The bigger the carbon footprint, the better.
Posted on 01/02/2009 8:51:35 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Green Revolution Hits Dead End In Georgia Cemetery Proposal Ms. Collins Thought Natural Burials Were a Killer Idea; Locals Saw Grave Threat
By PHILIP SHISHKIN
MACON, Ga. -- Elizabeth Collins, a gardener, birdwatcher and a self-described "renaissance woman," wanted to start a "natural" cemetery where bodies would be buried without embalming, coffins or vaults. [Elizabeth Collins]
Elizabeth Collins
She and a partner bought a plot of land here and wrote a business plan that identified pagans, "old hippies," penny pinchers, environmentalists and Muslims -- who traditionally bury the dead without caskets -- as their target market. There would be room for 7,500 customers. Dead pets would be welcome, too.
The idea didn't sit well with the living.
Many residents in this socially conservative rural patch of central Georgia worried the cemetery would contaminate their water supply. Some also objected in principle to unconventional burial practices.
So on Nov. 4, the Macon-Bibb County commissioners killed the cemetery plan by voting in a new ordinance that requires a "leak-proof casket or vault" for burials. It became one of the first legal moves against a growing brand of environmentalism that is entering the graveyard.
Advocates of natural, or "green," cemeteries say conventional burials pollute the earth with embalming chemicals, disturb the land and waste energy in the production and transport of coffins and vaults.
"People who go to Whole Foods or Wild Oats are going to expect to have green offerings in a funeral home," says Darren Crouch, whose company, Passages International, makes biodegradable funeral supplies. Mr. Crouch says sales in 2008 were up 40% from 2007.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Georgia? I thought those nitwits were confined to the land of fruits and nuts?
Well what’s wrong with leaving the old hippie’s bodies out for the coyotes and other predators? Recycling and returning to the ecosystem and all that...
Can you imagine the wild dogs running around this disaster area??
“Oh, look, honey, that dog has a ham bone in its mouth. Uh, that’s not a ham bone!!!”
good grief, how do these politicians think their ancestors were buried? This sounds like a full-employment plan for the funeral home industry. My body is going to a medical school, and after they’re finished with me they can do whatever they want with what’s left. When I get around to telling them, my family will be given instructions NOT to spend a nickel on a fancy funeral. I can’t control whether they’ll comply, but those are my wishes.
It’s not too bright to buy all this land and charge forward with this business plan unless you secure zoning and land use approval as the first step, not the last.
they weren’t going to leave them out in the open, they would just bury them without caskets.
The funeral indu$try won't like it, though.
I saw an ad in Columbia, Missouri for green burials this week.
More gospel from the church of green and pastor algore.
..not that there is anything wrong with that..
You might notice that it's not the greenies who are writing the law on this one.
It's the funeral industry, who'll do everything in their power to make sure you spend as much as possible to avoid coming in contact with the "dust" you're supposed to return to.
You don't have to be hippie to not want to spend a fortune on useless preservation.
My (new) body might last for eternity, but no amount of money is going to stop my mortal remains from returning to the elements after I die.
Actually, this is perfectly sensible and is exactly how most of our ancestors buried their dead. The massive industry surrounding funerals and burials, with all these expensive trappings, is driven by industry lobbying and marketing, not common sense.
I’m not sure I get the problem for the Greenies. What’s “ungreen” about a leak-proof vault? As far as I’m concerned, they can be buried in a cardboard box, as long as there’s a vault around it.
The bigger the carbon footprint, the better.
Just like regulations for the Tattoo industry come from the big players, to raise the entry bar for new players, all in the name of protecting the public.
Why is it that you think I shouldn't be allowed to return to the Earth?
Honestly, why get a full casket surrounded by concrete? BS. Have a keg or two and dump me in the forest afterward. Better yet, creamate me and dump my ashes over some liberal enclave. Then, when they breathe, they'll have the chance to literally kiss my ash.
Sound good?
When I die, I want to be taken out into the desert and blown up.
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