17th Jul 2007
How To Die Green
With the worlds population currently at 6.6 billion I have to bring up an important yet taboo topic. What should we do with all the worlds dead bodies? Consider the impact of a western style burial with the Formaldehyde (classified as a class 1 Carcinogen), the long car exhaust spewing parades, the chemicals and water used to keep cemetary lawns green etc.
Many have chose cremation not for environmental reasons but because its substantially cheaper than a burial. However cremation releases dioxin, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. It is estimated that cremation released 1,000 to 7,800 pounds of mercury into the air anually. Not a good way to go if you are a greenvangelical wanting to leave the earth on a better foot.
So what is the alternative? Well there is a small but growing cottage industry of ways to die green. Their answer, simple do what humans have done for years and bury the dead in the natural world and let natural processes do what they do best, recycle. I personally would rather my family visit a tree I helped nourish naturally than a concrete slab in a fertilized and watered urban park.
To find a provider near you please visit the site below.
With the worlds population currently at 6.6 billion I have to bring up an important yet taboo topic. What should we do with all the worlds dead bodies? Consider the impact of a western style burial with the Formaldehyde (classified as a class 1 Carcinogen), the long car exhaust spewing parades, the chemicals and water used to keep cemetary lawns green etc.
Many have chose cremation not for environmental reasons but because its substantially cheaper than a burial. However cremation releases dioxin, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. It is estimated that cremation released 1,000 to 7,800 pounds of mercury into the air anually. Not a good way to go if you are a greenvangelical wanting to leave the earth on a better foot.
So what is the alternative? Well there is a small but growing cottage industry of ways to die green. Their answer, simple do what humans have done for years and bury the dead in the natural world and let natural processes do what they do best, recycle. I personally would rather my family visit a tree I helped nourish naturally than a concrete slab in a fertilized and watered urban park.
To find a provider near you please visit the site below.
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