[Sust-mar] Green (and other) funerals

[Wild Words]

Re the proposal to start a "memorial society" in Nova scotia, the following is from the Wikipedia entry on eco-cemetaries:

"Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately:
30 million board feet (70,000 m³) of hardwoods (caskets) 
90,272 tons of steel (caskets) 
14,000 tons of steel (vaults) 
2,700 tons of coppper and bronze (caskets) 
1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (vaults) 
827,060 US gallons (3,130 m³) of embalming fluid, which most commonly includes formaldehyde. However it is worth noting that embalming fluid chemically changes in the act of preserving the body and is not largely present as a fluid and this figure refers to embalming fluid before it is introduced to the body. 
(Compiled from statistics by Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America, Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society)"

Green funerals or eco-cemetaries not only offer an environmentally friendly alternative but also can potentially be used to subsidize conservation of natural areas. The Wikipedia entry on eco-cemetaries is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-cemetery


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