Sustainable Tarpon Springs - Green Burial

I’ve had the kind of week that has reminded me of the brevity and fragility of life.  No details are necessary, but the reality of ‘death’ - as an integral part of life that none of us can escape -  has been on my mind.  Yours Truly is fine, though through a friend’s ‘near-death’ accident I was reminded of how precious our ‘finite time’ truly is.  

Back in 2006 when I made my first trip to The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee, I drove every road on their map and was quite curious and moved when I found the quaint little country cemetery there.  It reminded me of Scott’s Valley Cemetery that we’d pass by every day when coming to or going from our farm house in Tum Tum, Washington.  A beautiful natural setting, marked by simplicity, wildflowers, and little mementos left to express some of the soul and character of the loved one.

When I asked about the customs at The Farm, I was told that because the community is legally designated as a ‘church’, they had the right to bury their own on the property.  When someone dies there, they put the body on ice for three days while the wood shop builds a simple pine coffin.  As the coffin is being built, people come and go from the family’s home sharing stories and celebrating their loved one’s life.

It made me think about what I wanted my last ‘environmental statement’ to be in this life.  In looking at what a ‘green burial’ was, and discovered some of the unbelievable statistics compiled by those who are ‘in the burial business’ .  Each year 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury (in addition to the deceased) approximately:

~  827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, which includes formaldehyde

~  104,272 tons of steel, in caskets and vaults

~  2,700 tons of copper and bronze, in caskets

~  30-plus million board feet of hardwoods, in caskets

~  1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete, in vaults

How sustainable does that sound?   As funeral expenses have risen, cremation has become an increasingly popular alternative for families.  But there are air pollution issues associated with cremation, even the fillings in our teeth contribute to mercury in the atmosphere.  Older burners have been replaced by more efficient double burners which eliminate many pollutants, but cremation still releases dioxin, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide.

In my humble opinion, burial itself is not a morbid subject.  It is the ‘bon voyage’ our friends and family extend to the earthly bodies that housed our souls during this sojourn on the planet.  We can either give nourishment back to the planet, becoming part of the ‘holistic cycle of life’ when we depart - or be ‘preserved’ where no one can see us (unground)...which to my mind, is the  essence of morbidity.  

Perhaps the idea of ‘green burial’ is part of the cultural and spiritual paradigm shift we in the process of experiencing.  I do hope so!  As I continue to enjoy this life  - as long as I am granted - I will also express my intentions right here, right now.  I choose to be ‘pushing up daisies’ when my simple pine box disintegrates back into the earth.  Sustainable in life, and sustainable hereafter! Recycle me, please!