How to Make Your Dirt Nap Earth-Friendly
People are dying to have green funerals
By OWEN THOMAS
Updated 2:00 PM PST, Wed, Nov 4, 2009
It's not enough to make sure your plastic bags are biodegradable. Now, you'd better make sure your body is, too.
Dying to hear why green is the new black? A crowd of people are expected to gather Saturday at Berkeley's Grace North Church for the Green Funeral Fair.
Think about it: Doesn't cremation cause carbon emissions? And is that pine box made from sensitively harvested wood?
The truth is we start pummeling the planet from birth -- 3.1 million pounds of CO2 over the average lifetime, Mother Jones estimates -- and our impact doesn't stop after death.
"Now we're disconnected from the land, we're busy living in cities and we think we are going to live forever in a culture that worships youth and doesn't easily see the beauty of older people," fair organizer Liz O'Connell-Gates told the Berkeley Voice.
It's not clear how the beauty of older people will shine through six feet under. But this much is true: When we're buried in the ground, we'll be more connected to the planet.
First Published: Nov 4, 2009 1:39 PM PST
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