Respecting Your Green Loved One
There seems to be an endless list of ideas for those who want to live a greener life and reduce their carbon footprint-- from simple recycling to the water saving step of turning off the water while you're brushing your teeth. While the list of innovative ideas to live an eco-friendly life goes on and on, do green choices and a respect of the Earth really need to be over at the end of life? It's true that traditional burial in a casket and cremation are among the top of the list for most popular choices, but there are actually other options for your body after death that continue your respect for a greener world. Since the option for green funerals and burials have become more available in recent years, it may be time to consider how your body might actually continue to be eco-friendly towards the Earth after death:
Natural Burial
As information is discovered throughout time about the nature of the materials that are put into the ground during a burial (from embalming fluid to the steel used in the casket), a growing number of green individuals are asking a simple question: How can someone best reduce their carbon footprint in the burial process?
Thankfully, environmentally-friendly inventors have discovered the perfect solution: a completely green burial. By choosing to avoid the embalming process and picking a bio-degradable casket (made of paper or bamboo) to be buried in, you are literally leaving absolutely nothing harmful in the soil. In addition, some individuals decide to go the extra mile-- deciding not to have a grave marker at all. While this might sound like an extreme choice, there is still a way for loved ones to visit this kind of gravesite by using simple GPS coordinates.
Green Cremation
While cremation is a increasingly popular choice among many individuals, the process itself has become somewhat of a concern for those who worry about the environment and pollution. By studying the process and the emissions produced by crematoriums, environmentalists have revealed that an unnecessary amount of carbon and other toxic gasses (such as mercury) may be released into the atmosphere. As a response to this problem, some crematoriums have decided to take measures to become more efficient, such as installing newer technology that can use less gas and scheduling the cremators to run at certain times instead of on an ongoing basis. To take advantage of one of these green crematoriums, simply discuss the issue with a local funeral director like someone from Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home Inc-- they'll be able to point you in the right direction.