The environmentalist movement is having an effect on every aspect of our life, changing how we eat, consume, get around, shelter ourselves, vacation and dress. It’s only natural that it is also presenting new choices for how we regard death.
If you’re an active environmentalist in life, your conscience can now rest easy even in death, as funeral homes are now offering “green burials.” Green burials involve placing the deceased directly in a grave, without a casket or, alternatively, in biodegradable ones. The burial spaces can hold two bodies, if they are vertically positioned or alternatively, the cremated remains of ten people. Another option some people are choosing is planting a memorial tree, in lieu of a person.
Being green in death also means saving money. Embalming a body can cost about $500 dollars and wooden caskets generally go from $1000 and up. Neither of these practices is required by law in most places. Death, even an environmentally friendly one, is still not free, however. A green burial space costs about $1500 but you can share it. Spaces are generally made large enough for two people, with the owner of the bottom space being able to buy the top space for a reduced price.
Funeral home owners offering this option believe their moment has come. Green burials are gaining popularity as consciousness is raised about environmental issues in all aspects of life. Such procedures are also perceived as more spiritual and more appealing to those who have an aversion to embalming, which requires chemical treatments.
In the United States, there are 22,500 cemeteries. Using traditional burial methods they consume approximately 3 million liters of embalming fluid, 90,272 tons of steel, 2700 tons of copper and bronze, 70 792 cubic meters plus of hardwoods from caskets, 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete, 14,000 tons of steel from vaults.
This article was published Monday, January 28, 2008.
