Dear Dot ™

Dear Dot is here to answer all your sustainable living questions from her perch on the porch. Got a question for Dot? Send her a note for a chance to be featured in an upcoming post.

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Dear Dot: Can I flush kitty litter?

Dear Dot, My biodegradable cat litter says it's flushable. We have a septic tank, which makes me hesitant to flush. What should I do? –Rona, West Tisbury Dear Rona, I too am possessor of both a septic system and...

Dear Dot: How Do I Take the First Step Toward Solar?

Dear Dot, I would like to put solar panels on my home. Can you recommend reputable solar companies servicing the Island? —Lisa Maxfield, Oak Bluffs Dear Lisa, Fifteen years ago, Mr. Dot and I were forced to rebuild our...

Dear Dot: But What About (Road) Salt?

Dear Dot, Can I put salt on my sidewalk or paths to get rid of ice? If not, why not? What alternatives work best? –Mark, Edgartown Dear Mark, Two decades ago, the house Mr. Dot and I bought to...

Dear Dot: Where Should I Donate?

Dear Dot, One of my New Year’s resolutions is to donate to environmental causes. But where is my money best spent?  —Les, Tisbury Dear Les, When I was just a little Dot, McDonald’s restaurants offered a kit to host...

Dear Dot: Are Carbon Offsets a Flight of Fancy?

Dear Dot, After almost two years of staying put during COVID, I flew to California to see friends and family on JetBlue. The captain proudly announced that Jet Blue had a carbon offset program so that...

Dear Dot: What’s the greenest Christmas Tree?

Dear Dot, I know the old fake Christmas trees are awful, made of petroleum products and the souls of children. But what about the new fakes, made of recycled plastic bottles? They’re good, right? —Max, Vineyard Haven Dear...

Dear Dot: Should I bother with solar panels?

Dear Dot, I was considering getting solar panels on my roof but with the approval of Vineyard Wind, should I bother? And how will Vineyard Wind affect my power bill?  Charlotte Duncan, Edgartown Dear Charlotte, Seems a number of...

Dear Dot: What to do about all our damn packaging?

Dear Dot, Is there any service on the island for recycling soft plastics? We get a lot of packages in the mail, and it would be an excellent thing to have somewhere to process all the...

Dear Dot: Can we give the leaf-blowers a vacation?

Dear Dot, My wife hates leaf blowers. I love them. Is there a solution that doesn’t involve divorce lawyers? DK, Vineyard Haven Dear DK, Ah the sounds of fall, when the squeals of osprey give way to the whine...

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RECIPE: Choucroute

“This is a no-recipe recipe that I grew up with,” Carol Gilligan says. “I happen to love sauerkraut, especially the way the French cook...

RECIPE: Anti-Inflammatory Cauliflower Carrot Soup

“I get emails with recipes from The Clean Program ,” Carol Gilligan says, “and this one really caught my eye. It seemed healthy, because it had...

The Bluedot Kitchen: Cooking With Carol Gilligan

Carol Gilligan’s groundbreaking 1982 gender studies classic, In a Different Voice, put her on the map as a psychologist, a feminist, and an ethicist....

What’s So Bad About Chocolate?

Karen, my Guatemalan friend, had a gift for me — a disc of chocolate she’d brought me from her country. “It’s for hot chocolate,”...

In A Word: Autobesity

Autobesity noun: aw-toh bee-si-teethe phenomenon of cars getting bigger and heavier year by year Ours is a supersized world. We live in houses three times...