A few years ago, I decided I didn’t want to be cremated. Here’s why: cremation uses the same amount of energy required for a 500-mile car trip and releases 400 Kgs of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as well as other pollutants. In early 2018, I made inquiries about green burials in our area. At that time, no cemeteries allowed it. Now two of them do.
Last week we attended a green burial seminar at a local (Santa
Cruz) funeral home. To begin with, there’s no embalming and no chemicals
involved in any green burial methods. As to body disposal, here’s what we
learned about the options:
Burial in the ground: Your body is either wrapped in
a shroud or put into a biodegradable container, then buried in a licensed cemetery.
Burial at sea: Your body is put in a shroud or
biodegradable container, weighted down, and dumped far out to sea.
Composted: Your body is put into a steel cylinder (compost bin!) along with soil, wood chips, alfalfa, and straw. After several
weeks, it turns into soil that family members can use for planting or whatever. This
method is available in Washington state. Colorado, Maine, Oregon, and
California will probably follow soon.
Alkaline hydrolysis: Your body is put into a sort of
pressure cooker filled with water and potassium hydroxide and heated to 320
degrees. In about four to six hours, it's broken down into its chemical
components. The process isn’t available everywhere, but Wikipedia
tells me that Benjamin Tutu was “aquamated” per his wish in South Africa.
One more thing: we learned about mushroom burial suits, in
which mushroom spores are sewn into the fabric. The spores help decompose your
body. Here’s a picture:
For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.
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