There is growing interest in sustainable death care options like human composting as an alternative to energy-intensive cremation and chemical-dependent and land-intensive burial.
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Articles on Cremation
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Also known as alkaline hydrolysis or aquamation, the process is much better for the environment than burial or cremation.
As late as 1970, only about 5% of Americans chose to be cremated. In 2020, more than 56% Americans opted for it.
Death is a part of life: but environmentally harmful burial practices, overcrowded cemeteries and unaffordable funerals are denying many the right to a good death.
In a Japanese tree burial, cremated remains are placed in the ground and a tree is planted over the ashes to mark the gravesite. Environmental responsibility is part of Buddhism.
As cremation grounds struggle to keep up with the long line of people dying from COVID-19, age-old customs are being pushed aside.
A funeral director explains how the bodies of the deceased are prepared for burial or cremation in the United States.
When the 1918 influenza pandemic struck India, the death toll was highest among the poor.
Funerals, as we know them, will regrettably but necessarily be another of our social rituals that must radically alter in the short-term.
Composting burial could revolutionise bodily disposal in Australia. The need for a sustainable and affordable alternative to traditional burial practices is becoming increasingly urgent.
Migrant communities believed having a physical resting place gave them a sense of settlement in Australia.
With space in our cemeteries running out, we could bury the dead in new forest developments that would bring green space to our urban areas.
Guess how much the average funeral now costs. Hint: it’s more than most people pay for a second hand car.
Although ‘Game of Thrones’ -style funeral pyres are still out of bounds, Americans are increasingly turning to cheaper, greener and more meaningful ways to dispose of their loved ones’ bodies.
A failure to innovate could mean the death of the traditional industry.
My mother died recently and at the funeral home I was asked if I had any ideas what kind of coffin she would like. For some reason I said something environmentally friendly. These words came out of my…
How we die, as well as how we live, has profound and lasting effects on the environment. Nowhere is this more true than in China, the most populous nation on Earth. According to the National Bureau of…
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Assistant Professor in Philosophy and Religious Studies, Texas State University
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Professor, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Law, Wake Forest University
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Honorary Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Professor Emeritus of Death Studies, University of Bath
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Assistant Professor - Teaching Track, Faculty of Economics, University of Waterloo
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Associate Professor, Monash University
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Senior Research Fellow, University of York
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Lecturer in Media & Communications Studies, The University of Melbourne
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Program Director and Assistant Professor of Mortuary Science, Wayne State University
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PhD Student, Social Sciences, University of Dundee
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Professor and Chair of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis, University of Southern California
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Academic, Communications & Media Studies, Monash University
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Senior Lecturer in Business and Economic History, University of Dundee
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Community Faculty, Metropolitan State University
