This is a bit of an odd topic for this blog, but after driving past Washington Park North’s grounds, and seeing a banner that said “ask us about green burials”, I decided to do some more research, and found this article and this webpage. I have personally been hoping for something like this in Indianapolis, and I thought I would mention it here in case anyone else was interested.
Thanks for posting that. I had seen an episode of Modern Marvels where they focused on technology related to the dead and finished by talking about a green cemetary. I told my wife, "I'd like that." Nice to know that there is one in the city.
You're welcome. This movement will continue gaining popularity, I'd imagine.
There was a great article in the most recent issue of Indiana Living Green magazine discussing this issue. The mentioned that location along with others in Indiana. Check it out…
Thanks for mentioning green issues here on your website.
Neat…here's the article.
A few months ago I read a bio of Charles Lindbergh by Scott Berg (as an aside, it's a great read–it was the first Lindbergh bio written by someone with access to his and Anne Morrow's papers). Conservation was one of his late-in-life passions, and he left very specific instructions about how he was to be buried such that all traces of him would ultimately decay. Ahead of his time, I suppose.
It is interesting, but at the same time I do think we can go green without even getting involved with the dead.
To me, the dead and their graves are sacred (unless they were evil or something), but, growing up in a small Indiana town, the preparations and burial of the dead was a big deal, and the last funeral I went to (last year) it was still a big deal.
I could be wrong, but I don't think this idea will be very popular outside a few circles.
I don't think it will ever compete with formal graves.
Also, I understand not leaving a large footprint, but we can't pretend we don't exist, we are a part of this planet, and taking care of it doesn't mean trying to erase every trace of our being here.
Besides, with today's apathy towards the dead why would you need a stone that is designed to fade? Just go to your nearest cemetery and you'll see how well people around here maintain old graves. 🙂
Hey, but if people want 'green graves' I'm not in any place to tell them they can't.
I understand where you're coming from with regards to the grounds. What puzzles me is the need for preserving the body with formaldehyde in a heavily resource-intensive casket, never to be seen again.
Indiana is one of only two states in the Union that requires by law that all corpses be embalmed. It seems like the funeral industry lobby is quite strong here and that Hoosiers as a result do not really have the choice of a green burial.