Many of my friends have started to use Sigg bottles. From Switzerland and made to last, these bottles exceed FDA requirements on preventing harmful chemicals from getting through and have been thoroughly tested to ensure 0.0% leaching.

They are also recyclable, made of alunimum, and trendy, a great combination. But most importantly, Sigg alunimum bottles provide an alternative to the toxic Lexan plastics that Nalgene is made out of. A Canadian outdoor gear company, Mountain Equipment Co-op has pulled all of its Nalgene bottles off its shelves for that reason. The claim is that Nalgene bottles have the chemical, Bisphenol A in the plastic behind it is made out of. I think I’ll start putting my Nalgene bottles away.

As you enter or exit Yosemite on highway 120, you can stop by a tiny town called Groveland, just 26 miles from the entrance of the national park. We stopped to get a coffee to prepare for a long drive back to the Bay Area at a place called Mountain Sage. Inside the store, we found an eclectic mix of things from an art gallery, a nursery, fair trade clothing and organic coffee and food. I ordered a looseleaf organic chai mix and my friend ordered a cappuccino.

It’s a great stop for a quick bite and shopping for even camping and backpacking gear. On June 2nd, they will host a Sierra Earthfest, with sustainable companies featured with food and activities in an outdoor fair.

As you may know, the Food and Drug Administration found melamine, a toxic substance also used to make plastics, in wheat gluten that may have gotten into the recalled food which has resulted in at least 16 deaths of pets. Here is more information from the FDA on the recall.

The Organic Consumers Association recently gave a great tip for pet owners: buy organic pet food. Here is a list that a nonprofit, Green People, recommends. Another idea is to make your own pet food.

• Buy locally grown and produced foods. The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
• Buy fresh foods instead of frozen. Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
• Seek out and support local farmers markets. They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.
• Buy organic foods as much as possible. Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
• Avoid heavily packaged products. You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
• Eat less meat. Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

The film, if you haven’t seen it yet, presents a lot of compelling data on global warming. I’d recommend checking it out. Purchase An Inconvenient Truth here.