Happy New Year! As we enter 2026, we’ll be unveiling a slightly new look for Bluedot Living Brooklyn. We’ve been listening to your suggestions, and we’ll be incorporating some of these going forward by updating the feel and even some of the content in this newsletter. Your support and readership mean the world to us, and we are committed to providing you with the best possible experience.
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By many standards, the modern urban lifestyle is easy. Don’t want to cook? Order takeout. Don’t want to go outside? Order groceries, toilet paper, anything you need in the entire world. Hanging out, meeting people, finding dates, entertaining yourself — it can all be done from home. You can consume and create at the touch of a button with AI. Some people (including me) don’t even have to leave the house for work.
In this newsletter, I try to make sustainable solutions seem easy. Often, I proffer swaps, not changes.
But maybe a little effort, a little change, a little friction, is exactly what we need.
Whether we like it or not, climate change encroaches on our sense of normal. Oppressively hot summers are commonplace when they used to be the execption. The same goes for extreme storm surges, cold snaps, dumps of precipitation, etc. Some of us have been able to adapt, gently, by doing things like installing more powerful air conditioners. However, as those of you who experienced Hurricane Sandy in 2012 know all too well, a warming world does not come gently. To prepare for — and try to prevent — these events, we must make real, conscientious changes.
I believe people already sense this need. Maybe that’s why the new year brought us a new term: “friction-maxxing.” Coined by Kathryn Jezer-Morton in the Cut, friction-maxxing is essentially building up your tolerance for inconvenience. As Jezer-Morton writes, these so-called inconveniences are usually “just the vagaries of being a person living with other people in spaces that are impossible to completely control.”
Combatting climate change is a massive inconvenience. But inconvenience sparks action. Look at how many millions of people stopped driving into Manhattan with just a single toll in their way. If the government stopped subsidizing the cost of beef, people would eat a lot less of it. If bike lanes felt safer and bike parking were more readily available, more New Yorkers would probably bike.
Coexistence with other people and our planet requires effort. Try to inconvenience yourself, to reject a frictionless life. It might be the most radical thing you do this week.
–Michaela Keil, Editor, Bluedot Living Brooklyn
Climate news, In Brief
Transit news!
Due to unsafe ice accumulation on the water and around landings, NYC Ferry suspended service on all routes beginning at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Service remains suspended as of late Friday afternoon. Check their site for service alerts.
New bills in the State Assembly would make bus rides free for high school and college students and senior citizens.
Bus driver Christopher Accettulli, who has been driving for the MTA for 20 years, helped deliver a baby on his bus in Gowanus after a woman began to shout, “hospital, hospital,” and he pulled over.
The subway is profoundly vulnerable to flooding. Can the 120-year-old system adapt to intense downpours, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels that threaten to inundate not just the stations, but entire neighborhoods? The Nation investigates.
Flatbush resident Stephen Niese, age 62, isn’t breaking from his decade-long daily jetty-to-jetty swim routine off of Coney Island, despite the cold.
“You have to make yourself do things you don’t want to do. Most people have a comfy life and when you’re comfortable all the time, you don’t know what it’s like to feel uncomfortable. You get settled in a certain life, so it’s good to push yourself a little bit,” he said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani tapped Lisa Garcia as Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. Garcia previously served as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Administrator for Region 2, overseeing New York and other areas.
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Today’s sponsor is Wildgrain, and honestly, I think you’ll love them. They deliver slow-fermented sourdough breads, artisanal pastries, slow-churned butter, and fresh pastas, and straight to your door. All if it bakes straight from frozen in about 25 minutes or less. Gluten-free? Vegan? They’ve got boxes for you too.
The best part? As a Bluedot Living reader, you get $30 off your first box and free croissants for life. They make it super easy to skip or cancel any time too - so just try it, I promise you won’t regret it.
Making wood-fired bagels in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Alex Stein/Black Seed Bagels
This Brooklyn Bagel Shop Is Saving Money With Plug-in Batteries
This article by Canary Media is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.
In the back of Black Seed Bagels in northern Brooklyn is a giant catering kitchen filled with industrial-size condiments and freezers full of dough. A tall, silver electric oven, named the Baconator, stands in a far corner, cooking thousands of pounds of meat every week to accompany Black Seed’s hand-rolled, wood-fired bagels.
The Baconator is connected to a battery the size of a carry-on suitcase, which is plugged into the wall. While the morning rush is underway, the 2.8-kilowatt-hour battery can directly power the commercial oven to reduce the company’s reliance on the electric grid, Noah Bernamoff, Black Seed’s co-owner, explained recently at the company’s Bushwick shop. Two more batteries are paired with energy-intensive refrigerators in the front.
BLUEDOT LIVING BUY BETTER MARKETPLACE
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Taking care of a plant is a tiny act of hope. When the days are short, the light thin, and the weather uncooperative, a home filled with plants can make all that time spent indoors better. Studies link indoor plants to reduced stress, improved mood, and a greater sense of well-being. We feel pride when we watch new leaves unfurl, guide vines one step farther along a trellis, or see that a cutting has finally started to sprout.
A mister is a satisfying upgrade for anyone who takes their houseplants seriously. The fine, even coating this mister delivers mimics the natural humidity that tropicals like ferns and air plants love. But the mister has plenty of other uses, too. Misting helps clean leaves, discourage pests, and coax stubborn leaves and fronds to unfurl. ($34) Shop now.
In winter, when cooking leans toward long-simmered stews and comforting casseroles, finishing a dish with fresh herbs really brightens things up. These Garden Jar Organic Herb Kits make it easy to grow your own herbs indoors, so you can snip what you need as you cook. No last-minute store runs, no wilted bunches forgotten in the fridge, just a simple way to bring fresh flavor into cold-weather meals. ($20) Shop now.
Grow forget-me-nots indoors with the help of Unique Gardener. This set comes with three kits that include everything you need. Easy to sprout and grow, forget-me-nots can flower for six to eight weeks, offering up little periwinkle blooms with sunny centers. These make a lovely, affordable gift that will outlast fresh flowers. ($29.99 for three kits) Shop now.
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Starting in our 30s, some key cellular processes begin to slow down, making us feel tired and weak over time. This decline affects not just our physical strength and endurance, but significantly reduces our quality of life making everyday activities harder to enjoy.
Luckily, scientists have discovered a way to shape how we age. Mitopure®, by Timeline, targets the root cause of this cellular decline and is clinically proven to increase cellular energy, giving our bodies the energy they need to function optimally. The results? Double-digit increases in muscle strength without any change in exercise.
Take aging into your own hands. Bluedot Living readers get 30% off with code 30NEWSLETTER for a limited time, while supplies last.
*500mg Mitopure® have been shown to (1) induce gene expression related to mitochondria function and metabolism and (2) increase the strength of the hamstring leg muscle in measures of knee extension and flexion after 4 months in overweight 40-65 year olds.
Dear Dot: How Can I Stop the World From Burning?
Dear Dot,
The climate change crisis is mounting to a terrifying extent. What can everyday people do to make big oil stop drilling and burning this Earth? Especially when government leaders don’t seem concerned about the issue.
– Tessa
Dear Tessa,
The Short Answer: We can get involved in our communities (check out Bluedot’s Guide to Citizen Action for ideas) and demand action from governments at all levels. We can also hold our governments accountable for climate negligence, at all levels. Vote and encourage others to do the same, call your representatives, show up to public utility meetings, take the government to court, and don’t stop talking about the promise of renewable energy.
BLUEDOT LIVING KITCHEN
Creamed spinach can be reimagined into something exceptional by tweaking ingredients and textures. In this instance, we expanded the roster of greens — adding kale for nuttiness and chew, turnip greens for spiciness, and Swiss chard for a snap of freshness — and turbo-charged the dairy element with a mix of sharp Cheddar, nutty Gruyère, and savory Parmesan. The result is rich and wholesome, perfect for a cold winter’s night.
BROOKLYN BIRD WATCH
The young bird pictured here on a piling in Brooklyn Bridge Park will grow up to be known as the King of Gulls, or, as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes it, “the king of the Atlantic waterfront.” The Great Black-Backed is the largest gull in the world.
The Bluedot Brooklyn newsletter is edited by Michaela Keil. If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, or want to tell us what you’re doing, email [email protected].
