It seems, according to a BBC world Service prog that this is a valid subject for study, some places are running out of room to plant bodies intact.
I always wanted to be composted into a growth medium. But composting whole bodies is gross and illegal in most places. There were other ideas, such as light generators, possibly thermocouple piles harvesting the heat of decay to power LEDs. Won't last that long and still needs a body's worth of real estate.
The best I came up with was a combination of the ideas. I want to be freeze dried, ground, sterilsed in a sealed container at 100oC and then composted and used to grow tomatoes.
Cremation, probably my final outcome, destroys too many of the potential nutrients to be much use as a decent gowth promoter.
Cremation seems the most reasonable solution to the problem. Personally, I'd like to be dropped off in the wilderness somewhere but doubt that's going to happen unless I go to Yellowstone I'll prepared.
I've given this plenty of thought and have come to the conclusion that I would like to be turned into a diamond and thrown into the deep ocean where nobody will ever find me. :tellmemore:
I realise the logistics of this can be a bit tricky though. :P
One question though Dave - why tomatoes? Why not corn, okra, kudzu, or a towering oak? You could fertilize a towering coastal redwood or a giant sequoia. You could have your remains spread on Methuselah in Sweden, in the hope that he grows for another 10,000 years. Tomatoes are awfully quick to live, die, and be devoured atop a summer salad doused in oil and vinegar. Do you have a café in mind for your final spread?
What about a burial pod (http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html)? Apparently it's still in the planning stages and the developers haven't figured out a cost for it yet, but they expect it to be less than a conventional burial.
One of my favorite subjects here!
Here's a fun list of things you can do with ashes:
https://www.google.com/amp/www.al.com/articles/15087026/15_unique_things_to_do_your_cr.amp
And I do love the idea of turning my or a loved one's ashes into a diamond or a gem. That can cost between $3,000 and $25,000, depending on how big and what color, and it takes about 6 months.
I don't like the idea of being turned into a coral reef.... I need to breathe, whether I'm dead or alive!
I've always said we should have a big feast and eat the departed. Much the greenest and least wasteful method of recycling people, and celebrating them at the same time.
My book of recipes will be appearing shortly. ;)
Quote from: jumbojak on September 10, 2017, 02:51:20 AM
One question though Dave - why tomatoes? Why not corn, okra, kudzu, or a towering oak? You could fertilize a towering coastal redwood or a giant sequoia. You could have your remains spread on Methuselah in Sweden, in the hope that he grows for another 10,000 years. Tomatoes are awfully quick to live, die, and be devoured atop a summer salad doused in oil and vinegar. Do you have a café in mind for your final spread?
Not sure really, that was just a spur of the moment choice. Though tomatoes are probably my favourite food plant, so versatile and tasty. Perhaps I want other people to enjoy "eating" the product of my death.
Big trees will mostly get on OK without a few kilos of dried and composted Dave and my atoms will be more or less "immortal" whatever hapoens to them. Just so long as they serve a purpose beyond feeding a few flies and other bugs (important as they are to the ecology).
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 10, 2017, 03:41:45 AM
What about a burial pod (http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html)? Apparently it's still in the planning stages and the developers haven't figured out a cost for it yet, but they expect it to be less than a conventional burial.
Much like this, yes?
https://urnabios.com/ (https://urnabios.com/)
Quote from: Guardian85 on September 10, 2017, 01:24:27 PM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 10, 2017, 03:41:45 AM
What about a burial pod (http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html)? Apparently it's still in the planning stages and the developers haven't figured out a cost for it yet, but they expect it to be less than a conventional burial.
Much like this, yes?
https://urnabios.com/ (https://urnabios.com/)
It looks like the same general idea, but that one appears to be indoor whereas the burial pods are outdoor.
Quote from: OldGit on September 10, 2017, 09:31:51 AM
I've always said we should have a big feast and eat the departed. Much the greenest and least wasteful method of recycling people, and celebrating them at the same time.
My book of recipes will be appearing shortly. ;)
Did you change your avatar to the Crypt Keeper just for that post? It's very fitting either way.
No, I changed it about a week ago. But you're right - it does suit that post. :)
Willie Nelson sings "Roll me up and smoke me when I die". That's an idea.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on September 10, 2017, 09:09:54 PM
Willie Nelson sings "Roll me up and smoke me when I die". That's an idea.
He must have done an awful lot of smoking himself for that to do much good!
Hey, that eould make him a "stiff spliff" :grin:
Or is it a "spliff stiff"?
Quote from: OldGit on September 10, 2017, 09:31:51 AM
I've always said we should have a big feast and eat the departed. Much the greenest and least wasteful method of recycling people, and celebrating them at the same time.
My book of recipes will be appearing shortly. ;)
:suspicious:
Have you secretly joined a native South American tribe?
I've been down with cremation for myself when I die, at least after all the usable organs are taken out. I'd be fine with one of them tree burial things too. I just don't want my body wasting space for no good reason.
Quote from: Davin on September 11, 2017, 03:46:02 PM
I just don't want my body wasting space for no good reason.
And what expensive space a final resting place is! Who knew a small hole on cemetery grounds could cost so much? :notsure:
I want to be stuffed, and kept in the living room.
^^^I had a friend who did this with her malamutes when they died. A couple stuffed, and a couple turned into rug things. I never could figure out how I actually felt about that... i was so confused! :???:
I guess I'd be even more confused to see no one stuffed......
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on September 11, 2017, 10:51:17 PM
Quote from: Davin on September 11, 2017, 03:46:02 PM
I just don't want my body wasting space for no good reason.
And what expensive space a final resting place is! Who knew a small hole on cemetery grounds could cost so much? :notsure:
Yeah, waste of money and space.
Also, talk about expensive, take a look at some coffin prices... I think people get taken advantage of when they're in a vulnerable state after their loved one dies.
The one I went to yesterday, the procession alone cost $2,000, and it was only a 1.5 miles to the cemetery.
And then there's this procedure. It's been around for 16 years, but may be catching on soon....
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4828249&page=1
QuoteThe process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.
......
Quote"It's not often that a truly game-changing technology comes along in the funeral service," the newsletter Funeral Service Insider said in September. But "we might have gotten a hold of one."
Lots more info in this short article, but it seems like the main challenge is psychological hangups with this procedure.... however my mind goes to the environmental issues stemming from draining people down the pipes. Maybe it's better for the environment than our current choices. It's frustrating that the article doesn't really mention that issue.
Oh yeah, this Alkaline Hydrolysis procedure looks like the shiznit.
Of course, anything that happens to a deceased body will tax the environment in it's own way, but this looks like a much lower tax than the others.
https://www.thoughtco.com/alkaline-hydrolysis-green-alternative-to-burial-1203926
QuoteResomation also claims that alkaline hydrolysis uses less energy than cremation, emits far fewer greenhouse gases, releases no harmful mercury into the atmosphere, and protects trees and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by eliminating the need to burn or bury wooden caskets.
What's not to love?
I would go for it so long as the sludge was used as a fertiliser for some sort of ecological planting - not flowers.!
I don't want to be buried as I think it is a waste of space and money (The costs associated with funerals is ridiculous)
Cremation was definitely an option, of course that's without being displayed in a funeral home. I really like the idea of being fertilizer for a tree in one of those tree pods, but that's really not a viable option these days, so currently I've got it set up to donate my body to science.
They can poke and prod the bod for as long as they need to, and then when they are done they cremate your remains at zero cost to the family, and mail the ashes to whomever you've decreed.
I think a funeral pyre would be cool though, wish those were legal.
If I can survive into old age my dream death is to wonder into the forest while I can still manage and simply wither away, let nature take me back into her arms as she wishes. I certainly don't want to die in some old folks home, or in a hospital, I want to be under the stars, feeling the wind and a warm fire at my front.
I've told this desire to some of my family members, and some are supportive, others think I'm being selfish and out of touch. Maybe, but it's my life and death, so my decision.
Sort of like "Old Koskoosh" from Jack London's, "The Law of Life". Sitting alone besides his fire in the cold of winter as his tribe leaves him behind in pursuit of better game.
These, his last words to his son are how I want to feel at that time.
"It is well. I am as a last year's leaf, clinging lightly to the stem. The first breath that blows, and I fall. My voice is become like an old woman's. My eyes no longer show me the way of my feet, and my feet are heavy, and I am tired. It is well."
You can read the his story here, it is short.
(http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~ehrlich/343/london_law_of_life.htm)
I like the donating to science thing. At least to a medical school.
Burn them alive.
I think the idea of donating my body to science is fun. Have you guys seen the Youtube videos of human dissection on different parts and systems on donated bodies? ... For scientific and educational purposes of course! Amazing and fascinating!
I always carry a card asking that my body be donated to an ethnic restaurant.
^^^ :puke: :bleh:
What, dragons don't like jerky?
This dragon is an herbivore, despite her misleading, ferocious-looking fangs. They are only for biting off heads, when needed.
Quote from: Dragonia on September 15, 2017, 01:24:11 AM
This dragon is an herbivore, despite her misleading, ferocious-looking fangs. They are only for biting off heads, when needed.
Makes sense, pandas have large canines and they are herbivores. ;D
Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.
^^^awwwwww......
A while back I addressed my eventual mortality and blew a bunch of pesos on the Neptune Society services. Both wife and I will be incinerated....not necessarily at the same time mind you. We do not have a death pact.
You can be snookered into buying a future cremation plan for the sum of five to seven hundred dollars. It comes to pass that it is not a cremation plan at all but an insurance policy that provides the funds for the cremation process and nothing else.
It seems that dying is an expensive process because there are all sorts of fees and services that must be paid in addition to the actual carcass cooking process. Those $595 adds that you see do not cover the other expenses. Neptune ...at least promises to pick up all the costs, Naturally the deal is much more pricey that the local hustlers who broker the cheap cremation insurance benefits.
Neptune promises to deliver my dead body, cost free, from wherever it might be, to a suitable crematory in my area of residence. I had to buy into that because I might be caught (in my dreams) in bed with a super hot young chick in Uzbekistan. Unfortunately her husband discovers the tryst and shoots me with his Kalishnikov. Several shots actually. He is a jealous bastard who is definitely not into sharing.
Oops I digress. The thread is about the disposition of the remains, not how it became remains. For my part.... I have several urns of my beloved dogs. I would be honored to be buried or cast to the winds with them as my ashen companions.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson is on record as wishing to be buried without embalming or other modifications. No casket or other coverings either. He says that his remains could furnish nourishment to the emerging flora that might be of some small benefit to the remaining world. I like his style in that regard.