Listen to this Green Air Minute:
The green reaper
by The Green A-TeamLiving an eco-friendly existence doesn’t have to end when you do.
Ghoulish as it may sound, the business of burials is something we’re all fated to deal with eventually but new environmentally responsible options to handle this morbidly necessary event have emerged here in the US adding a note of green to this eerie realm of commerce.
Elizabeth Fournier, Director of Cornerstone Funeral Services and Cremation in Boring, Oregon, is the self-proclaimed “Green Reaper.”
A lot of people have chosen cremation already and a lot of that is the idea of, ‘Hey, I don’t want to take up space, I don’t want my family to shell out a bunch of cash, and I want to do something good for the environment.’ But of course, what we’re learning is the idea of cremating somebody isn’t so environmentally conscious as we once thought. Actually burying somebody the Green way with no chemicals, no concretes, and no metals in the soil is actually a better choice.
It’s the goal of Ms. Fournier and others in her industry to offer ways families can continue the responsible legacy of their deceased…beyond the grave.
For more on this and the full interview with Elizabeth Fornier, scythe through some of the following links:
Composting the dead (Environmental Graffiti)
Burials and cemeteries go green (NPR)
Do cemeteries impact on the environment? (University of Technology, Sydney)
Japan’s high tech graveyard solution as burial space grows scarce (Treehugger)
Artwork by amanda.f.i.