Alternative Burials

[California Girl]

I was reading this article and it occurred to me that I've never really given any thought to the downside of dying, or as the author puts it 'how to die without killing the planet' (I thought that was pretty funny).

I quite like the alternatives rather than traditional burials or cremation. Some of the facts in that article are quite depressing reading.... like the facts about cemeteries and the impact of cremations!! Wow, I soooo did not know this stuff.

Have a read and consider the options. Which of the options outlined in the article would you choose? Do you care about the damage to the planet that you cause by dying, you selfish SOBs?

 

[Blagger]

Although I haven't read the article, California Girl (logging-in takes up most of my time on USMB nowadays) I've been interested in alternative, presently controversial methods of disposing of the deceased for some time now. Being interested in all things ancient, I've always regarded the funeral pire as a humbling and overwhelmingly solemn occasion. It was an ancient tradition all over ancient Europe - famously associated with the Romans, and it served as an occasion as much as a chance to dispose of a body or number of bodies. There are several pagan movements that have campaigned to dispose of their dead in accordance to pre-Christian tradition. As long as it doesn't impact on those that disagree with burning the dead as a means of corpse disposal, I honestly can't see the problem. And at any rate, Europeans - in Europe or beyond - should be made more aware of their pre-Christian heritage, in my opinion, that is.


P.s. As odd (grissly, even) as it may seem, after encountering the funeral pire in all the literature I've read on antiquity, I'd jump at the chance to attend a funeral pire - purely to satisfy a morbid curiousity, I admit.

 

[California Girl]

Although I haven't read the article, California Girl (logging-in takes up most of my time on USMB nowadays) I've been interested in alternative, presently controversial methods of disposing of the deceased for some time now. Being interested in all things ancient, I've always regarded the funeral pire as a humbling and overwhelmingly solemn occasion. It was an ancient tradition all over ancient Europe - famously associated with the Romans, and it served as an occasion as much as a chance to dispose of a body or number of bodies. There are several pagan movements that have campaigned to dispose of their dead in accordance to pre-Christian tradition. As long as it doesn't impact on those that disagree with burning the dead as a means of corpse disposal, I honestly can't see the problem. And at any rate, Europeans - in Europe or beyond - should be made more aware of their pre-Christian heritage, in my opinion, that is.


P.s. As odd (grissly, even) as it may seem, after encountering the funeral pire in all the literature I've read on antiquity, I'd jump at the chance to attend a funeral pire - purely to satisfy a morbid curiousity, I admit.

You really should take a look. It considers the environmental impacts of both burial and cremation - neither of which are good for the environment. And then outlines some different alternatives, like 'eco' burials (which I'm gonna find out more about because I quite like the look of those) as well as stuff like donating your body for research.

I found it fascinating.... it's not a long read and well worth it.

 

[chikenwing]

I would rather feed a tree,than be part of the blood sucking system we are subject to know. melting back into the earth is the way it should be.

 

[chikenwing]

There is a cemetery not all that far from us that you can be buried in a pine box or wicker or just wrapped up in cloth,but you can't have been embalmed,cheap personal and sensible.

 

[California Girl]

There is a cemetery not all that far from us that you can be buried in a pine box or wicker or just wrapped up in cloth,but you can't have been embalmed,cheap personal and sensible.

According to the article, that's an 'eco' burial. The facts in the article about cemeteries and cremation were pretty disgusting.

 

[Wiseacre]

What about doing an Osama, buried at sea. No burial, no cremation, got it. Truth be told, I don't give a flyin' fuck, you can do whatever you want with my leftovers but you gotta wait 'til I'm dead.

 

[California Girl]

What about doing an Osama, buried at sea. No burial, no cremation, got it. Truth be told, I don't give a flyin' fuck, you can do whatever you want with my leftovers but you gotta wait 'til I'm dead.

I kind of fancy going to the 'body farm'. That sounds fun! LOL

 

[xsited1]

Nobody is buried or cremated. Papier-mâché copies are made of the bodies and that's what is put in the ground or buried. The bodies are sent to a Soylent Green processing plant where they are processed and shipped to various fast food restaurants around the world.

 

[Big Fitz]

I was reading this article and it occurred to me that I've never really given any thought to the downside of dying, or as the author puts it 'how to die without killing the planet' (I thought that was pretty funny).

I quite like the alternatives rather than traditional burials or cremation. Some of the facts in that article are quite depressing reading.... like the facts about cemeteries and the impact of cremations!! Wow, I soooo did not know this stuff.

Have a read and consider the options. Which of the options outlined in the article would you choose? Do you care about the damage to the planet that you cause by dying, you selfish SOBs?

Everything you wanted to know about Death...but were afraid to ask.

(in graphic novel format)

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Death-Bronwyn-Carlton/dp/1563891662/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305226607&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: The Big Book of Death (9781563891663): Bronwyn Carlton: Books[/ame]

Oddities not in the book that I have heard of.

Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics Mark Gruenwald was cremated and had his ashes put into the ink of "Squadron Supreme" special issue.

Hunter S. Thompson had his ashes put in fireworks and shot off over his compound.

The inventor of the Frisbee had his ashes put into the plastic of a special issue frisbee made by Wham-o IIRC.

The book is fantastic. I particularly love the sections on "Famous Last Words", strange deaths and the art of embalming. The mechanics of execution are also particularly intriguing.

 

[boedicca]

In a few years we'll all have only the Individual Manadate Option: Soylent Green.

It's a TWOFER! No wasteful use of land resources, and a new food source to End World Hunger!

 

[Big Black Dog]

I'd like to be cremated and mixed into a douche then run through one more time!

 

[Big Fitz]

In a few years we'll all have only the Individual Manadate Optiuon: Soylent Green.

It's a TWOFER! No wasteful use of land resources, and a new food source to End World Hunger!

Thomas Lynch has the best solution.

Golfatoriums. Combine two huge wastes (figuratively speaking) of land. Want to be part of that killer sand trap on 15? Sure. How about your ashes mixed into the water hazard on 3? Little memorial stones, flush with the putting green of course to give some really wild bounces.

 

[Anachronism]

Personally, I want a Viking funeral..... Put my carcass on a boat, push the boat out into the water, then shoot firey arrows at it until the boat catches on fire and let it (and my carcass) burn to the waterline.

 

[JW Frogen]

I have given this a lot of thought and have decided I want my head cryogenically frozen in a strawberry daiquiri.

 

[Grace]

I was reading this article and it occurred to me that I've never really given any thought to the downside of dying, or as the author puts it 'how to die without killing the planet' (I thought that was pretty funny).

I quite like the alternatives rather than traditional burials or cremation. Some of the facts in that article are quite depressing reading.... like the facts about cemeteries and the impact of cremations!! Wow, I soooo did not know this stuff.

Have a read and consider the options. Which of the options outlined in the article would you choose? Do you care about the damage to the planet that you cause by dying, you selfish SOBs?

Personally, my request is to burn my ass and toss me in a field or the ocean. Ashes don't hurt anything, do they? I haven't read the article yet, though, so I guess I'll find out.

 

[Grace]

Actually, when I find dead birds in the yard, I just bury then in the dirt...not in a box or wrapped up like I did when I was younger. We are trained to "wrap" in respect for the dead. But that is not natural, is it? Let the body disintegrate back into the earth and become part of it. Depending on the cost of just laying me in the dirt deep down and letting the bugs and nature take its course, burning me and scattering me is how i want to be disposed of. Unless the cost is the same for the natural disposal of no wrappings or embalmings.

 

[syrenn]

Death rituals are for and about the living, not the dead. Now they are about making money.

 

[Grace]

I kinda like the idea of a viking burial. Toss my ass on a wooden rickety boat, set it afire and shove it off to burn on the water.

 

[syrenn]

I kinda like the idea of a viking burial. Toss my ass on a wooden rickety boat, set it afire and shove it off to burn on the water.

The nanny state would most likely not let you do that, air pollution and all.