Top Reasons to Have a Green Burial
By M. Kotch
After decades of industrialization, over-processing and artificial foods and materials, the 21st century has ushered in a new awareness of the “natural.” From organic, sustainable agriculture to the use of natural fabrics to the return of the cloth diaper, everything seems to be pointing in a green, more eco-conscious direction. One of the fastest growing green industries is the newly popular concept of a green—or natural— burial. But is such a practice really new? Throughout history, human beings have cremated their dead or buried them in biodegradable caskets.
Ancient cultures, such as the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Han Dynasty of China, have used some form of embalming when burying their dead, but it was nowhere nearly as toxic as modern embalming fluids (which are formaldehyde-based and used to contain arsenic). The modern funeral became more prevalent in this country during the Civil War, when soldiers needed to be transported over great distances to be buried at home; the remains could not survive the sometime long journeys without the preservation that embalming fluids provided.
The past decade has seen a spike in the number of cremations, green cemeteries and even the emergence of reef memorials that incorporate the remains of a loved one to support marine life. To help explain this growing trend, here are some of the top reasons to have a green burial.
• A green burial costs much less than a traditional casket one.
Funeral parlor fees, the price of a casket and burial site, along with the embalming and transportation expenses can add up to many thousands of dollars. On the other hand a natural burial at a green cemetery can cost as little as two thousand dollars. Greenburials.org provides a list of green cemeteries in the U.S.
• Natural burials use fewer toxins and non-renewable materials than traditional burials.
Green cemeteries forbid the use of embalming fluid, and use biodegradable caskets (such as those made from recycled cardboard) for the remains. Such cemeteries don’t introduce steel and concrete into natural habitats; they plant trees or make use of naturally found stones to mark a burial site.
• A green burial provides a new beginning, not an ending.
Most of us don’t wish to ponder the subject of death, let alone what will happen to our remains. A green burial is one way to make sure that one’s remains go back to the Earth unhindered by toxic elements and non-renewable materials. It can also provide solace to loved ones who will know that you live on in the grass, trees or natural environment of a burial site.
As the interest in green burials increases, so does the positive environmental impact. One example can be found in the state of Texas. According to the Boston Globe, “The Parks and Wildlife Department in Texas plans to become the first government agency in the United States to let families lay cremated remains in protected forests for a fee to help the state buy more land for conservation.” Such measures are now possible because of a population that is increasingly aware of its carbon footprint and environmental legacy.
Sources:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/04/19/interest_in_ecofriendly_burials_grows_in_us/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17232879
