Resources and Information Supporting Green Burial in North America
Latest installment in green lifestyle stories urges making one’s final decision earth-friendly.
By Jeff Poor, Business & Media Institute
The media have been all over stories of eccentric families’ toilet paperless lifestyles and their green weddings, but now CNN has pushed the peripheries of ecological awareness to the end of life by making the case for a green funeral.
A new book discusses natural burial options
By Mary Landers, Savannah Morning News
Savannah’s Colonial Park Cemetery is the perfect place to talk about green burials. After all, none of those laid to rest there was embalmed with toxic chemicals or encased in concrete or entombed in metal coffins.
They were left to return to the earth quickly, much as their ancestors had been, much as more Americans are wanting to be, says Mark Harris, author of “Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial.”
By Paul Comstock, California Literary Review
So not only do we have to worry about the effects of our daily activities on the environment, but according to your book we should also be thinking about the damage we inflict after our death. Walk us through the traditional funeral and burial process, and the ecological harm it causes.
By Michael d’Estries, Groovy Green
It goes without saying that death is probably not the best topic to start the New Year with. However, it’s never too late early to start thinking about how you might leave this world. As some of you know, I’ve recently delved deeper into the ‘alternative burial’ industry and months ago produced a short video and piece on a Green Cemetery that opened here in Ithaca. It was at the dedication of this cemetery that I met a gentleman named Mark Harris; a former environmental columnist with the LA Times. He was doing research for an upcoming book that took a look at the myriad of ways you and I can leave this planet. I mentioned to him that I looked forward to reviewing the book and he said it would be a pleasure to send one my way. This Christmas, such a gift arrived at my door.