Dear Envirocare Coordinators, Go Green Champions and Eco Explorers,

As the world steps into 2022, let us continue with our adventure, with an environmental focus!

Single-use plastics are ubiquitous and our addiction to plastics is causing a surging demand for petrochemical products. What have we made of God’s creation? We call it our own and yet we refuse to compromise on our desires.

Most consumers have some general awareness of the climate crisis as we have been facing more frequent and intensifying natural disasters, but very few people have the conviction to be part of the solution.

Each piece of trash picked up from lands, rivers or beaches saves our planet from the harmful devastating effects of plastic pollution.

'Over the past 50 years, polymer manufacturing has accelerated, from 2x10⁶ metric tonnes (Mt) per year in 1950 to 381x10⁶ Mt per year in 2015, and is expected to double in the next 20 years'.¹

A research article titled “Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment” showed that the amount of plastic material in the environment exposed to full sunlight exceeds the quantity of submerged plastic.²

Experiments indicated that emissions of hydrocarbon gases are even greater, up to '2 times higher for methane (CH₄)' – one of the most potent atmospheric greenhouse gases and 'up to 76 times higher for ethylene (C₂H₄)', which reacts with hydroxyl (OH) in the global atmosphere and increases carbon monoxide concentrations in air compared to in water.³

This difference is partly due to temperature and heat build-up.⁴ Furthermore, plastics deform, degrade to form microplastics and produce more hydrocarbons when exposed to solar radiation.⁵

The Young Adults of the Sri Sathya Sai International Organization of Hong Kong, Zone 5, are marching ahead with right conduct and a spirit of selfless service to Mother Earth. They have lent an air of hope to the biggest challenges facing human wellbeing and biodiversity - land and beach pollution.

The Young Adult wing organised three cleanup service programmes last year 2021, as part of the ‘Serve the Planet’ environmental protection initiative. Loving our Earth as home, the young Sai volunteers assiduously collected all kinds of waste, such as plastic bags and bottles, styrofoam boards, aluminum cans, glass bottles and other debris.

On May 19, 2021, nine Young Adults took a ferry ride to Lamma Island and hiked while cleaning up the trails. The beach was filled with large amounts of trash that had floated ashore. Twenty three trash bags were accumulated at the end of the sadhana. This inspired the Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) group 4 students to visit the same spot for a clean-up, making yet another significant contribution to the community.

The next clean-up was on July 1, 2021, as a service offering at the Divine Lotus Feet of our beloved Guru for Guru Poornima 2021. Twelve crew members trudged Dragon's Back, which is the most popular hiking trail in Hong Kong, to experience an ever-deeper connection with the Divine manifestation in nature. Ten trash bags were filled on that day.

“It was indeed very gratifying that many of the fellow hikers we came across on the path appreciated our efforts. This initiative was very insightful not only for our Sai Young Adults but also for the general public.” – Amrita Daryanani (participant)

The largest clean-up for the year 2021 was on October 31, to recall the historic event, Sri Sathya Sai Avatar Declaration Day and to reflect on the divine teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The dynamic team of 24 Sai Young Adults visited a popular rocky spot, ‘Tap Mun Grass Island,’ located close to a shore. It was shocking to see so much styrofoam debris that had collected between the rocks. They strived to remove these hazardous substances and accumulated nearly 37 trash bags full of waste.

After the clean-up, the Young Adults took part in cow feeding to a herd of cows on the  island.  Cows  live on sathwik food and have virtuous qualities. The cows yield copious quantities of sweet milk beyond compare. Engaging in this spiritual discipline inspired self-transformation and was truly a rejuvenating collective effort to help nurture and maintain a healthy environment of the island.

“Later, we learnt that the cows in the area actually eat these plastic fragments. Overall, it is truly shocking to see how much more effort is needed for us to have a better environment.” – Amrita Daryanani (participant)

Since plastic bags have become a dominant feature of our lives, almost all food waste is disposed of in plastic bags. Large numbers of cows eat anything that seems edible and anything smelling like food, including plastics. Plastic traces have also been identified in animal feed, which pose deadly risk.⁶
Gradually, a huge amount of plastic is built up inside their stomachs. It gets entangled with other stomach content and becomes hard like cement inside their rumens⁷ (the largest stomach compartment).

The Environmental Sustainability Hub has compiled a wide range of materials which you may find useful Here.

Read Issue 1: Nature Clean-Up of the Go Green Newsletter

Past Issues - Find it Here!

With Sai Love and Care,

Environmental Sustainability Committee

Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

_{^{1 Royer, S. J., Ferrón, S., Wilson, S. T., Karl, D. M. (2018). Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0200574. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200574.}}

_{^{2 Ibid.}}

_{^{3 Ibid.}}

_{^{4 Ibid.}}

_{^{5 Ibid.}}

^{_{6 The Guardian - Legal plastic content in animal feed could harm human health, experts warn.}}

^{_{7 Pawan K. Gupta, in Veterinary Toxicology (Third Edition), 2018. Epidemiology of Animal Poisonings in Asia.}}