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Green Burial - The Natural Way
Green burials are in style among the living. I don't think the dead really care but the living are opting for natural methods of dealing with the remains.
For years the practice of embalming, expensive coffins and vaults were the norm. Today we are seeing a return to the natural and it is about time.
The Funeral Guy said this about funeral cost Green Burial - The Funeral Guy Statistics on the Average Funeral Home affect the average cost of a Funeral. By looking at two statistics about the average funeral home you can come up with the industry standard for the average cost of a funeral.
First, the Average Funeral Home does 100 funerals a year. This is down from several years ago when the National Funeral Directors Association said the average number of Funerals done by a Funeral Home was 112 per year.
Second, the average funeral home makes about 1 million USD per year. That may come as a surprise to some. Consider Traditional Funeral Homes have a large number of fixed assets.
So if we do simple math the average cost of a funeral is $10,000 per funeral.There has been a rise in folks asking for a low or lower cost funerals. This is do primarily to the economic downturn. There has been a rise in cremations since the Wall Street crisis last September. We will be covering that in depth in the future. For now you should know that because of this I have called the average cost of a funeral in 2009 to be 8,500.00+ USD per year. This does not include the cemetery costs.
Good Lord, it cost an arm and a leg just to be put in the ground. It doesn't make any sense to me. We are going to return to the dust from which we came. We have to pay to return to dust. Duh, what is wrong with that picture. I think I will donate my body to science. No, I don't think I want anyone fooling around with my parts.
When I moved to California, my wife and I talked about funerals and cost. She told me she wanted to be cremated. I said, "You are kidding, cremated; only the heathen do that sort of thing."
She went on to explain to me that cremation was popular in the state of California because a burial plot cost a lot of money. In the south, I guess the plots were expensive but I just didn't give burial much thought until I turned 54. Today, I plan to have my remains cremated. I mean, shoot fire, it is the California thing to do. Who wants to pay the funeral home thousands of dollars to do what nature will ultimately accomplish.
What is a green Burial?
Greenburials.org has some good information about the subject: Simple and natural. Green burial, or natural burial, ensure the burial site remains as natural as possible in all respects. Interment of the bodies is done in a bio-degradable casket, shroud, or a favorite blanket. No embalming fluid, no concrete vaults.
Why have a green burial?It is clear that nature has intended that our bodies be reunited with the earth. All organisms that have lived, have died and returned to the soil...only to be recycled into new life. Constant microbial activity in the soil breaks everything down. Nature creates no waste. Everything is recycled.
In keeping with your personal values, a natural burial site for you, family, even pets, promotes growth of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers, in turn bringing birds and other wildlife to the area. Water is not wasted, nor are pesticides and herbicides used in attempts to control nature. Instead, a green cemetery allows nature take it's course. Planting native trees, shrubs and flowers in your loved one's honor promotes habitat restoration. To encourage land preservation, a green cemetery grants a conservation easement for the burial site.
Burial vs Cremation
A green burial is a cremation alternative, and a viable alternative to "traditional" burial practices in the United States. It is an earth friendly option when considering burial vs cremation. Many families choose cremation because it's seen as more environmentally friendly than traditional burial. Embalming, expensive sealed caskets and burial vaults are not required by law. Though traditional memorial parks may require them, a green cemetery or memorial nature preserve does not. The simplicity of a green burial is in tune with nature and need not be expensive.
Until recently, interment in an environmentally friendly burial ground was not an option. Now we can consider and encourage a natural burial, helping to preserve open spaces throughout the United States. This will increasingly become a cremation alternative.
Choosing a green burial now relieves your loved ones of the distress that comes in having to make difficult, and often costly, decisions after your passing. Involve your friends and family now, so difficult decisions do not need to be made in a time of grief. Green Burial Experts - greenburials.org
Death the Beginning
For me death is only the beginning. I am a Christian and I believe in heaven and I know that one day this life will end and my life with God will begin. It doesn't really mater what they do with my body. I have only one request. Before you burn me made dang sure I am dead. Pinch me, bite me, do something to make sure I am not in some sort of coma.
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