Envirocare Messages

🌻🌿“Today, all the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space) are polluted and, consequently, man is mired in insecurity. Today the world is losing its ecological balance as man, out of utter selfishness, is robbing mother Earth of her resources like coal, petroleum, iron, etc. As a result, we find earthquakes, floods, and such other devastating natural calamities. Human life will find fulfillment only when ecological balance is maintained. Balance in human life and balance in Nature, both are equally important.”🌿🌻- Sathya Sai Baba

What steps can you take to do your part in respecting and caring for Mother Earth’s resources?

- Avoid buying pre-packaged fruits and vegetables

- Buy in bulk

- Use reusable grocery bags

- Try using soy-based ink for printing

- Make homemade jams, yogurt, paneer, ketchup

- Make homemade soaps and cleaners

Brought to you by Anjana Vish, Chicago Metro - Envirocare Champion.

🌊🚰 “I do not waste water like you people. When you wash your face, you leave the tap open continuously. While you apply soap to your face, you waste a lot of water by leaving the tap open. But I don't do like that. I open the tap only when it is necessary and close it immediately. I do not waste even a drop of water because water is God.” 🚰 🌊

- Sathya Sai Baba (SnSr April 2012: July 18, 1996)

We never understand the value of something unless it's forbidden or taken away from us. Let's not rob our next generation from their basic need to enjoy the best of what our Mother Earth has to offer . That is simply selfish and ignorant on our part. Let's be more attentive, aware of our water usage and do our little bit towards a better tomorrow.

- Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, applying soap on your hands.

- Only run the washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load.

- Take shorter showers (may be two bhajans long 🙂)

- Use a low flow shower head and faucet aerators.

- Don’t overwater your lawn or water during peak periods.

- While outside, at restaurants (post pandemic times.. we will get there) be mindful of filling up your glasses.

- Reuse water while washing vegetables.

- Monitor your water usage on your water bill and ask your local government about a home water audit.

- Plant a rain garden for catching stormwater runoff from your roof, driveway, and other hard surfaces.

- If you look close enough, you will find multiple other ways to add to the list here.

Brought to you by Sai Dutta Kumari, Chicago North Suburbs -Envirocare Champion.

🌳🌱☔️ “Nature is more progressive than Man, and to protect Nature, Man has to make use of it within limits. When Man tampers with Nature recklessly, it reacts adversely and trouble arises. In order to protect nature, Man has to place a ceiling on desires.” ☔️🌱🌳

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 26, Chapter 3

Many of us are familiar with the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. The best way to reduce the amount of waste you put out is simply by reducing the amount of waste you bring in! As Swami says, we must practice Ceiling on Desires. Before buying something, ask yourself, “Do I really need this? Can I live without this? Can I get a used version instead? Can I get something with less packaging? Can it be recycled later?”

- Examine what you are wasting or buying but not using

- Avoid randomly browsing through shopping websites in order to avoid impulse buys

- Create a monthly budget to track essential and discretionary expenses

- Maintain a monthly savings goal and constantly remind yourself to stay on track in order to meet this goal

- Pack lunch from home

- Carry your own reusable bag, water bottle, coffee cup, straw and utensils

- Write or print on both sides of paper

- Maintain and repair what you already have

- Borrow from neighbors, friends or family members who already own items you use infrequently

- Buy used from thrift/consignment stores, online marketplaces, or local Buy/Sell/Trade groups

- When comparing similar items from two brands, choose the one with less packaging

Brought to you by Yogini Kaul, Minneapolis South - Envirocare Champion.

🌿🌎♻️I have been recycling for quite sometime now, yet these days I ask myself this question: “Does everything I throw into the recycling bin actually get recycled?”

Sometime back I was at my friend’s house and I saw that she had collected milk bottle caps in a ziplock bag. When I asked her why she did that, she replied that the waste collection people had asked her to do so. If she just placed them in the recycling bin, they would not be recycled. “But plastic caps are always recycled!” I thought to myself and did some research. I went to my City’s recycling website and I learnt that I always needed to have the caps on the bottles. In the past, I have tossed some of these caps carelessly in the bin and they must’ve ended up in the landfills! Some other websites also specified minimum sizes of plastic items that can be recycled.

That day, I learnt a lesson- It is not enough to simply recycle; I need to increase my awareness on what is or is not recyclable. So these days, whenever I am in doubt, I go to the City recycling website and send them my questions. Over time, I have learnt that paper with crayon or marker drawings can be recycled. Paper with acrylic paints or even glitter can be recycled if they are in trace amounts but if there’s a lot of it, the paper most likely will be tossed out. Similarly, if there is a plastic item without any number, it will not be recycled.

I also sent a message to a clothes recycling company and found out that they will also take scraps of clothes; their website doesn’t mention it.

It is great that we recycle because we care for Mother Earth. We can take a step further by contacting the officials in charge and asking them our doubts, if at all. I believe they are more than happy to help.

Last but not the least, when we know what items cannot be recycled, we can take action. For example, check the plastic number before you buy plastic items. ♻️🌎🌿

Brought to you by Adweta Joshi, Lincoln-Omaha - Envirocare Champion.