have some power to push our politicians to pass powerful and crucial climate legislation. Visit #Call4Climate for a script of what to say. Closer to home, learn who to contact here, under Representatives.

And to see promising developments and interesting innovators beyond our little Island and our state, check out Bluedot Living’s new national site. —Leslie Garrett and Jamie Kageleiry

Are they all bad? Opinions run the gamut from considering them “Frankenfood” to crediting them with eradicating disease (including a study being done here on the Island with genetically modified mice who may help us get ahead of Lyme disease). What’s key is to learn when GMOs do good and when they don’t. “It’s not about completely reversing people’s opinion,” professor of psychology Jon McPhetres said in our story. “But I think we can shift people to being slightly more positive, or at least less negative toward [GMOs].” McPhetres himself is fascinated by gene editing though he says he can “understand why people might be scared of it.” The answer, he insists, is talking about it.

Dear Dot,
My longtime partner and I are planning to get married. I don’t usually go for a lot of the conventional stuff but we have decided to give each other rings. I’ve heard some nasty stuff about diamonds and gold mining. How can we show our love for each other without harming anyone else?
—Kate, Aquinnah

Dear Kate,
There was a juncture in time that my then-boyfriend and I were auditioning each other for the role of Dots for Life. I mentioned that if he was considering an engagement ring, I’d like one with history. Specifically, my family’s history, in the form of my grandmother’s ring. The rest is, umm, history.
Unfortunately any diamond, including the one that was shortly thereafter installed on my finger, comes with a whole lot of history that most of us would prefer to remain ignorant of.
Conflict, corruption, war, abuse, environmental degradation. The story of diamond mining holds all of those things. Ukrainian President Zelensky recently blamed Russian diamonds that were circumventing sanctions and being sold in the U.S. for helping fund Putin’s invasion...

Think Global, Act Local

Love take-out but hate the trash? Check out MV Island Eats, which has created a pilot program to supply reusable stainless-steel take-out containers at five Island eateries. Jessica Mason launched the closed-loop reusable container system as a trial run through September to reduce the landfill-bound waste created by to-go containers. Read more about her initiative here. And go get takeout at the Pawnee House, MV Salads, Bobby B’s, Black Sheep, and the Katama General Store.