But first, a little PSA. Do you take collagen? Most is made from cow hide. People say it benefits skin elasticity and joint health (although studies showing these outcomes tend to be industry funded). I started using collagen a few years ago and thought I saw a benefit in my skin. But after reading this study that showed collagen’s link to deforestation in Brazil, I stopped — and my skin DID NOT CHANGE. Of course, I could also have invested in marine-sourced collagen, but for now I'm sticking with this program: whole, primarily plant-based foods and no supplements (except a multi in the morning and magnesium at night). How about you?

Over 40% of millennial and Gen Z respondents to a global survey said they would shop secondhand – and the preloved global market is now valued at $96 billion. In the U.S., secondhand will make up 10% of all clothing sales by the end of next year. But consumers are still in the dark: 98% of Americans believe 25% of all textiles are recycled (the reality is 6% are reused or recycled), over 25% think that clothing does not contain plastic (two-thirds of all textiles contain synthetics), and more than 60% do not think that synthetic fabrics like polyester, acrylic, and nylon are made from fossil fuel sources. I include this as good news because there is SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY to turn this around. New York’s Act On Fashion could be a game changer for the global fashion industry, and textile #EPR laws – considered this year in California, New York, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy – could help solve one of fashion’s biggest problem: waste. 

 

Also: I’m not a huge fan of Tide — there are plenty of more sustainable brands that don’t douse my laundry with synthetic fragrance — but I do like how they are now encouraging clothes washing in cold water to reduce GHGs. Newsflash: You don’t need hot or even warm water to get clothes clean! 

Can you cut carbon emissions without slowing economic growth? Yes! The EU’s 2022 Q4 report showed a significant 4% decline in carbon emissions while maintaining a 1.5% increase in GDP. And a new report from NRDC shows how the U.S. can get to #NetZero by 2050 — saving $9 billion per year from the get go.

 

Meanwhile… France grounds short-term flights: 17 of the 20 busiest in-country air travel routes are distances easily traveled by train in roughly the same amount of time. This next-generation moss filters and cools the air outside. By doubling energy density, new “semi-solid state” batteries could be a game-changer for aviation and automotive industries. And utility-scale solar is the next frontier. 

What is women's fiction? I hashed out the question with the incredible writer Valerie Laken, who advised me this year through Pacific University's low-residency MFA program. (Interested? Ask me how!) Valerie shared a fantastic essay by Claire Vaye Watkins, “On Pandering” (Tin House, 2015). As Watkins put it, “…on Wikipedia, American authors whom editors suspected of being in possession of a pussy were removed from the category of ‘American novelists’ and relocated to ‘American women novelists.’” Say, what?!? Granted, that essay was published almost a decade ago and the publishing industry has expanded significantly to embrace female and non-binary writers. But do genres like “women’s fiction” help or hurt — especially when “emerging novelists” are forced to choose a box? Click here or the image to watch the video – we'd love to know what you think!

P.S. I recently spent a perfect — and perfectly sustainable — day exploring Los Angeles on my bike, and wrote about it for Blue Dot Living. Inspired? Where will your two wheels take you?