Post by bonnasuttadhar225588 on Feb 15, 2024 5:50:51 GMT
We can all agree that humans need to reduce their impact on the environment. And while most of us think of this in terms of daily activities, like eating less meat or being wise with water, this responsibility actually extends beyond life and into death. The environmental footprint doesn't end when a person dies, as traditional burial uses toxic chemicals like formaldehyde along with steel and concrete, and acres of grass in cemeteries use fertilizer and water. However, green burials seem to be advancing as they demonstrate their benefits for the environment, as a more responsible way to transcend this plane. Green burials, returning to nature According to the Green Burial Society of Canada , green burials are an environmentally and socially responsible alternative for people who are aware of the cyclical nature of life. It is an environmentally sensitive practice, in which the body is returned to the earth to decompose naturally and contribute to new life. While there are a growing number of green burials, the latest idea, soon to be launched in the United States by New York-based startup Transcend , offers people the chance to become a tree after they die.
Transcend is reimagining cemeteries as forests with green burials, noting that it is not only finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of funerals, but also for people to have a positive impact after they die. But what exactly are green burials? Transcend describes the process as follows: Customers choose a tree species suitable for their preferred burial site—on company-owned land. When the client dies, his body is prepared in biodegradable linen and buried surrounded by a mixture of wood chips, local soil and mushrooms to facilitate composting. And, planted over the body is a Iceland Email List two to four year old tree, capable of absorbing the rich surge of nutrients released by the corpse. sustainable-burials- Convert cemeteries into forests While the company has said it has not yet confirmed the location of its first burial sites—but aims for them to be no more than two hours from a major city—the land is being selected in partnership with One Tree Planted , an organization non-profit, based on its need for reforestation, and will be legally protected against future developments. The company was founded by entrepreneur Matthew Kochmann, who claims that his source of inspiration was the " Capsula Mundi ", a biodegradable egg-shaped coffin designed by Italians Raoul Bretzel and Anna Citelli, on which a tree could be planted.
The duo released a version for cremated ashes, but did not put a model for a body into production. "By the end of 2023, we hope to have some sites open and alive and to have planted several people." Matthew Kochmann, founder of Transcend. Living forests sustain the planet: they benefit people, plants and animals for all the invisible work they do as a carbon store . They also help control global climate and precipitation. Green burials, a way to transcend that is kind to the environment In the US, most people opt for cremation, and while it doesn't take up land in the same way as a traditional burial, it produces 1.74 billion tons of CO2 emissions each year, as well as releasing certain heavy metals, including mercury, in the atmosphere. But it wasn't always that way, says Jimmy Olson of Olson Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, an early adopter of modern green burial options. According to him, green burials are actually just reviving practices that were already carried out 100 years ago. Caitlyn Hauke, former president of Green Burial Council International —a nonprofit that promotes environmentally sustainable death care—says that “many people tend to think of traditional burial and cremation as their only options, but once "When they learn about green burials (and other alternatives), they often reconsider.