Green burials: A dying wish to be 'home for fish' (CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Valerie Streit
CNN


(CNN) -- Carole Dunham, 69, loved the ocean. Last July, she was diagnosed with cancer and had only a few months to live. Dunham knew her last footprint had to be a green one, and she started looking into eco-friendly alternatives to traditional burial.

The concept of "going green" has taken new life in the death care industry as eco-minded companies tap into the needs of those like Dunham.

From biodegradable caskets to natural burial sites, death is becoming less of a dark matter than a green one.

Dunham, an avid scuba diver, chose an eco-friendly company that would combine her cremated remains to form an artificial memorial reef.

"She loved the idea of always being in the water as an alternative to being cremated and scattered," said her daughter Nina Dunham.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/17/dying.green/index.html

[Lost in CT]

1. Why cremate her? Fish gotta eat... nt

[eppur_se_muova]

2. That was sorta my thought ... nt

[FedUpWithIt All]

3. I have been telling loved ones for years. I do not want to be cremated or in a casket and cement.

I want to be buried directly in the ground. I have taken so much from this planet and i want my body to return to earth as quickly as possible once i am through with it.

[kestrel91316]

5. I want to be either cremated, or put (unembalmed) in a linen shroud

and wicker casket and then directly in the ground. No embalming fluid and makeup and viewing, thank you.

[hunter]

4. Whale falls -- Monterey Canyon

Crabs and an octopus living on the skull of the dead whale in October 2002.
The spherical weight and yellow line anchor a homing beacon that that helps
researchers find the whalefall on subsequent dives.

http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2002/dec20_whalefall.html

I suspect they'd find people just as tasty. Unfortunately dead people are generally contaminated with drugs and other toxins. What impact would that have on the deep sea marine environment?

(Or maybe it's all going to be anaerobic anyways pretty soon now... :cry: )