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'Green' burials are the latest option (just in time for Earth Day)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 04/22/2009 | Kim McGuire

Posted on 04/22/2009 1:01:49 PM PDT by newgeezer

Claire Garden has lived a modest life.

She once resided on a Kansas homestead that was off the grid. There, she lived in a house built of recycled materials and raised organic vegetables.

Now, at 71, Garden is thinking about the end of her life and her desire to leave a minuscule footprint on this planet continues to dictate her choices.

She wants to be buried on her property in Columbia, Mo., not in a casket, but a canvas shroud, like the one used to bury the character Nate in the television show "Six Feet Under."

"I would happily give my body back to the trees," said Garden, a retired educator. "I wouldn't necessarily want to be dug up by the dogs or raccoons or anything gruesome like that, but I'd definitely like to give myself back to the Earth."

As many Americans contemplate what they can do for the planet on Earth Day, some, like Garden, are considering making postmortem contributions.

She is part of a growing group of people who are contemplating a "green" or natural burial. Though no group keeps national statistics, death-care industry surveys show more people are considering an eco-friendly send-off.

...

"I just feel like it's my time to become part of the food chain," she said.

(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: earthday; envirowacko; wicker
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Such a touching story about an off-grid, free-loving, sandal-wearing, bong-sucking, rarely-bathing, tofu-eating, microbus-coveting, earth-worshipping, whirled peas visualizing, tree-hugging, hookah-toking, hemp-growing, koolaid-swilling, Nader-voting, Lennon-singing, herb-squeezing, ganja-rolling, solar-collecting, foil-ovening, cave-dwelling, peace-signing, backpacking, brokebacking, flag-burning, quiche-gumming, Volvo-loving, hybrid-driving, earth-shoeing, God-hating, gun-grabbing, pony-tailing, thumb-sucking, navel-gazing, granola-crunching, earth-first vegan hippie commie deadhead loser. :-)
1 posted on 04/22/2009 1:01:49 PM PDT by newgeezer
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To: newgeezer
...off-grid, free-loving, sandal-wearing, bong-sucking, rarely-bathing, tofu-eating, microbus-coveting, earth-worshipping, whirled peas visualizing, tree-hugging, hookah-toking, hemp-growing, koolaid-swilling, Nader-voting, Lennon-singing, herb-squeezing, ganja-rolling, solar-collecting, foil-ovening, cave-dwelling, peace-signing, backpacking, brokebacking, flag-burning, quiche-gumming, Volvo-loving, hybrid-driving, earth-shoeing, God-hating, gun-grabbing, pony-tailing, thumb-sucking, navel-gazing, granola-crunching, earth-first vegan hippie commie deadhead loser. :-)

I like that! Very nice.

2 posted on 04/22/2009 1:03:43 PM PDT by raybbr (It's going to get a lot worse now that the anchor babies are voting!)
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To: newgeezer
We do have LAWS on how to properly bury a person.

I suspect this “natural” burial may not be legal and present sanitation issues ....

3 posted on 04/22/2009 1:04:03 PM PDT by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: newgeezer
I wonder if they buried him with his sandals.


4 posted on 04/22/2009 1:04:30 PM PDT by raybbr (It's going to get a lot worse now that the anchor babies are voting!)
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To: newgeezer

Wrap the body in a sheet and dump it in the hole. Who knew the Mafia was green? ;)


5 posted on 04/22/2009 1:05:20 PM PDT by ZirconEncrustedTweezers (Get the hell out of my way! - John Galt)
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To: newgeezer
I'd definitely like to give myself back to the Earth."

What makes the ignoramus think that ISN'T going to happen? Had she planned on jettisoning her remains to Pluto or something?

6 posted on 04/22/2009 1:06:08 PM PDT by subterfuge (BUILD MORE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS NOW!!!)
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To: newgeezer

Why bury at all, lady?

As Josey Wales liked to say, “Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms.”


7 posted on 04/22/2009 1:07:11 PM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: subterfuge
What makes the ignoramus think that ISN'T going to happen? Had she planned on jettisoning her remains to Pluto or something?

I don't think it happens when you put everything in a concrete vault.

8 posted on 04/22/2009 1:07:27 PM PDT by raybbr (It's going to get a lot worse now that the anchor babies are voting!)
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To: newgeezer; TigersEye; 50mm; yorkie; metmom

Best laugh I got all day, thanks.


9 posted on 04/22/2009 1:08:19 PM PDT by pandoraou812 ( Don't play leap frog with a unicorn..............^.............)
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To: DungeonMaster

Ping. Funny thread!


10 posted on 04/22/2009 1:10:03 PM PDT by newgeezer (It is [the people's] right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson)
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To: newgeezer

Could we please hear your real opinion?

Dang, that is good.....I think you have been saving that for awhile.....you could have added bumper sticker to the Vovo-driving....


11 posted on 04/22/2009 1:10:03 PM PDT by Kimmers (Be the kind of person when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says, Oh crap, she's awake)
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To: raybbr

Yes it does. It just takes a little longer is all. Concrete isn’t forever.


12 posted on 04/22/2009 1:10:16 PM PDT by mamelukesabre (Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum (If you want peace prepare for war))
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To: raybbr
I don't think it happens when you put everything in a concrete vault.

After pickling the remains and putting it in a metal box. I'm no granola eater but I think modern burials are insane. I'd prefer a pine box myself and leave it at that.

13 posted on 04/22/2009 1:10:30 PM PDT by dirtboy
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To: newgeezer
and her desire to leave a minuscule footprint on this planet continues to dictate her choices

Bah! Cremate me with a nice big nuclear blast and my particles can irradiate the earth for a thousand years.
14 posted on 04/22/2009 1:10:57 PM PDT by TalonDJ
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To: raybbr
I don't think it happens when you put everything in a concrete vault.

Oh, it'll happen. It just takes a little longer.

15 posted on 04/22/2009 1:11:00 PM PDT by subterfuge (BUILD MORE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS NOW!!!)
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To: newgeezer

I think there would be quite a backlash from the funeral directors. Afterall we have to line pockets even on the way out.


16 posted on 04/22/2009 1:11:35 PM PDT by Snoopers-868th
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To: mamelukesabre
Yes it does. It just takes a little longer is all. Concrete isn’t forever.

But what's the point? It's a waste. I just don't understand why folks feel a need to have remains last for a thousand years underground instead of a couple of years.

17 posted on 04/22/2009 1:11:58 PM PDT by dirtboy
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To: newgeezer
. "I wouldn't necessarily want to be dug up by the dogs or raccoons or anything gruesome like that, but I'd definitely like to give myself back to the Earth."

What does it matter? You'll be dead and the animals need to eat. Why is it better to let ants, roaches, worms, maggots, and bacteria eat your body than dogs and raccoons?

18 posted on 04/22/2009 1:12:18 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (IRONY - we know more about the First Dog's historical papers than we do of President Barack.)
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To: Snoopers-868th

‘xactly.


19 posted on 04/22/2009 1:12:26 PM PDT by dirtboy
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To: raybbr

Cool, the Jeff Dahmer picnic basket.


20 posted on 04/22/2009 1:12:50 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim (When I leave this planet, it's gonna know I was here.)
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