Continuing Discussion of Death and Choices

Hey folks,

Welcome back to the continuing discussion of death and choices. I will be honest with you. When I first read the article I shared with you back on June 17, 2007, I did so in a joking and dismissive manner. I understood the meaning behind the article was to further the lie called Global Warming. It really was. Well, here you go. Green in Death.

What I did not really take into consideration, was that many folks out there truly care about this topic. I have always seen death simply, as a part of life. We are born, then we die. Life is the journey that takes place in between.

Well, through my style of writing, and my attitude towards the Chicken Little crowd out there, I seemed to have had offended Dr. Billy Campbell. He took time out to come here to the OPN to talk about his side of it, Dr Billy Campbell Seems To Be Offended.

Then, we made nice with each other after my clarifying of my position on this. {Smile} But then I keep getting more and more people asking me about what am I going to do when I die. I have said several times I was leaning towards Cremation.

Since this seems to be an issue of interest to a vast number of you out there, I felt the need to share the latest in this discussion. Someone that posted under Anonymous sent me this.

I kind of agree with you all... each person should chose the best possible memorial for him/her, while the green burial does protect and leave natural spaces that continue to revitalize the environment.

There are other alternatives however that you might find more suitable Pete and d.s. I found them here in this documentary, pretty interesting. I believe Billy is in the doc as well, which really showcases his overall purpose in the green burial industry. Really is interesting: Lasting Imagines.

Thank you whoever you are for sending us the information. I really think I will probably purchase the entire thing. It’s only $12.99 plus shipping. But I encourage all of you that may be interesting in what to do, check this out. If you click on the boxes on the right, you get clips from the Documentary. I do believe that our friend Dr. Billy is in it as well. I encourage you to watch the “trailer.” I truly never knew there were so many different options out there. Some are pretty interesting. The following is what appears on this site.

Synopsis

You know the saying ”death and taxes....,” but tax time comes only once a year and death comes approximately ninety six times per minute.¹ What will be done with you when your minute arrives? Enter Lasting Images, a feature documentary taking a peek at the lighter side of contemporary choices in human remains disposition.

Traditional, six feet under burials are still the first choice among Americans today, so four months were spent following students at a Mortuary Science School filming the beginning to end process of Traditional Burial, and gathering information regarding non-traditional methods of human disposal and memorials.

Then it was on to Cremation, the second most popular choice today. The filmmakers drove all across the US to not only document the numerous ways people use the ashes of their loved one to honor the lighter side of their lives, but also to film an actual cremation.

Next the growing alternative Green movement was explored.
Cast & Crew
director: Hammond Hendrix
producer: Joan Hendrix

No I do not know these people. No I’m not making money advertising for these people. I really and truly found this to be interesting. Since it seems many OPNers and others out there are interested in this topic. This is truly interesting information to share.

This also brings me to one thing that I find to be of the utter most importance. PUT YOUR WISHES IN WRITING Make a Living Will, an actual Will, what to do with you and your stuff. Put it in writing. Have it made LEGAL. Do it NOW While you are well, and of sound mind.

This is something much more important for those of you with kids. You do not want your death to tear the family apart. You do NOT want others to decide what to do with those that you love the most. Make the arrangements now, put them in writing. Make sure many know of your intentions. Legalzoom.com may be an option for you to check out.

I hope you enjoyed this video and the concept of the other options you have out there as much as I did. Thank you again. See you all tomorrow.
Peter

Dr Billy Campbell Seems To Be Offended

Hey folks,

I was planning on commenting on this article from the AP -Lobbies stymie action on energy By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press, this morning, until I saw that Dr. Billy Campbell, the President of Memorial Ecosystems responded in the comment section of my article on Saturday Green in Death. I just feel the need to respond. Also, by putting his response here, then everyone can get both sides of this. So Dr. Campbell, welcome to the OPN.

You Dr. Make a lot of assumptions. Lets discuss shall we. First. The article I commented on was written in reference to the whole Global Warming bunk. I was responding to it in that vain. Global Warming is nothing more than a scam. It’s about money and power. There is NO scientific proof that it is real, or caused by man. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of scientific evidence to the opposite. Natural cycles of the earth ETC. So whenever I see this type of garbage in reference to doing the "right thing" because I am destroying the planet, I find it humourous.

At the same time, if you or anyone else want to have a Green Burial, be my guest. My point is, do not tell me I should.

DR. CAMPBELL- I am not sure why right-wing bloggers find traditional burial so scary, or worthy of sarcastic derision. I presume that it has as much as anything to do with what the Southern hill people around here call being "ignert". Two syllable "ignorance" in the local dialect also has a double meaning: "uninformed arrogance". Just for the record, embalming does not stop the body from decaying-it just slows things down.

PETER -First assumption. I am not a Right Wing anything. I’m a Independent. I definitely find that my believe system of faith, morals, and see right and wrong are more associated with the Republicans, but I tow NO party line. I have a major problem with the far Right as well as the LWL. Nice try though.

I guess your reference to the "Hill People" and ""ignert" was to counter mine to the "He reckons?" I never said anything about embalming preserving the body. I pointed out that they seem to be saying in the "religion" of Global Warming, it seems to be a sin and evil.

DR. CAMPBELL -Most of the 300-400 client families who are involved with our conservation burial ground are not left wing environmentalists; far more are religious conservatives who take Genesis 3:19 very seriously, including a number of Jewish and Green Orthodox families who traditionally neither embalm or go in for cremation (I am in no way accusing you of being an anti-Semite, but you must be unaware that most Jewish and Muslim burials are and always have been "green"). Our new project in Atlanta is with a Trappist monastery, whose monks also go in for more simple whole body burial (the monks are buried in their vestments, without caskets, by the way).

PETER -I am very aware of the Jewish tradition of burial. I did not know about the Monks, and I truly thank you for sharing that. I have no problem whatsoever of how someone chooses to dispose or their shell. As far as I’m concerned, the person is long gone. What they do with their body is of no consequence.

DR. CAMPBELL - Of those not motivated on religious grounds, a major issue is cost savings on the total funeral, hardly a nutty left wing idea. While these cost savings also translate into less toxics in the environment, the cost savings are more motivating for most people. It is a free market for people to choose, and for some, cost is very important..

PETER -Again, I have no problem with personal choice. I understand and have spoken out against those that chose to make huge profits off the grieve of families that have lost loved ones. Not saying YOU are doing that, but many do. My problem comes in when someone attempts to guilt me, or tell me I HAVE to do this or that because of a lie.

DR. CAMPBELL - The idea of your body nurturing plants is an old one. Some Quakers were buried in their gardens by the 1600’s in part to nourish their flowers. You might want to re-read Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, which spends a good bit of time on the general idea of the re-incorporation of the bodies of the dead into living things (like leaves of grass). The idea of taking some comfort in the idea that your dead body will be "pushing up daisies" is neither new nor crazy.

PETER -In reference to by doing this you are preventing Global Warming, or at least helping to minimize it IS crazy. I guess I can understand the concept that a decaying body could somehow be used as fertilizer makes somewhat sense.

DR. CAMPBELL -Finally, the idea of using burials to protect natural spaces for people to enjoy (always a bigger deal for me than toxics) is also at least a couple of hundred years old, and should be the darling of libertarians and others who oppose government funded land protection. The "rural cemetery movement" of the early 19th century used private funds (raised in large measure from selling plots) to create natural areas for the public to enjoy (in the days before big city parks, these spaces often charged admission). Fredrick Law Olmstead’s greatest influence in designing Central Park was the example of these cemeteries (including Green Wood in Brooklyn, Mt. Auburn in Boston, and Laurel Hill in Philadelphia). I tell people that the only real innovation of conservation burial is that it employs modern conservation science in its design and long term operating plans.

PETER -I can actually go with you on this one. I understand the space problem. This and I see no reason to take up anymore land when I’m no longer here. I see no reason for my family to have a stone and a plot of land to look at to remember me by. This is why I’m leaning to cremation. But as this article, again, written in the Global Warming genre, argues that every other way is wrong. Is bad. Is sin. This is why it’s funny. Global Warming is a religion to some. You either follow their way or you are a sinner and you will die. {By killing the planet} However, again, it’s not real. It’s all about money and power. This is why it was written. Not to educate, as you are attempting here, but to condemn those that do not see things their way.

DR. CAMPBELL -We do take cremated remains, by the way, so if your head explodes from all of the apparent BS that it is filled with, we will be glad to do your disposition.

PETER -{Laughing} OK, Dr. If I die in your area, you can handle the cremation. {Smile} I have no problem with that at all. But I’m not planning on departing anytime soon.

Sincerely, thank you again for coming on the OPN and attempting to educate people and tell your side of this issue. I’m sure that you have enlightened many people. Again, I have no problem with personal choice. My problem comes when some tell me that I have to follow THEIR personal choice, or that I am wrong, evil, or to blame for the end of the world if I do not.

If you folks want to learn more about Dr. Billy Campbell or Memorial Ecosystems, you can check it out on the web. I’ll be back later tonight or tomorrow with the article about the problems of the search for alternative fuel. I warned you about this. Have a great day.
Peter

Green in Death

Hey folks,
I know, it’s Sunday, I have the normal Sunday stuff coming right up, but I had to comment on this. You want to know how nuts these Global Warming Chicken Little crowd truly are? Get this Reuters -Canadians urged to go green even when they're gone By Shallima MaharajFri Jun 15, 11:02 PM ET

North Americans who spend their lives reducing, reusing and recycling can keep doing their bit for the environment after they die, if Europe's "green funeral" trend makes its way across the Atlantic.

Canadian activists say green send-offs could help the dead contribute to a sustainable environment, with funerals that use shrouds or biodegradable containers and involve no embalming, no headstones and no grave linings.

"Having a green burial is one more thing a person can do to lessen the impact we're having on our environment," said Dorothy Yada of the Memorial Society of British Columbia.

"Environmental organizations should take it on as something they could add to their list of things to do ... if people asked for it more often, (the cemeteries and funeral parlours) would do it."

{Laughing} Are you sure? There is a lot of money lost in the linings and Coffins, embalming, ETC. You know how much a headstone costs? I guess they will find away to charge for dumping your dead, rotting, loved one in a hole. But either way, whatever. But you have to know, according to them embalming is EVIL.

Bodies are typically embalmed to preserve the remains for public display at funerals. The results last about 10 days before decomposition begins again.

"Embalming does three things... It requires the body to be worked over, organs sucked out and replaced with carcinogens. Second, it requires workers to be exposed to two potentially toxic chemicals (formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde)," said Joe Sehee of the Green Burial Council in Los Angeles.

He reckons a million gallons of embalming fluid makes its way into North American soil each year.

He reckons, does he? How about cremation? I thought that was the best way to go. You know, ashes to ashes, dust to dust?

And when bodies are cremated, mercury -- mostly from dental fillings -- can get into the atmosphere and into rivers, said Mary Woodsen, of Greensprings Natural Cemetery in New York.

{Laughing even harder}

Currently, there are no green cemeteries in Canada, only small plots within regular cemeteries.

The Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria, British Columbia, on Canada's Pacific coast, will begin offering the organic option next fall.

"In the last couple of years, there's been substantially more interest," said cemetery spokesman Stephen Olson.

"I think people are looking at every facet of their lives and saying: Is there something I can be doing differently?"

Yeah because the sad fact is that there are a lot of sheepeople out there that are being bombarded with a daily lie that says they are destroying the planet.

The trend is a lot further along in Britain, where there are some 200 so-called natural burial sites.

"We've done between 80 and 90 burials in the last six or seven years," said Penny Lally of Penwith Woodland Burial Place in Cornwall, England. "I think people like the idea of going back to the earth and creating a tree instead of a crowded cemetery."

So your rotten flesh is equal to you creating a tree? What are we planting people now? Folks, these people are truly nuts. You do whatever you want when you die. I am leaning very much toward Cremation.
Peter