Green Burials: Recycling our Loved Ones

If our trees represented our ancestors (literally), we'd probably be greater stewards of our green space and ecology. We'd not be chopping down our trees carelessly either.

I have many reasons I like this (outside of granola reasons). It's beautiful and poetic. Make mine a fig tree when I go.

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biodegradable coffin? No way would that fly. I couldn't see family members accepting that.

This concept does seem better than putting someone in a concrete mausoleum.That has always seemed like a real waste to me.

Cool!

The concept isn't new but I like the branding. I think people would like the "seed" idea.

The fact that it's white and egg-shaped is another conceptual plus.

It definitely is not for everyone but I think there would enough of a market for it to be viable.

If it's cheap enough, I think I'd want something like that. My ideal post-death disposal (couldn't think how to put it) would be some balance of usefulness (donating what organs could be donated, no super-expensive coffin, etc.) and a permanent spot for mourners. (I do think there is something useful about having a place where the deceased can be "visited." The gravestone analogue, if not a gravestone.)

that is a fantastic idea.

I never DID understand the who how and why it is common place to spend several thousand dollars on a box that goes in the ground.
People are even sold pillows to " keep them comfortable"

The death industry blows my mind. Its a blatant rip off.


I would do best if I could donate everything possible from my body and then , what ever is left, be taken to the woods so that the animals and bugs can feed on me. No reason to keep me anywhere. Its just not necessary.

People in deserts used to bury people because there were no trees to burn them though the habit probably goes back to snow covered areas as well. Three main religions came from the desert, so cremation lost out. I prefer the practice of cutting the flesh off and feeding it to vultures, with the bones given to the family for burial. No lead lined coffins, no polluting the water table, just bones in a small wooden box. I bet no one would complain except the living.

Funny but I've been thinking about that alot lately - yes I am a bit morbid. My thinking has been how wasteful it is to buy this beautiful casket to be put into the ground. I wouldn't want anyone to waste such supplies and money to bury me in. I mean I don't really need my body any more and I certainly cannot feel the satin inside the casket.

I think it is more for the family - they loved the person and probably feel they should have this beautiful casket so they don't feel guilty about skimping and give the appearance of being cheap - it is in a sense the last thing you do for some one so you want the best you can afford.

I think I am going to have to make the arrangement myself - I will choose the cheapest method and hopefully the most helpful. That will keep the guilt out for my loved ones and also the planning and work on their side to a minimum to makes things easier for them.

I think its much less creepy than the LifeGems idea.

http://www.lifegem.com/

LifeGem Memorial Diamonds
The LifeGem® is...

• A certified, high-quality diamond created from a lock of hair or the cremated ashes of your loved one as a memorial to their unique life.


Over 4,000... The number of people who have their very own LifeGem diamond to date. • A way to embrace your loved one's memory day by day.

• The most beautiful and timeless memorial available for honoring their unique life.

• Comfort and support when and where you need it.

Your LifeGem memorial will provide a lasting memory that endures just as a diamond does. Forever.

make mine a mulberry (purple) and plant me next to a Mercedes dealership so the birds can eat my berries and **** all over the yuppie mobiles

A slight breeze ruffles tufts of prairie grass on the hillside overlooking a meadow ringed by juniper and piñon. Here and there, rocky outcroppings provide ready-made seats and nature-made markers, while the purple mountains in the distance offer a rich backdrop. Save for the occasional sounds of nature, the place is silent and serene — somewhere you might want to linger forever.

And soon, you’ll be able to.

The Galisteo Basin Preserve — approximately 13,000 acres of former ranch land located about 15 miles southeast of Santa Fe, near Lamy — is a novel project that includes not only a small, mixed-use community development, but a 15-acre green burial ground, designed for the Earth-friendly deposit of ashes and unembalmed bodies. The “memorial landscape” is a key component in generating funds toward the goal of eventually preserving the remaining acreage as public-access land.

It’s an ambitious idea and one, as yet, untested in the national marketplace — using green burials to create funds for open space preservation. But it’s one that might provide an answer both to aging baby boomers’ desire to make their deaths meaningful, and enviromentalists’ efforts to sustain long-term funding for the restoration and preservation of land protected by conservation easements.

“Green burial was part of the idea from the beginning,” says Ted Harrison, president and managing director of the Commonweal Conservancy, a Santa Fe-based nonprofit that is spearheading the Galisteo Basin project. “We have a lot of stabilization and restoration work that needs to be done, and the green burial resources become, actually, quite important to creating a fund for that long-term work.”

Read more: A grand, green finale: Dying for a bigger cause - New Mexico Business Weekly

Completely agree.

We had a discussion about this some time ago here.

I also find it morbid to have people looking at my dead body lying in a casket. I'd rather forgo the embalming - what is the purpose of this other than so people can see the "empty body".

I'm OK with the seed thing. But then, I'm also OK with my body lying out in the sun for the buzzards to eat, which is practical but not elegant.

A link to Dys' article:

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2008/11/17/focus1.html

The green burial described is not inexpensive -
"At the Galisteo Basin, for example, it takes a $4,000 contribution to the conservancy to purchase a whole body burial right, $1,500 for the right to a cremation burial or ash scattering. (Larger “private family burial sites” are available for correspondingly larger donations.) Half of the amount is tax-deductible and goes to preservation of adjacent lands, but costs for any memorial services, refrigeration, transportation, shrouds or biodegradable caskets are not included."

If I'm still living in this house I would like my ashes, following cremation, buried in the back yard. Although, all the suggestions here are fine with me.

A friend years ago told this story: A close relative wanted her body cremated and tossed over a particular lake. So, up in a small plane the relatives went with the ashes. But, when the person chosen to do so tossed the ashes out, they came with the blowing wind, back in the plane and all over the people.

I am twisted - I found that pretty funny.

It reminds me of an old Murphy Brown episode. Murphy Brown and her co-worker, I think his name is Frank, any way are on a plane and it begins to have trouble. They are getting ready for an emergency landing and the dream about their funeral. They are pictured watching themselves and others at the funeral. Frank is cremated. After the funeral is over, the cleaning people arrive. One accidently knocks over Frank's Urn. Instead of recovering the ashes, he uses a dust buster to clean them up and the remaining is then swept under the carpet.

Yes, exactly! My wife and I have opted for this already by having pre-arranged cremations, with no formal service of any kind.

Hm, that's a nice idea, I'd like the biodegradable coffin and a tree on top. I'd
pick a chestnut tree. This way I make sure that at least the squirrels come to visit.

Actually, I have it on record that my ashes are to be sprinkled over the Pacific ocean.

Aren't there certain "rules" about sprinkling ashes - I thought I heard you may need some sort of permit (probably another way to charge for funeral arrangements).