Dave the Atheist Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Headline : "Human remains can legally become > composted soil in California"
I did not know this, so Thank You (from both of us)!
I come from a family where cremation is the considered the best option, but on a practical level and over time, you can collect a number of containers with cremains in them--and then the person in charge has to figure out what to do with them.
No one in my family had any great interest in their cremains being interred in a cemetery, so sometimes it became something of a problem to decide on a "final disposition" for the cremains of some specific family members.
Although I have never thought about it before, composting would likely be preferable, assuming that the cost was in line with what was acceptable to the family, and that the time required to compost the remains would be acceptable as well. (I have NO idea how long it would take to compost a given adult body.)
In any case, composting will likely become a popular option for some segment of the surviving relative(s) population, at least in California.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2022 11:41PM by Tevai.
We have urns for members of the family who didn't designate a final place of rest, and we have the European relatives whose urns are in rented niches because their custom is to only rent for the short term.
It's unpleasant, but I'm pretty sure that we will be allowing the European relatives remains to be moved to the common urn, after we verify whether that's what happened to the ancestors whose niches we aren't paying for right now.
As for the American relatives, a local cemetery is building two more blocks of niches, so we'll probably be buying space there. At least that's more permanent.
I've been to many funerals over the years and most are variations of the same Christian format, not like the plan of salvation version.
Anyway, this string of messages made me recall a couple at an Episcopal church.
The services were pretty standard, the person was cremated.
At the end of the services, the clergy and family and others went to their columbarium.
After a few prayers and comments, the cremated remains were poured into vault that contained the remains of other people.
Basically, are the remains are in one pile, no separate niche for each, just one big vault.
The columbarium is a masonry vault, about 6'x6'x4' tall with a 1'x 1' metal lid at the opening on top, sitting in a garden area near the church. It open for visitors all the time without restrictions.
Seems like a sensible solution to what to do with the remains without the expense of cemeteries.
Dave the Atheist Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Headline : "Human remains can legally become > composted soil in California"
There's a very bad joke there having something to do with Ted Bundy. . .
I think this is a much better practice than embalming fluid leaking into groundwater and burying countless thousands in resources in coffins and vaults.
I like the idea of putting bodies up in trees or out in the wild to feed animals, but the optics of dead gramps being torn apart by a vulture is probably not a great idea. There are so many interesting burial practices that have been practiced throughout history by various cultures.
I recall Papua New Guinea cultures in the past used to eat the brains of their dead out of respect until they figured out what causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
We probably shouldn't go the Soylent Green route because all the people who die are no doubt full of pharmaceuticals (j/k!).
Having part of dead Grandma turned into a diamond seems more respectful, but who knows.
Recycling and avoiding excessive energy and resource use seems reasonable in our times. California seems to be on the right track to allow reuse of organic material.
dagny Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I recall Papua New Guinea cultures in the past > used to eat the brains of their dead out of > respect until they figured out what causes > Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
I'm sure beliefs and practices (and recipes!) vary among various cannibal societies, but my understanding is that in certain group(s?) they eat (should I say 'consume?') the bodies of those whom they admire and respect. The belief was that by doing so, they would imbibe of the deceaseds' virtues. So they'd want to consume (eat? devour?) the strong, the wise, the virile, and so on.
Makes you wonder how LDS missionaries would fare, there. > > We probably shouldn't go the Soylent Green route > because all the people who die are no doubt full > of pharmaceuticals (j/k!).
Worth noting is that the 1973 film "Soylent Green" was set in their future year of 2022. The big fear back then was of a new, impending ice age.
fossilman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My wife's decided that I want my cremated remains > to be strewn somewhere in Hawaii.
Methinks this is a really excellent topic for marital discussion.
Personally, I think "somewhere in Hawaii" would be a GREAT place to scatter cremated remains!
I think the person who was cremated gets to vote on this, but their "vote" doesn't necessarily mean they get the final decision.
Two of the decisions I had to make were counter to what the deceased persons had requested. I decided that they had given me the power to ultimately do what I considered best, given all of the other realities involved. It is years later now, and I have never felt guilty about going against their wishes on the final disposition of their ashes.
Recompose in Washington/Oregon has been doing this for a few years. Earth is returned to the forest. Colorado has a site south of Colorado Springs I think started last year or this year.