Scientist says cremation should meet a timely death

I always suspected that the purpose of life is to make fertilizer.

Yahoo News and The Nation (Bangkok’s Independent Newspaper) carried this story today (added emphasis mine):

An Australian scientist called Wednesday for an end to the age-old tradition of cremation, saying the practice contributed to global warming.

Professor Roger Short said people could instead choose to help the environment after death by being buried in a cardboard box under a tree.

It continued:

The decomposing bodies would provide the tree with nutrients, and the tree would convert carbon dioxide into life-giving oxygen for decades, he said.

“The important thing is, what a shame to be cremated when you go up in a big bubble of carbon dioxide,” Short told AFP.

“Why waste all that carbon dioxide on your death?”

Short said the cremation of the average male in Australia, during which the body is heated to 850 degrees Celsius (1,562 degrees Fahrenheit) for 90 minutes, produced more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of carbon dioxide.

Ausrtralian Science Media Centre added additional details (emphasis mine):

Professor Short’s proposal is that everyone should be buried upright in a cardboard cylinder, next to their favourite species of tree. This would allow the remains to enrich the growth.

“Not for nothing are trees known as the lungs of the world”, he said. “A single tree over a hundred-year period absorbs over a metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), so imagine the difference it could make if everyone was buried and had a tree planted in their memory”.

“Photosynthesis in trees is the single most efficient way of sequestering CO2. Not only that, but they do what no other method of carbon minimisation can do, and that is to produce oxygen”, he said.

Malaysian National News Agency also adds:

“Why not, instead of polluting, you fertilise that tree for the rest of your life?” he said.

… proving there really can be life after your death!

Others have considered the very same idea of composting your corpse (see BBC Newsnight blog) and I’ve often told my wife, “Just toss my corpse in the wood chipper and compost the remains!”.

Health issues may be a valid concern: certainly we don’t want animals digging up remains and spreading diseases. On the other hand: how practical and wasteful is burial, which locks up vital chemicals six feet under inside a sealed casket?

To be fair, burial and cremation of departed loved ones are all too human and natural forms of showing respect — neither form is likely to vanish.

However, reconsidering burial and cremation traditions in terms of natural life cycles, the environment, and global warming isn’t entirely incompatible with religious ceremony and respect — the least we can do is plant a tree in memory of the deceased.

Thanks, Martin, for forwarding this jewel.

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