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<TITLE>Re: [Greenbuilding] Green Funerals</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>How many horror movies does that open up—driving through cemeteries....<BR>
Or PSAs about “drink and drive and we’ll bury you on the spot”<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On 2/2/12 5:05 PM, "<a href="bill.allen@verizon.net">bill.allen@verizon.net</a>" <<a href="bill.allen@verizon.net">bill.allen@verizon.net</a>> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Consolas, Courier New, Courier"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>LOVE the idea of using already disturbed land like highway medians, etc. with a tree planted on top. You are on to something there!!!!<BR>
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-----Original Message-----<BR>
From: RT <<a href="Archilogic@yahoo.ca">Archilogic@yahoo.ca</a>><BR>
Sender: <a href="greenbuilding-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org">greenbuilding-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org</a><BR>
Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:41:47 <BR>
To: Green Building<<a href="greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org">greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org</a>><BR>
Reply-to: <a href="archilogic@chaffyahoo.ca">archilogic@chaffyahoo.ca</a>,<BR>
Green Building <<a href="greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org">greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org</a>><BR>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Green Funerals<BR>
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On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:48:44 -0500, Clarke Olsen <<a href="colsen@fairpoint.net">colsen@fairpoint.net</a>> <BR>
wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> Sky burial: the corpse is left on a platform for the birds, out of reach <BR>
> from those predators who might acquire<BR>
> an appetite for Long Pig, and out of sight for the squeamish.<BR>
<BR>
Geeze, I knew that I shouldn't have opened my GB list mail in the middle <BR>
of a weekday afternoon.<BR>
<BR>
I wasn't going to comment on the postings to the "Green Funerals" thread <BR>
until some day when the List is quiet but Clarke sucker-baited me with <BR>
this one.<BR>
<BR>
While I like the idea of sky burials (moreso than the Two Steves ideas of <BR>
chopping up our loved ones into little pieces and using them for animal <BR>
feed), there's still the issue of what to do with the bones once they have <BR>
been picked clean by the scavengers.<BR>
<BR>
There is an old Chinese practise that is somewhat similar to sky burials <BR>
where the corpse is buried temporarily for three years and then exhumed <BR>
after decomposition of the soft tissue has been completed and the bones <BR>
are cleaned and transferred to an urn for permanent storage.<BR>
<BR>
But back to the idea of sky burials or Steve S's advocated Masai practise <BR>
of leaving the corpse just outside of the village for animals to eat...<BR>
<BR>
I remember a couple of winters ago when taking the mutts out for their <BR>
romps in the surrounding coutryside, whenever we got near to a particular <BR>
woods they'd disappear into the same area every day and not come out again <BR>
until repeated call-back commands were issued.<BR>
<BR>
One day instead of calling them back, I went into the woods and tracked <BR>
them down.<BR>
<BR>
It turns out that they had a deer carcase (presumably injured by a car and <BR>
had gone into the woods to die) that they had been snacking on, nicely <BR>
refrigerated by the Kanata winter so that the meat was as fresh and <BR>
colourful as the day the deer died.<BR>
<BR>
It took them a good two weeks to finish it off IIRC.<BR>
<BR>
I can imagine a pet owner out for a walk with their kids and pets in the <BR>
country on a Sunday afternoon and going looking for a pet who was ingoring <BR>
their call-back commands and then coming upon a grisly scene of Muffy <BR>
snacking on the corpse of a recently passed-way neighbour or friend or <BR>
relative. Ggggnnna-aa.<BR>
<BR>
Nope. I think burial is a better option.<BR>
<BR>
Another person suggested that burial was "unsustainable" because it takes <BR>
up so much space.<BR>
<BR>
OTOH, an argument could be made that cemeteries create invaluable <BR>
greenspace in urban areas, the vegetation helping to clean and filter the <BR>
polluted city air.<BR>
<BR>
Combining this notion with Mike O's idea of land trusts...<BR>
<BR>
What if everywhere a body is buried, a tree is planted directly over the <BR>
corpse ? In urban areas, there's no reason why boulevards could not be <BR>
provided on every street for this purpose. As with cemeteries, that area <BR>
would be considered "sacred ground" and by Law, could not be disturbed, in <BR>
perpetuity.<BR>
<BR>
Of course, like Masai animal feeding-burials and First Nations Peoples' <BR>
sky burials, Sacred Boulevards would never happen in North America.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
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