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| Dr. Flinn presenting "Forever Green: Sustainable Burials" |
There are some things in this world that sit deep in the back of our heads, always ringing, but at a soft, numb volume. Every once and a while we notice these pulsing murmurings, and the sound gets louder, presenting a monstrous, unnerving face to our attention. Death is the mother of all of those such things, and it is something that we all learned as Americans to viciously ignore.
It is late afternoon on the campus of Frostburg University, and the sun is bearing down; it is that time of day when its sunbeams are longest and its yellow color begins to thicken. Today is FSU’s “Focus Frostburg”, an event where a variety of presenters from different fields gather to promote sustainability and climate awareness. Located in the university’s Lane Center, sits a lone, brown table promoting the event, marooned in the middle of the bottom floor of the center. Large green squares line the table’s background with a symmetrical three-pieced banner of a tree in an abstract art-form.
Humming around a corner in a small conference room at the bottom of Frostburg State University’s Lane Center is an hour-long presentation about this forbidden subject. This presentation is a little odder, a little more taboo compared to other presenters’ subjects, but just as relevant to the problem of environmental waste and sustainability.
The presenter is Dr. Jennifer Flinn, a developmental psychologist and professor at Frostburg State University. She is dressed in a bright turquoise dress-shirt and bleached, dark blue jeans. Draped over her shoulders is a light-tan shawl. She has long, striking hair with blond highlights and sports modern, square glasses that coincidentally fits the stereotype of her position as a professor.
The title of her presentation is “Forever Green: Sustainable Burials”. The slides begin, and the attendees see a bright-white PowerPoint appear on a projector screen at the front of the room. Dr. Flinn introduces the subject of “Green Burials” by saying that she, “… sort of stumbled onto this topic.” At first glance, this would seem a little morbid of a thing to simply “stumble” onto, but as Dr. Flynn spoke about her story, it began to make perfect sense stemming from deeper circumstances.
Dr. Flinn explained how as a development psychologist, “Anytime we talk about development, we inevitably talk about death as the end.” She explained how when her mother passed away, she began to realize how many flaws American burials sadly had. So, in her research between her profession and the personal, she came across a website called the greenburialcouncil.org.
In browsing through this website, she discovered some quite interesting and startling facts. Apparently, in typical American fashion, the way Americans do their burials is not very eco-friendly. According to this website, Americans annually use “827,060 gallons of embalming fluids, 104,272 tons of steel for caskets and vaults, 5.4 million pounds of copper for lining caskets, 30 million board feet of woods for caskets, and 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete for burial vaults.”
Now it might seem that burials are a special case for America’s traditions; after all we are talking about one of, if not the most somber and ultimate of moments in this world. This opinion would certainly hold true, if it were not such a painful and expensive experience for the family. There does seem to be a better way to honor our loved ones that simultaneously honors the earth better as well.
This option is called a “Natural Burial” and it is not a new one at that. A natural burial is a burial in which a concrete vault is not used, money and resources are not wasted on overly elaborate caskets, and even the headstone is made from a natural, local field-rock. This tradition of using natural caskets (such as basket caskets and other plant-derived materials) is what Americans used to do, until the 20th century. While one may question these methods on modern grounds, it might be important to note why the funeral industry insists on steel vaults, fancy caskets, and environmentally damaging methods. That sturdy, lasting vault deep underground that would protect your loved one’s deceased body is not there because the funeral industry is interested in preserving them. It is there because according to Dr. Flinn, it makes, “… mowing the grass above the lawn easier.”
What about cremation though? This is something that most people can agree on to be a much more environmentally sensible alternative. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Dr. Flinn commented that “Cremation isn’t much better (than normal American burials). You could drive to the moon and back 84 times for the amount of fossil fuel used for 1 year in the U.S.”
Beyond the problem of waste, people also mistakenly think that spreading the ashes of someone is perfectly safe. Those cremated ashes are in fact very alkaline and can inhibit plant growth.
In a story that seemed like something out of the Coen brother’s The Big Lebowski, Dr. Flinn described how she once visited a beach, and while enjoying the summer sun and gentle waves, a mourning family came rather close to her to dump the ashes of their deceased loved-one. The ashes got a little too close to her and she thought, “I’m not swimming there.” Not cool, dude.
Beyond the environmental problems associated with traditional American burials, there are the bordering-on-absurd expenses to consider and the resources wasted in those expenses. A grieving family wants to do as much as they can to honor the passing of a former member, but for many funeral homes, this is an opportunity to squeeze the newly-vulnerable for money. This doesn’t seem like a tradition that needs to continue. Just because a family is grieving, it doesn’t make them saps.
The average traditional American burial is anywhere between 6000 dollars to 20000 dollars. Natural burials, however, generally only cost around 2000 dollars or less. Not only that but many times the money goes towards conserving the land in where the natural burial occurred.
Dr. Flinn went on to show the attendees a video of an actual natural burial in the local area of her hometown of Pittsburg. One woman in the video remarked how she felt positively and meaningfully about helping the restoration of the forest where the burials would take place. The woman then said, “And someday, I’ll be part of all this.”
These aren’t the only natural burials that can occur though. Dr. Flinn showed a link to a burial option called the “Bios Urn” which is a soil-cremation option where a plant eventually grows in the spot where a loved one’s cremated remains are planted. There are even marine options, such as an “Eternal Reef”, which is an actual coral reef made from cremated remains. If placed deep and far enough, family members can even scuba-dive out to the burial location.
It might be hard to hear, but facing our deaths with a brave awareness and meaningful perspective might be a better option for ourselves, our families and the Earth. To those who are unfortunate enough to bear witness the pastor’s final words and to those even more unfortunate to be the receiver of such a eulogy…there is a better way to look at this grim, ultimate event. It’s not about how much money you spend on the funeral, how expensive the casket is (whether that be diamond encrusted casket or a humble Folger’s can), or even how many people show up.
It is late afternoon on the campus of Frostburg University, and the sun is bearing down; it is that time of day when its sunbeams are longest and its yellow color begins to thicken. Today is FSU’s “Focus Frostburg”, an event where a variety of presenters from different fields gather to promote sustainability and climate awareness. Located in the university’s Lane Center, sits a lone, brown table promoting the event, marooned in the middle of the bottom floor of the center. Large green squares line the table’s background with a symmetrical three-pieced banner of a tree in an abstract art-form.
Humming around a corner in a small conference room at the bottom of Frostburg State University’s Lane Center is an hour-long presentation about this forbidden subject. This presentation is a little odder, a little more taboo compared to other presenters’ subjects, but just as relevant to the problem of environmental waste and sustainability.
The presenter is Dr. Jennifer Flinn, a developmental psychologist and professor at Frostburg State University. She is dressed in a bright turquoise dress-shirt and bleached, dark blue jeans. Draped over her shoulders is a light-tan shawl. She has long, striking hair with blond highlights and sports modern, square glasses that coincidentally fits the stereotype of her position as a professor.
The title of her presentation is “Forever Green: Sustainable Burials”. The slides begin, and the attendees see a bright-white PowerPoint appear on a projector screen at the front of the room. Dr. Flinn introduces the subject of “Green Burials” by saying that she, “… sort of stumbled onto this topic.” At first glance, this would seem a little morbid of a thing to simply “stumble” onto, but as Dr. Flynn spoke about her story, it began to make perfect sense stemming from deeper circumstances.
Dr. Flinn explained how as a development psychologist, “Anytime we talk about development, we inevitably talk about death as the end.” She explained how when her mother passed away, she began to realize how many flaws American burials sadly had. So, in her research between her profession and the personal, she came across a website called the greenburialcouncil.org.
In browsing through this website, she discovered some quite interesting and startling facts. Apparently, in typical American fashion, the way Americans do their burials is not very eco-friendly. According to this website, Americans annually use “827,060 gallons of embalming fluids, 104,272 tons of steel for caskets and vaults, 5.4 million pounds of copper for lining caskets, 30 million board feet of woods for caskets, and 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete for burial vaults.”
Now it might seem that burials are a special case for America’s traditions; after all we are talking about one of, if not the most somber and ultimate of moments in this world. This opinion would certainly hold true, if it were not such a painful and expensive experience for the family. There does seem to be a better way to honor our loved ones that simultaneously honors the earth better as well.
This option is called a “Natural Burial” and it is not a new one at that. A natural burial is a burial in which a concrete vault is not used, money and resources are not wasted on overly elaborate caskets, and even the headstone is made from a natural, local field-rock. This tradition of using natural caskets (such as basket caskets and other plant-derived materials) is what Americans used to do, until the 20th century. While one may question these methods on modern grounds, it might be important to note why the funeral industry insists on steel vaults, fancy caskets, and environmentally damaging methods. That sturdy, lasting vault deep underground that would protect your loved one’s deceased body is not there because the funeral industry is interested in preserving them. It is there because according to Dr. Flinn, it makes, “… mowing the grass above the lawn easier.”
What about cremation though? This is something that most people can agree on to be a much more environmentally sensible alternative. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Dr. Flinn commented that “Cremation isn’t much better (than normal American burials). You could drive to the moon and back 84 times for the amount of fossil fuel used for 1 year in the U.S.”
Beyond the problem of waste, people also mistakenly think that spreading the ashes of someone is perfectly safe. Those cremated ashes are in fact very alkaline and can inhibit plant growth.
In a story that seemed like something out of the Coen brother’s The Big Lebowski, Dr. Flinn described how she once visited a beach, and while enjoying the summer sun and gentle waves, a mourning family came rather close to her to dump the ashes of their deceased loved-one. The ashes got a little too close to her and she thought, “I’m not swimming there.” Not cool, dude.
Beyond the environmental problems associated with traditional American burials, there are the bordering-on-absurd expenses to consider and the resources wasted in those expenses. A grieving family wants to do as much as they can to honor the passing of a former member, but for many funeral homes, this is an opportunity to squeeze the newly-vulnerable for money. This doesn’t seem like a tradition that needs to continue. Just because a family is grieving, it doesn’t make them saps.
The average traditional American burial is anywhere between 6000 dollars to 20000 dollars. Natural burials, however, generally only cost around 2000 dollars or less. Not only that but many times the money goes towards conserving the land in where the natural burial occurred.
Dr. Flinn went on to show the attendees a video of an actual natural burial in the local area of her hometown of Pittsburg. One woman in the video remarked how she felt positively and meaningfully about helping the restoration of the forest where the burials would take place. The woman then said, “And someday, I’ll be part of all this.”
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| Dr. Flinn and a slide about "Eternal Reefs" |
These aren’t the only natural burials that can occur though. Dr. Flinn showed a link to a burial option called the “Bios Urn” which is a soil-cremation option where a plant eventually grows in the spot where a loved one’s cremated remains are planted. There are even marine options, such as an “Eternal Reef”, which is an actual coral reef made from cremated remains. If placed deep and far enough, family members can even scuba-dive out to the burial location.
It might be hard to hear, but facing our deaths with a brave awareness and meaningful perspective might be a better option for ourselves, our families and the Earth. To those who are unfortunate enough to bear witness the pastor’s final words and to those even more unfortunate to be the receiver of such a eulogy…there is a better way to look at this grim, ultimate event. It’s not about how much money you spend on the funeral, how expensive the casket is (whether that be diamond encrusted casket or a humble Folger’s can), or even how many people show up.
Funerals are about our loved one’s memory and the meaning of their lives to us AND the world. Dr. Flinn conclude by saying how for most of human history, we have buried our dead in natural burials, from “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.”
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