TheBiologySpace.BioBlog

i never understood the why we preserve somehting that is just going into the ground. perhaps people like to think that in perserving their loved ones it somehow keeps them here longer, i’m no sure. But it never made sense to me, i’m one of those firm belivers in letting nature run its course, honestly nature is pretty amazing. Take for example the cicad. they come around once a year and are pesky noisy critters however once their “season” is over they become a feast for other creatures. for once no creature has to go hungry, grab a cicade and bite in. so why not allow ourselves to become a feast for other creatures. is it really awful when we deliberatly kill other animals to feast on their flesh?

as i stated before, i’m pretty impartial to this whole thing. Partly because i have not lost anyone close to me, and also because i’m pretty okay with death and dying. Its a natural process. As for the ceremony part. I understand the need of closure and in most cases i suppose the ceremony is the defining moment or climax of it all, but does it honestly matter if the casket is the usual metal, or the usual wood. couldnt a casket made out of biodegradable material suffice, because the cereomony is about the person not the casket.

however impersonal it seems for me i never understood why we put preservetives in something that is dead. It just doesnt make sense, the preservatives are not going to bring the dead back and why do all that work for something that is going to be seen once then buried forever. I think its a good idea for the bodies to go back into nature as they were intended, well we all should be the carbon donors.

I can see why a biodegradable casket is a great option. It still offers a way to make sure your body goes into the earth like a natural burial but also lets people keep their traditions like the article says. I know that many people because of their religion and burials or even because of their families not being burried in a casket would be hard to let go of. This gives people the option to be eco friendly and consider their families or traditions.

the question with the biodegradable caskets is is this something an family with an average income can afford? and would they be willing to take their loved ones off to be buried at a cementary not near where they live? something to consider i guess.

green burials would be a great idea for the enviornment!! the idea of having bodies degrade is a great thing for the enviornement in the long run…compared to caskets, the bodies sit in something that will be there for pretty much always with this…it also opens up more room for others to be buried which has become a major concern especially with the baby boomers from the 60s life coming to an end. for those that would rather have their loved ones buried this would be the smart and better option :]

I am personally in favor of green caskets. I don’t really see the point in wasting a lot of time and money on a funeral. Sure, you may be “honoring their memory”, but is that really how someone wants to be remembered? Black attire, sad faces, and forced conversations between long lost cousins. I certainly hope that’s not what people think of when they’re trying to remember my life. I’d much rather my family use the money they would’ve spent on a funeral for something useful- like a trip to Disney world. They can sprinkle my ashes in Cinderella’s Castle- that would be the true honor to my memory. I don’t want to spread sorrow and sadness by leaving this world, I would much prefer that those close to me can rejoice in the amount of time that they got to spend with me.

Biodegradeable coffins are a great idea, and it also show that we are trying to slow down the negative effects that we have had on the planet with all of the polluting we’ve done over well since forever. The simple fact is unless the coffins are sealed off and the bodies are artificially preserved they are going to be consumed by bugs and they are going to deterierate, and then all that is left is a fancy expensive metal or wood box underground. But with a biodegradeable coffin the coffin will slowly go away. And honeslty after the burial the grave will be untouched, nobody is going to dig it up, only thing that is going to be looked at is the tombstone. All my family members that have passed away were creamated, and then we pour the ashes into the Ghanges River in India, which is very bad, if you have ever been to that river it is full of ash and trash, and it is just unsafe to swim in it. But green funerals can change that, but I’m not sure that the green funerals will pickup in countries where the dead are cremated just for the mere fact that burying goes against what the people believe in.

I think this biodegradable casket is a great idea because it is more “green” and allows all the cycles to continue with the degradation of the body, but it also allows mourners to stick to the tradition of the casket. Some family members might not want to see their loved one just put in a hole.

This is an interesting topic. I don’t think that cremations and caskets are becoming a thing of the past though. I think the only difference will be that some people will opt for ‘green funerals’. Just looking at the logistics of the situation though, I don’t think it would benefit the environment in any detectable way if you are buried in a biodegradable casket. The only thing that negatively impacts the environment in a normal funeral is the casket. (trees cut for wood) The only thing heping the environment in a green funeral is the decomposition of your body. If the design is to slightly offset your environmental impact, the green funeral won’t even put a dent in it. The big benefit isn’t environmental though. The big benefit is being able to later put a dead body in the same place you put one before, slowing the expansion of cemetaries.

i like the word green
but i wish they would use some kind of casket instead of just buring the dead. casket is part of our tradition. i like tha idea that somebodyelse said earlire usinf recycling paper tye of casket which wont be bad for the enviroment. i like to keep our tradition along with saving the planet

i think that a biodegradable casket is an amazing idea. it helps the environment as well as keeps with the sybolisim of the buirial. that way our traditions don’t have to interfere with trying to keep the envirionment a good place

i think that a green burial would be much better for the environment becuase you have to consider all of the people that have lived on this planet. if every single one of them was buired in a metal casket we would be hard pressed to even find room for that many! in fact we would be digging them up in our back yard! therefore i think that a green burial is a great idea. we should create an awareness toward this idea so that more people will choose to go green instead of the traditional style

i think the green burial is a good idea. i personally am gonna have myself buried this way. while i understand the attatchment of your deceased loved ones. when i die i would just like to be put in a hole and left there. that way i could do some good even after i am no longer using my body. i mean why would i want it to sit around prolonging the inevitable? might as well just chunk it somewhere and get it over with besides it costs less too!

Interesting tidbit: while I was in Spain in the fall, we drove past this cemetery where all the caskets were stacked on top of each other in the side of a hill. There were what appeared to be windows to each grave. When you can’t build out, go up, thats what I always say
Also, a promotion vid for green funerals could be great. If we don’t make it on the super bowl commercial docket (see the food for thought post), maybe we just will have to produce a huge epic ap biology tv sitcom masterpiece, complete with 8 minutes of commercials per episode. Just a thought.

I was thinking about why caskets became prevalent in our burial traditions in the first place. Then I realized that there is somewhat of a cyclic progression in burial rituals over time: we have the Egyptians, mummifying to the max, in an effort to preserve bodies they believed would be needed in the afterlife. Tangent question: does anyone in the world still mummify? OK now back to the cycle: then we have the plop’em in the ground approach, where body and dirt unite intimately (no disrespect intended). This appears to be common to the Jewish as well as Islamic faiths, according to wikipedia. We then see the emergence of wooden caskets, and as Shakespeare enlightens us in Hamlet, if you run out of space, theres not much argument about digging up the guys who’ve had their turn. Caskets used to be made by the cabinet-maker, but now we have a huge commercial aspect to it and some quite limoesque dead body storage indeed. Finally, we appear to be returning to our roots, as seen by the reappearance of biodegradable caskets. In another hundred years, we should be making mummies again. So we have this cycle that initially appears to have been linked to religious beliefs, and now we’re on the second go around, this time apparently due to green awareness.

Stephen says that he would like to raise a few questions on the topic: what do you think need to be done as far as the burying of bodies to better the eviroment? what other tactics can be used? stephen out

stephen says that its great that yall want to help the enviorment but my question to yall is how do we get others involoved in this great idea and make it more than just an idea but reality? yes this is one way to help but i think that there needs to be a community awarness something or other to get the word out to educate the public and to make a significant change. who will? it all starts with us bio-class 08!! stephen out

Stephen says: i would like to make a friendly coment to sussana’s post and say that i think it is appropriate, just as animal’s fecal matter is for fertalizer, just as roadkill becomes part of an apple tree that bears a tasty fruit. I think that as long as it is good for the enoviroment and not harmful to religions and other moralistic views then i say im all in. stephen out

Although some people will reject the whole idea, I love this eco-friendly burial. If I had a choice, I would love to have a green burial. What could be more natural than returning to the earth, which was our source of existance? If we were made from dirt, then it is only right that we return to our true form once we no longer need our bodies.

Since their are so many traditions and religious view associated with burials, I think that althought this is a good idea, people need to be carefull. You never know when a highstrung individual will take active offense to a violent level.

I see how everyone is saying that it is important for our environment to have these green burials, however the concept of tradition is a big issue. A casket is a form of closure for many people. The closing of the casket is a final goodbye to many people, and i do not think that many people would be willing to just say their loved ones in the ground. It is a great concept, but i think tradition will out way this idea.

Stephen says that caskets will never be a thing of the past. i think that whether or not people amit it they think of eternity, they think of the after life and if there is one or not. me personlly i know there is and thats what i like to live for. and people will not forgo a religious ritual of tradition to aid in the enviorment. Now i am not saying that all people believe what i believe but i do think that there is a the after life factor recongized or not its there. point being people will not aid the enviorment if they think it will affect their loved ones in the after life. its the sense of doing the all the right things to get to heaven and people will just naturally feel better by putting themselves in a $5000 casket apposed to the enviormentally safe way. there is one exception, cremation. i challenge yall to think about the end and what you would do Stephen out.

I really do believe that “green” burials actually benefit the environment. As mentioned earlier in the post, our ancestors had been buring in this way for hundreds of years before the more recent ones thought to preserve the bodies underground.

As for the general acceptance of this mode of burial, using my mother’s reaction to my choice be be burried in a biodegradable casket (she was devastated) , it may take some time for people to warm up to the idea that there bodies need not be preserved for the ages.

I believe that the few that, for now choose “greener” ways of burial will make an impact in the way people percieve death and the way the deceased are dispatched. People, I think, care so much about their state of physical being post-death is because of their inherent fear of death. People generally want to be remembered, and in that…universal desire, the seek rememberence in their semi permanent preservation after death.

I’ve actually known about the option of biodegradable caskets and told my mom about it. She, of course, was appalled, but I really do want to be returned the the ground from whence I came.

I don’t know about anyone else, but there’s something creepy about hundreds of thousands of dead human bodies being stored underground.

In regards to cultural practices in the “handling of the deceased”, my village in Nigera never use cremations, always caskets.

However, the caskets aren’t of the non-biodegradable family, they’re simple, wood caskets without any longlasting, termite resistant furnishings. So, in that way, the dead of Wiacara ultimately pose no risk in negatively impacting the environment

The only reason that this isn’t going to become mainstream is the average person does not want to imagine their loved ones body being consumed by bacteria and worms. People are in a very emotional state after a family member or friend dies and feel that they don’t have control of things in their life. The casket is a way for the family members to protect their loved one because they couldn’t protect them from dying. If people really want this to become mainstream they need to write wills explaining that they want a green funeral. This would make the family members feel as if they are giving them what they want and making them happy.

I agree with Kristal. Cremation is the way to go. Unfortunately though with cremation, people can lose some connection to their loved one. Unless the ashes are kept in an urn, it is not like the person can go visit their loved one’s grave.

I believe that people shouldn’t be buried in caskets. I personally am not comfortable with the idea of being trapped in a metal casket after I die. I would rather want to decompose and not cause harm to nature. I love the idea of biodegradable caskets and think that people should definitely take a step towards using biodegradable caskets instead. I did some research and found out that the biodegradable caskets are actually much cheaper – as little as $100!

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/dec/27/biodegradable_coffins_part_trend_toward_ecofriendl/

I believe that green burials are beneficial to the earth – no harsh chemicals are being dumped nor are there metal caskets taking up space.

This really isn’t a matter of science and chemistry. It feels to me that there are people that won’t like it if their family is dumped into a hole and buried.

I know from experience that caskets are pretty much better than to be dumped in a hole. Back in Panama where I used to live, there were cemeteries just like this a few miles upstream. When it flooded, bodies would come out of nowhere. It was disgusting and could cause a health hazard. Some people may prefer the ceremony, just like you said in class.

I would rather be cremated and have my ashes scattered. At least my remains won’ t be damaging the earth.

I love the idea of the biodegradable casket and the way a tree can be planted over the casket as well, but would the use of decomposing human flesh be considered “appropriate” for the health of the tree, especially if the tree would produce a fruit? Almost like the discussion we had in class about how the use of cow fertilizer is much more “appropriate/healthy” for a tomato plant rather than a human fertilizer.

I feel that “green” burials are necessary for the environment. First of all I don’t mean to offend anyone on their customs or beliefs, but what’s the difference of putting someone directly in the ground rather than placing them in a casket then in the ground? Are they both not in the ground? I understand the importance of the symbolism of the casket during the ceremony, but it would be more reasonable and more cost effective if the casket was just rented for the ceremony (so in the long run, casket companies would not go completely out of business). I really like the idea of using a biodegradable casket, and the way your casket and remains would be used to fertilize a tree (this gives death a less harsh name as your life passes, but brings life to another). Also, there is still great symbolism in what kind of tree is chosen to represent the deceased loved one. Performing green funerals rather than traditional funerals will soon enough not be an option as the first year baby boomers age, and then the second year baby boomers age, thus we might as well acquaint ourselves with the process of green funerals. Cremating is an option, but cremating involves the use of fossil fuels which is already busy burning holes within our wallets, thus biodegradable caskets seem to be the best choice available for a more environment friendly approach. Overall by using biodegradable caskets, we help plant more trees, help recycle old newspapers (which the biodegradable casket is usually made from), and help lessen our impact on the earth.

As a whole I think very few people are ready to make this change. The casket has become as intricate part of the funeral ceremony. What these people are doing is admirable. These new procedures can do nothing but help the environment. However if one of my loved ones were to die I would have them buried in a casket simply because I could not stand the sight of seeing them tossed into the ground. It is this emotional connection that will have to be severed if this trend is to catch on.

I honestly don’t understand the symbolic concept of burying a loved one in a casket. What’s the difference between deteriorating in an expensive casket only to remain submerged under ground forever or until it deteriorates (assuming the casket is made from wood) from the body deteriorating in a more practical way? Caskets are just another materialistic way for expressing the love you have for someone just as diamonds, which are actually natural formations (given they are real). If we can get a majority of the population to see the benefits of “green” friendly caskets then maybe they would realize the harm they are doing to the environment. It all depends on society’s openness to new ideas…

If it will really help than I think that it is a great idea. Americans are becoming so much more aware of the environment with all these new methods to help preserve it, so I believe biodegradable caskets could become a popular option. It will probably be harder for other, older countries though, because they have more customs and traditions than we do that often center around religion.

I think that these green caskets should be considered for a law. I know it’s nice seeing your loved one be buried in a nice, fancy box with pretty flowers on top, but seriously, theyre DEAD. they have no life. their soul is gone. think of how many people are going to die in the next 100 years, on top of that, how much land is going to be run over with buildings, houses, and other structure for the convenience of humans in our quickly population country. of course caskets arent a huge problem right now, but in the future, the boxes that take hundred of hundred of years to decompose are going to fill up our earth. even if we did green caskets though, what use is a different substance casket if theres still a tombstone above it, reserving THAT piece of space? it seems more logical to just burn bodies, or even better, donate them for scientific purposes.

I agree with what everyone has been saying, and obviously nothing bad can be said about helping the Earth out. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be simply put in the ground and covered with dirt and in accordance to my culture a vessel for the body is pretty much a must so a biodegradable casket option would be awesome.

These “green” burials sound like they would be so much more practical and safe for the environment, and I agree with this. However, I don’t believe that the benefits can outweigh the importance of culture. Most people, even when told why it makes sense to do away with the traditional casket, will stick to their culture because it is ingrained in their lives and/or religion. The “green” burials are a good option, but probably won’t really catch on for quite a few years.

I personally think that if you want to be all “green” then yeah being burried in a biodegradable casket, or fresh in the soil, is a great way to go. The earth will recieve nutrients from the deceased instead of the corpse just rotting away in a wooden casket. The environment would benefit much.

My personal preferece though is to not be burried at all. I do not want to be burried in one spot undergroud for the rest of my life. I wish to be cremated and scattered over all the places i loved best.

It is important that caskets are made biodegradable and that there is an option without caskets. As we have studied this year, it promotes the carbon cycle as decomposers return nutrients to the soil. Personally, I think that caskets are stupid. Who actually benefits from a casket? There is no such thing as as cheap casket. If someone is buying one, they obviously do not want to buy a cheap one. So they are in for a low-end average of $5000. That is more than my car is worth!! In the end, nobody benefits from them. I think that a burial should have some kind of cloth covering for the body and then buried in the ground. After all, you will never see the person once they are buried.

And that one should go on paragraph 4. Sorry Ferg

I personally like the biodegradable casket option more than I like the straight up bury them and nothing else. I think that this way is much more appealing to people attending because i don’t really think that people going to the funerals would like to watch someone get thrown into a hole and have dirt shoved on top of them multiple times. The casket does the same thing as getting rid of the body but the casket is taken away too. Its also more appealing to people and its biodegradable so it gives back to the land.

Britain coming up with “Green” burials is a great thing for the United States to use. Coffins made of recycled newspaper that will decompose along with the body will be more economical. So many people are dieing everyday and when we use chemicals on macabres and coffins that do not decay we will eventually run out of room for cemetaries in the world for future generations. Becoming a cherry tree is like recarnation and i would like to do something like this when i die as well.

When someone dies and they are placed in a casket unless its metal there are still really good chances that the body will deterioate or be consumed by worms. We all must let go of our loved ones sooner or later. Although funerals are considered important I dont think all people take them as seriously. I think they see the money spent on the funeral as more a symbol of how much they cared for the person. If it mattered that much then I think “throwing our loved ones in an expensive dark hole” would be hardly respectful towards the person.

As depressing as this may sound I think that this is a good method for getting rid of the deceased. Although it is slightly disrespectful and less ornate than a ‘normal’ burial it will be effective for the environment in a good way. Our ancestors did it we only found a more expensive way to put away our loved ones.

I think that the Biodegradable casket is an amazing idea that will lower the damage done the environment on a regular basis for funeral in all countries. I admire the woman for wanting to become apart of nature after she dies instead of take from it. It is a safe and inexpensive alternative.

Personally, I dont think it should be a hard perception to change. As I read this article, it made me think that this is a wonderful way to (unfortunately put) be disposed of.

However, I know the common population might be harder to convince like the most always are.

Graveyards are always so desolate, adding to their scare factor, and hardly ever have visitors. So does it really matter if they are in a coffin once they are put into the ground? Also, the use of formaldehyde should only be necessary in open casket funerals.

Everyone wants to be remembered, so why not just use the headstone?
I like the idea of going green all the way to burials.