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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:13 pm 
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Please Compost Your Corpses Properly


Nobody likes dying. And now environmentalists are even making us feel bad about it!

As a body goes underground, we see a loved one being laid to rest. There are others, however, who see loads of toxic formaldehyde going into our beloved earth. Cremation apparently is not very eco-friendly either. So our concerned Swedish friends at Promessa have developed a method that is safe for the environment, but leaves your powdered corpse with little dignity. From their website:

The method behind ecological burial is crystal-clear, easy to grasp and accept. It is based on a new combination of tried-and-tested techniques that prepare the corpse for a natural process of decomposition. The procedure is justifiable in terms of ethical, moral, environmental and technical considerations, and does not subject the body to violent or destructive handling.
An important part of the solution is to remove that which is least important; the water that makes up 70 percent of a normal-sized body. Technically speaking, this is done using an entirely closed individual process in which the corpse is freeze-dried in liquid nitrogen.

Within a week and a half after death, the corpse is frozen to minus 18 degrees Celsius and then submerged in liquid nitrogen. This makes the body very brittle, and vibration of a specific amplitude transforms it into an organic powder that is then introduced into a vacuum chamber where the water is evaporated away.


The now dry powder then passes through a metal separator where any surgical spare parts and mercury are removed. In a similar way, the powder can be disinfected if required. The remains are now ready to be laid in a coffin made of corn starch. There is no hurry with the burial itself. The organic powder, which is hygienic and odorless, does not decompose when kept dry. The burial takes place in a shallow grave in living soil that turns the coffin and its contents into compost in about 6-12 months time. In conjunction with the burial and in accordance with the wishes of the deceased or next of kin, a bush or tree can be planted above the coffin. The compost formed can then be taken up by the plant, which can instill greater insight in and respect for the ecological cycle, of which every living thing is a part.


It appears a lot of thought has gone into this process, and it does appear to have some environmental value... But being freeze-dried, vibrated until I turn into a powder, and then filtered for toxic metals does not sound like I'm not subject to any "violent and destructive handling." Furthermore, if water is 70% of your body, isn't it the most important part? Without it one would resemble beef jerky more than a person. Finally, I'm a little confused about the corn starch coffin. Is something wrong with the styrofoam coffin I was planning on using?


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:55 pm 
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I do not like the idea of Styrofoam, personally. I would rather be put in a bamboo box with holes drilled in the bottom for the worms to come in. No embalming, please. Just put my corpse in a box with holes and let the worms feast. My teeth may be removed first (keep the gold)!

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The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:21 am 
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I really enjoy Malcolm Beck's article on this subject:



Pushing up Daisies



Nature designed life. Nature designed life to increase and multiply. Nature then designed death to make room for new life.



Walk into the woods or meadows and visit with Nature. You will be in the presence of much life. There will be plants and animals, large and small. There will be life in abundance.



Now take a closer look. There is an equal amount of death. There will be dead grass and leaves, fallen limbs and trees, even dead animals and insects.



When a plant or animal dies it will eventually be eaten by the decomposing microbes. They will decay or disassemble it and put it back into the soil.



This life-death-decay-life cycle has built the thin layer of fertile soil that covers our land. It nourishes and grows our plants, which are the bridge of life between the soil and man



The laws of Nature demands that all expired life be recycled back to the soil to serve as food and energy to support future life.



Nature did not exempt the human body from this cycle. Should not it too be recycled?



Mutilating the human body by embalming is a grave injustice to the natural laws. Embalming consists of draining the liquids, plugging the orifices, wiring the jaw shut then pumping the body full of toxic chemicals that could someday pollute the Earth.



To further the injustice, the body it is then sealed in a plastic, fiberglass, metal or concrete box or tomb and buried beyond the reach of the decomposing microbes.



The graveyard where the body is placed is taking up land that could be used for food production, playgrounds or other useful needs. Many times the graveyards are not well kept and become an eyesore.



The casket and tomb the body is placed in is made from raw materials and energy, which are both becoming short in supply. The manufacturing process, along with digging the grave, uses more energy, which still creates more pollution.



There has to be a better way to lay a body to rest. A way which is more respectful and in tune with the natural laws.



In Nature, all plants and animal bodies are disassembled, consumed, and returned to the Earth by the decomposing microbes. These microbes can detoxify poisons and destroy harmful pathogens as they maintain and build soil fertility.



Wouldn't this also be a more respectful way to handle our deceased? The large compost companies around the country have discovered that large animals completely disappear within two weeks or less when placed in an active compost pile. Even, a full-grown horse or a 2,000 lb. bull is completely consumed. All that is left are horseshoes or a plastic ear tag if the bull had one. No teeth, no bones, hide or hair are left behind. Just the memory, elements and energy contained in the compost.



If human bodies were composted, that person could literally push up daisies.

The remaining compost could enrich the soil in flowerbeds, gardens or farms.



By composting the body, the laws of Nature are not violated and the cycles of life could continue.

How to lay my body to rest

I would want my body dressed in a white linen or cotton gown. Then, if necessary, held in cold storage until I could be gently placed on a warm bed of compost that no longer has a foul odor but still microbially active. Then my living relatives and friends could use shovels and buckets to cover me with a thick blanket of more warm active compost. During this laying and covering process the religious rituals would be preformed.



This composting process could be done in a container decorated with silver and gold. For proper composting aeration, the bottom, sides and top are made of fine mesh stainless wire cloth. This container could be placed on a trailer or have wheels of it's own. It could be pulled behind white prancing horses or a shiny black automobile.



At the location my body is to be returned to nature such as, my farm, gardens or meadow, the container will be parked until my body is completely consumed. Then the container would be opened so my elements and energy can be distributed over the land to start the timeless cycling journey through higher and higher forms of life. Then finally, once again, the highest form of life.



Eternally
Malcolm Beck


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 Post subject: Ughhhhhhhhh
PostPosted: Tue May 06, 2008 3:09 am 
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I was more than a little amused with the thought that we should begin to adopt "organic" burial techniques to save the environment. I know it sounds like a big thing but let's put it in perspective. Here are some basic numbers.

1. Planning guidelines for a typical federal cemetery are 300 plots per acre, much fewer than a private cemetery.

2. About 300 million folks live in the U.S., hence a million needed acres for new funeral sites. Sounds like a lot.

3. Given life expectancy info it would seem that in the next 75 years approximately 300 million U.S. residents will die. Therefore we need to plan for 1 million new acres of cemetery land.

4. Now I don't want to knock anyone from Hudspeth County Texas but hey they have 2.9 million acres. So... It looks like far west Texas could create a boom industry for a new National Cemetery and Burial complex. And since there really is not very much out there then... And given their size it would also appear that everyone who dies in the U.S. for the next 200 plus years could all be buried there.

HA


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:47 am 
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Good luck trying to do that here in Texas!


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:40 pm 
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Try this web site www.ecopod.co.uk ,it's neat. :shock:


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 8:31 pm 
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Location: wilmington,nc
http://www.eternalreefs.com/reefs/reefs.html

they cremate you and put your ashes in a manmade reef they plant in the ocean.


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