Death exists in the past
Death exists in the future
Mankind’s effect on the environment is multitudinous.
I cannot
help but believe mankind as the future cause of the death of our environment, and
mankind itself will be part of the pollution.
There are
over seven billion people on the face of the earth and before the next
millennium those seven billion people will be dead.
How to
dispose of seven billion bodies? Some
will be cremated, and that is a sensible solution; but many are still electing
to bury the dead.
What a waste
of land that could be used in farming, housing or commerce.
Fifty years
after you are dead no one will remember you; and yet, if you are buried, you will
be occupying space that could be better utilized – and to what purpose?
Walking
through some of the old Maine cemeteries I find the stones interesting. The death mask and epitaphs, the year born
and died are a marker for a time in history.
Burying was practical back then; crematoriums were not available and the
world had less than a billion people (1700’s estimated 700 million.)
Today, and
into the future, burying the dead is pollution.
Have a happy weekend
while you still can
the
Ol’Buzzard
It's going to be cremation for me!
ReplyDeleteHello, I stumbled here from Mildred R's place. (she says to avoid your blog but I knew that meant to rush right over). I too have wondered about this topic. I too hope to be cremated (although that it itself has some pollution problems). I hope my ashes in turn create brighter tulips and oak trees.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on toasting and scattering. There is a growing movement for "green" burials -- no embalming and interment in biodegradable shrouds and caskets but the funeral industry did such a nice job of lobbying for requiring embalming, grave liners (i.e., "vaults"), and hermetically sealed metal caskets that even if a person wants to go that route -- go to hell in a handbasket, one of those handwoven caskets -- it can be hard to find a place that allows it. Here in Michigan you have to cremate or bury a corpse within 48 hours of death or you are legally required to have the body embalmed. Whether or not a vault is required depends on the individual cemetery. I've been trying (although not very hard) to persuade our local cemetery board to designate the brushed-in corner no one wants to buy lots in as a "green burial" space; so far no one else is in favor of it.
ReplyDelete