The Rejected RealmsBoard

What does every human have in common? We all are born and die! Why should you let your death harm the environment you spent your entire life inhabiting? If you do not want to do this, please keep reading!

"According to National Geographic, American funerals are responsible each year for the felling of 30 million board feet of casket wood (some of which comes from tropical hardwoods), 90,000 tons of steel, 1.6 million tons of concrete for burial vaults, and 800,000 gallons of embalming fluid. Even cremation is an environmental horror story, with the incineration process emitting many a noxious substance, including dioxin, hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and climate-changing carbon dioxide."

"Even the practice of scattering ashes at sea has a new wrinkle. Florida-based Great Burial Reef will place urns with cremated remains within 100 percent natural, PH-balanced concrete artificial reefs placed at the bottom of the ocean. And Georgia-based Eternal Reefs will mix your ashes with the cement they use to create “reef balls”—hollow spheres that resemble giant Wiffle balls that are sunk offshore. Loved ones equipped with the GPS coordinates can boat or even dive to visit the site of the remains."

Visit Scientific American to read more!

The AARP provides links to advance directive forms for every US state (I do not know how burial planning works elsewhere in the world but I think it is similar in Canada). Once you choose a green burial option, please specify it on an advance directive form and make it official!

It would also be wonderful if you would use this as an opportunity to educate your families about these options and death planning!

Disclaimer: if your religious beliefs and/or family traditions preclude any of this please just try to minimize the footprint of any elements that you can control!