More people want environmentally friendly burial

[The Straight Story]

More people want environmentally friendly burial

A cedar seedling grows at the head of the Rev. Daniel Dorr's grave. The lacy green-fan foliage outweighs the spindly trunk. Someday, it will tower high, nurtured by what Dorr hoped would be his final act of environmental charity.

Dorr, a Wesleyan Methodist who died late last year, believed that taking care of the Earth was part of his Christian responsibility. So when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he and his wife, Eulene, planned for a burial that reflected their values.

The Shoreline couple chose a plot in a meadow of long grass, bracken fern and thimbleberry, where Dorr's remains are buried 4 feet deep so they will easily decompose and enrich the soil.

As baby boomers age, they're looking for new options for burial. Some elect for the exotic — shooting ashes into space, putting them into an engraved capsule and sinking them in the sea, or scattering them by plane.

But what's emerging as an option between exotic and traditional is the green, or environmentally friendly, burial. It involves nothing that's not biodegradable and avoids releasing toxins into the air or using the energy required in cremation.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012006702_greencemetery02m.html

[dgibby]

1. Artifical reef.

There's an artifical reef near Charleston,SC, which contains the ashes of people who signed up to be buried there. There's also a "natural" graveyard in the upstate which uses the methods described in your OP. Seems like a good idea to me.

I've told my family I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes spread in several of my favorite places, including my garden.