Happy Friday — we’re back with more Hot Bones after a banner week for signs of spring: daffodils all over the neighborhood, birds that aren’t crows flying around, and pickleball ascendancy at Darden Towe Park.
Last edition was all about spotted salamanders enjoying the warm weather too, especially on The Big Night. This week is a bit more forward-looking.
**Quick note before diving in: I’m interviewing folks in the Charlottesville area who’ve installed solar panels and backup batteries. Send me questions you have about the process and I’ll get answers.
🦴 Hot Bones is the weekly newsletter where you get personal solutions to a warming planet. If someone forwarded this to you, sign up for real here.
G and I moved to Charlottesville last summer, and about two or three months later decided enough was enough, it was time to switch our doctors. Charlottesville being a quickly growing area (and us being part of that problem), the earliest I could book a primary care visit was three months out — the first week in March.
So this past week I drove out 29, your girl’s favorite road, to finally speak to someone about my moles and creaky knees and food allergies.
I had so many months of random medical worries and oddities piled up that we spent the entire half hour talking through those, instead of doing the actual annual exam. The only medical procedure performed was a blood drawing to check if my measles vaccine was still good to go.
Normally I’m a weenie about blood and needles, but I can pull it together for the actual extraction part by breathing deeply and going to my happy place of a sailboat on a windless river.
“Here we go,” the nurse practitioner said as I turned away.
“Yoweeeee breathe - breathe - breathe,” I whispered to my sailboat.
Then she pushed further.
An uncontrollable “Oh motherf**ker” came out of my mouth in the same decibel you would use to call for a lost dog at the park. Everyone at the nurse station heard it, the children in the waiting room heard it, surely the security guard at the entrance heard it.
Seconds, minutes, days later, I looked back and the nurse practitioner was swabbing blood off the floor. Not hyperbole! In the grand scheme of medical pain, this wasn’t even a blip — but never have I had such a painful blood draw. I sat in the exam room and envisioned life with one arm.
Then I made my way to the admin area out front, avoiding eye contact, gripping at solid objects in my path for balance.
“So you’ll need to book a follow-up for that annual,” I was told.
“Yes, any chance you have something next week in the afternoon?”
“It looks like the next available appointment is October the 2nd. Do you want 11am or 3pm?”
I had used my expletive card too soon. OCTOBER?! The tenth month of the year?
Breathe. Sailboat.
“3pm is fine.”
And then I left the building, got straight on a plane to the south of France, and lived out my days with free and somewhat timely healthcare, sipping Aperol spritzes and staring at sailboats in the harbor.
October is a long way away
Do you know what’s closer to October? Last October.
But, Doc! What can I do now to make sure I’m healthy? Can you recommend someone else who can see me sooner? And who is on my insurance. And isn’t 50 miles away. Also what additional leechings will I need in the next 8 months?
To me, all this feels eerily similar to a lot of climate promises — most of the remaining climate milestones for companies and governments are based on major emission reductions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Some companies are doing great stuff already to get there (Ikea, Lego, Ben & Jerry’s doing the lord’s work with ice cream), but others are either ignoring the assignment, walking things back, or actively making things worse.
In a jaded view, much of this feels like the equivalent of “see you in Oct, when you’ve forgotten you even made this appointment.”
As someone with basically no chill, I find this frustrating. On the flip side, I’ve come to realize we don’t need to wait for a Climate Roadmap to 2030 to just start doing our own things.
Where we come in
If we want, you and I can individually do more stuff right now. Not to make up for gov and enterprise gaps, but as a way to get a few personal footholds. At the very least to make our lives, and the lives of our families, a little healthier and happier.
So if you’re itching for action right now, I present to you, in honor of the tenth month of the year, 10 things you can do to hit the Climate Trifecta — live healthier, help the planet, and save money.
Go out to dinner at a vegan restaurant
Eating a plant-rich diet is one of the top ways we can help the planet (also healthier than red meat etc). Sure we can all try to make the NY Times tofu with chile crisp, but 9 times out of 10 I’d say plant-based food is just better when you go to the right spot and someone else makes it for you. Try:
Cville - Bang, Botanical, or Vu Noodles (lunch)
DC - Chaia Tacos and Sticky Fingers (dessert)
NYC - Jajaja Mexicana
Nashville - The Times recommends these 6, including the Sunflower Cafe in Berry Hill.
Austin - Try Nori for vegan sushi.
Boston - I hear Stoked Pizza is great, with an entirely separate vegan menu. Correct me if I’m wrong here!
Portland - Everywhere? Yall don’t need my help.
Take a rain barrel workshop and then install one in your backyard
Installing a rain barrel reduces stormwater pollution and conserves water, which in turn lowers your utility bills. Super helpful for watering plants during a drought too.
Apparently even a small 8′ x 10′ area of roof can generate 50 gallons of water during a 1-inch rain event.
There’s a Cville rain barrel workshop on Thursday, May 1 at the Starr Hill spot in the Dairy Market. Cost: $50, including the barrel and “a beverage.”
You can also blow it out of the water with this terra cotta option.
Clean out your closet this weekend — and make some cash in the process
Keeping clothes out of landfills is harder than it seems when your roommate still wears American Eagle polos in public. Instead of “accidentally” throwing those popped collars in the trash, use a Take Back Bag to recycle up to 15 pounds of their fashion ignorance.
G and I used these a lot when we were moving and needed to trim down our closets. There’s a cool reward scheme in place, but I haven’t figured out the best strategy for that yet.
→ Also, for brand-name clothes in good condition, try ThredUp.
→ For fancy jeans and purses, try Poshmark.
⚠️ Pricey: Install a heat pump if your AC unit breaks this summer
Heat pumps are the HVAC setup you never knew you needed. The technology heats and cools your house, and it's 3 times more energy efficient than a gas boiler (translation: lower power bills, less greenhouse gasses).
They also happen to be pretty damn expensive — around $10k-20k for an AC + heating setup in Virginia. So if your current setup is about to tap out, consider talking with a place like Robertson Electric to get a heat pump plan in place.
Nationally, EnergySage’s heat pump marketplace is another great resource for pricing and vetted contractors.
Switch to bar shampoo — and let your s.o. “borrow” it too
Shampoo in a regular bottle is usually about 80% water. Using bar shampoo means you’re not paying for all that water weight, just the good stuff.
There’s a Hot Bones edition on what makes bar shampoo so great — and what still needs work. The update here is that I’ve found the ideal brand and am a Dip evangelist now.
Try planting a pollinator garden or wildflower patch
Birds love it, bees love it, butterflies love it — and your home’s resale value loves it.
Get the ball rolling with this video here.
Test out a “smart” power strip
Energy vampires are electronics and appliances that you think are off but that are still plugged in and sucking energy. If you went around and unplugged things like your coffee maker and microwave every night, you could decrease your power bill by $100-$200/year.
A “smart” power strip does this for you. Typically you also have remote control over the outlet, meaning you can stay on the couch if you want to turn off the speakers. One5c recommends this one that clocks in at $44.
⚠️ Pricey: Use the shared Amex to buy a kitchen composter
So don’t shoot the messenger here but in the US we waste around 40% of all perfectly good, safe-to-eat food. I’m definitely guilty of this, except for vegan chocolate chips. I will never waste those.
One way to reduce food waste at home is to use a kitchen composter. Every month practically on the hour, G will once again suggest we buy a Mill, which is basically the Apple of home composters. Sleek, beautiful, and you can use the grounds in your garden. It also costs one thousand dollars.
Counter argument: By some estimates, each household loses roughly $2k in food waste every year, so technically we’d actually be saving money by purchasing a Mill. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Renew your local library card
Free books! And no Jeff Bezos!
Info on getting your card in Cville is here. And remember, you also get access to e-books and a seed library.
⚠️ Pricey: Swap your gas range for induction tech
Gas ranges = having to cook + breathing in toxic fumes
Induction ranges = having to cook + no toxic fumes
You may still need to cook, but you’re no longer standing in front of a car’s tailpipe. (1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma are caused by gas stove pollution.)
There are plenty of induction options out there, but a new brand called Copper has perfected the vintage feel of a gas range without the fumes, and it uses a built-in battery to avoid expensive electrical upgrades.
Do you know a good primary care doc in Charlottesville who’s seeing new patients
Trying out a new section that highlights sustainable houses in the area. Play the game and lmk what you think!
This craftsman bungalow is across the street from the oak-lined Belmont Park. 1 bed, 1 bath + multiple wood burning stoves.
Pros: Rain-conservation garden with fruit trees and heirloom plants, a mini-split heat pump and other Energy Star-efficient appliances, double lot for more fruit trees
Cons: Your medical bill after getting out of the clawfoot tub, splinters
How much to tell people you really love canoeing?
Answer is here. (I bet you can knock down that price.)
🥣 Meal of the week: Stir-fry mixed veggies and tofu with a ginormous bowl of jasmine rice from Silk Thai on Fontaine.
🐶 Pet of the week: Olive! Think black Lab with Dobby ears. Reports says she’s a big snuggler. (8 months, 40 lbs)
👯 Will you go to sad prom with me? Studio Two Three is a community arts space in Richmond. When their $200k grant to replace their HVAC and improve their building’s energy efficiency was recently rescinded by you know who, they decided to host the first-ever Sad Prom this Saturday to raise the funds on their own.
🧽 Readers know best: Long-time HB hypeman Ryan shared a new subscription service that’s all about affordable and sustainable cleaning products. I’m going to suckerpunch you with product descriptions to drive home the appeal: local businesses, scientifically curated, minimalist branding, all profits donated to charity.
🥾 Sneakers, boots, anything but flip flops: It’s Trail Walk Day at UVA’s Morven Sustainability Lab. There’s a guided hike and a choose-your-own-adventure option, both on Saturday, March 22.
💼 Job of the week: Regional Campaign Manager for the Southeast at Greenlight America (remote in southern states, $70-100k)
