Green Burial

A certain kind of eco-friendly cremation is turning into a heated debate. Many professionals in the industry see alkaline hydrolysis as the future of cremation. On the other end of the spectrum, some people want to ban funeral homes from using it. A few organizations dislike cremation in general. They use green cremation as an example of a bad choice. Better knowledge about the process could make it easier to conceive this debate in the midst of a growing interest in using the technology.

Understanding the Process of Green Cremation

Imagine an ice cube melting in a glass of water. Surrounded by a warmer liquid, the solid ice gradually disappears. It is a reasonable metaphor for alkaline hydrolysis. Like ice, the human body needs certain things in order to decompose rapidly. Green cremation involves the placement of the body inside a tank with water and lye. Under a higher temperature and sometimes with pressure, the soft tissues of the body melt. Eventually,

People might think that cremation has been an easy choice forever. The truth is more complicated. Cremation has a long and winding history in North America. It grew at a slow pace. Then, in just a handful of decades, it exploded into the most popular choice today.

Burial Traditions Among Native American Peoples

Trying to figure out the beliefs of thousands of distinct groups seems impossible. People develop their own traditions over hundreds or thousands of years, if no one tells them what to do. That means a wide range of experiences will emerge. In some parts of the world, cremation was a widely-used practice for thousands of years. North America was different. Hundreds of native peoples made their world across the large continent. All these people had their own ways. Some archaeologists claim that cremation in North America was rare until recently. In 2008, researchers found an ancient cremation site off the coast of Georgia. This was quite unexpected.

Although regular cremation is definitely popular, many people want something more. As growing numbers of people choose cremation, they start to question the environmental effects of the process. Is there a better way? Recent trends suggest that there is. Alkaline hydrolysis is a newer form of cremation that uses less energy and may be friendlier to the environment. This process is still largely unavailable throughout the United States, but it may one day become the standard.

As cremation trends toward the norm across the United States, critics come out of the chemically-untreated woodwork. Cremation is an unsafe practice, they say. The act of cremation emits dangerous toxins into the environment, and consumes huge quantities of energy simply to turn one body into ashes. While some of these complaints have a small nugget of truth, the misrepresentation of information is striking. Experts claim that cremation and use of biodegradable urns are actually far more environmentally-friendly than a traditional burial, particularly when modern technologies and new approaches are used.

Classifying Cremation

When it comes to the environmental impacts of

Updated on 11/16/2020

Green burials have grown in popularity in recent years as more people seek earth-friendly alternatives for final disposition of cremated remains.