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(See also the video Green Burial at Forecast Earth)
Green burial is the oldest, most natural, and least ecologically disruptive form of burial. The late Rev. Rufus Morgan, who had a distinguished career as an Episcopal minister and naturalist in western North Carolina, was interviewed in the early 1970s for the Foxfire series. Reverend Morgan was then in his eighties. At one point he spoke briefly about how burial customs have changed over the years. I really wish that the same burial customs prevailed now as then. . . . . There wasn't any idea of a metal casket or a means of preserving the remains because, as the scripture says, 'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.' And I'd much rather think of my body as just going back to the earth where it came from and fertilizing some tree or the grass or flowers, than just having a metal box with me inside preserved like a mummy. [1] In some cultures what is called "green burial" today has always been the ordinary and usual practice. In orthodox Jewish culture a body is buried, if possible, within 24 hours. There is no embalming. Tahara, which is the washing and purifying of a dead body, is considered one of the greatest of all mizvot (good deeds), and is performed by members of the Chevra Kadisha (burial society). Plain coffins are used, with holes drilled to allow the body to connect with the earth. [2] The Islamic faith also promotes the practice of natural burial. Within traditional Cherokee culture, the coffin is constructed by the Gadugi, a word with the idiomatic meaning of "community" or "working together" communally. It literally means "putting together the bread." Burial should be the day after death. [3] Journalist and blogger Jessica Jensen calculates that each year we bury "over 30 million board feet of wood, over 90,000 tons of steel, and more than 830,000 gallons of embalming fluid." She arrived at these figures based on the over 2.5 million deaths that take place per year in the U.S. (the U.S. CDC Vital Statistics for 2005 listed over 2.4 million deaths). According to the Green Burial Council, a nonprofit organization in Santa Fe, N.M., the “death care” industry uses, in a single year, “more steel (in coffins alone) than was used to build the Golden Gate Bridge” and enough reinforced concrete to “construct a two-lane highway from New York to Detroit.” But green burial isn't just about more eco-friendly alternatives to burial. A green burial can also be a great way to save money. [4] Is green burial regulated and are there standards for best practice?The Green Burial Council has developed standards for approved cemeteries, funeral providers, and burial products. They also certify cemeteries according to three levels of service and stewardship: Conservation, Natural, and Hybrid. [5] How can I arrange a green burial for myself or for a member of my family?Start by gathering information. There is a lot of great information about green burial available on the Internet. Links to some of the more prominent sites are provided below. Funeral directors are already familiar with most or all of the issues to be addressed and can facilitate the process. Be prepared to ask questions about green burial. Which cemeteries and funeral homes support Green Burial . . .... in the Triangle?
Where can I go to get more information about Green Burial?
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