Green Burial vs. Industrial Burial - Essay Example

Green Burial vs. Industrial Burial Introduction If one takes a close look at the world, one can not help noticing that it is full of different dualities. Indeed, there is day and night, light and darkness, heat and cold; the list can go almost forever. Nevertheless, there is one particular pair that has significant meaning for the people; it is life and death. Indeed, the mysteries of the latter have always puzzled the human mind. This is partially reflected in numerous rituals that are connected to death. There is a considerable part of culture that revolves around this subject. For example, the way in which a person is buried plays an important role in the social environment. This paper will analyze two different approaches to it: the one that is called green burial and the one that is referred to as industrial burial, dwelling on advantages and disadvantages of each. Advantages of Green burial To begin with, it may be rather important to suggest that the proponents of green burial often point out that this kind of practice contributes to growth of trees and other plants since they are fertilized by the decomposing body of a person ("Green Burials,...Return Naturally"). In other words, even after death, a person will be able to make a positive contribution to the world with one’s own body. Indeed, keeping in mind the current environmental conditions, green burial might be seen as an effective way to make some positive improvements in nature. What is more important is that such contribution is not abstract, but extremely direct and helpful. Another point that is brought up by the proponents of green burial focuses on the fact that this practice also allows people to minimize their limit their negative impact on the environment. For example, green burial excludes use of any formaldehyde, a substance that prevents the body from decomposition and pollutes nature ("What Is Green Burial?" ). Keeping in mind the number of people who die every day and are buried in the conventional way, the amount of the above mentioned substance increases on a daily basis. Moreover, this means that green burial will gradually lower the pace of polluting nature which brings a positive consequence in the long ran: the future generations will be able to enjoy a better environment. Finally, it is beyond any doubt that green burial offers people a unique spiritual experience. One would make no mistake that a desire to be buried in casket that would latter decompose is quite different from the conventional desire to be buried in a coffin. In other words, people who decide to choose the former are probably guided by certain spiritual principles that greatly affect their life. In addition to that, such a step against the generally accepted norm reflects the inner spiritual search that is performed by a person. All this results in the understanding that green burial is truly a peculiar alternative with the help of which a person is able to make a bold statement about one’s spirituality and reevaluate they place in the world. Disadvantages of Green Burial It is rather obvious that the above mentioned practice also possesses several disadvantages. The first and the most crucial one is performance of it in winter, when earth is hard to dig ("Greensprings FAQs"). It is suggested that under such weather conditions the funeral might be postponed. However, all this shows that green burial is heavily dependable on nature. In other words, there are might be situations when weather conditions will not permit people to perform a burial properly. So, this does not make this practice reliable as people may have to wait for proper weather to perform it. As a result, it does not make it universal and suitable for every climatic zone, which certainly places some restrictions. The next big problem is the identification of the body. There are different approaches towards this issue. On the one hand, the proponents of green burial often suggest that the site should not be altered at all; on the other hand, putting a small sign of any kind is necessary to identify the burial place. All this results in the ambiguity of green burial. Indeed, monuments that are found on conventional cemeteries are often seen as symbols of sorrow and are conditioned by the desire to leave a certain trace in the world after a certain person is gone. Contrary to that, green burial does not favor this idea and tried to minimize any alteration of the site, completely integrating a person in nature. Lastly, one of the biggest obstacles on the way of spreading this practice is the suspicion that is experienced by the society with regard to green burial. As it has already been noted before, there is a long tradition of other kind of burial and anyone who is willing to choose a different alternative is often seen as an outcast. If one takes into consideration the peculiar nature of the issues, it is quite probable that people will not be willing to have a bad reputation after their death. So, the number of people who may choose it is significantly limited by the social conventions and trends that are supported by the society and are reinforced by other practices. Advantages of Industrial Burial One would make no mistake suggesting that the conventional way to burry a person is quite different from the one which was previously analyzed. Moreover, the former holds some advantages. First of all, there is a highly developed infrastructure. This should come as no surprise since cemeteries are often seen as a rather prosperous industry that will surely always have a demand. In other words, it is much easier to buy a decent place in a conventional cemetery than look for a green alternative (Shumsky 14). Indeed, at the present moment there are numerous agencies that offer people with many option which makes funeral an event which can be easily organized. So, contrary to green burial, industrial buried is more represented in the society and is likely to be more appealing to the people. Another significant advantage of this practice is that it provides people with many long lasting symbols. As it has already been mentioned, industrial burial does not only preserve a body, but it also features such symbols as a well build coffin, a moment that commemorates a person, a clearly designated place for the body. All these might be seen as insignificant elements, but in the long run they truly matter to the relatives of a person who passed away. In other words, industrial burial allows a person to see a visual representation of a trace that was left by a person, providing an objectification of sorrow and calming one down. Finally, the advantage that the proponents of this practice might bring up is the fact that industrial burial preserves a body as much as possible. In spite of the fact that it is quite understandable that one can hardly return a person to life, but for many people the physical body still bears some traces of the deceased individual, so they will be willing to preserve it as long as possible. Indeed, other than formaldehyde, other substances are used to prevent decomposition. In addition to that, the very structure of a coffin provides enough protection for the body. This means that those people who are willing to preserve their loved one will surely sure this option as it provides the biggest level of preservation. Disadvantages of Industrial Burial If green burial emerged as a viable alternative to industrial burial, then the latter clearly possesses some disadvantages. The first of them is rather logical: since this practice makes an emphasis on preservation of a body, in future there will be a problem of shortage of space (Holt 9). Indeed, since the bodies do not decompose absolutely and the coffins that embrace them also occupy some space, in theory there might be a situation when there will be no more space to bury the dead. In other words, while industrial burial is a tradition which has been practiced for many centuries, ultimately there is a dead end where it is going in to. In addition to that, the current population changes should also be seen as an important factor that amplifies this disadvantage. Opponents of industrial burial often suggest that this practice is responsible for ineffective use of resources and practically wastes a considerable amount of money. For example, it was found that each year over one million and a half tons of concrete are used in the course of industrial burial; nevertheless, if this resources are relocated to a different area, they could be used to be a two lane road between such major cities as San Francisco and Phoenix ("Natural Burial"). It is obvious that such road already exists, but the concrete and the money which is used every year could be utilized to improve the quality of the infrastructure that is used by the living. Another point of concern that is often expressed is the amount of wood that is used to make coffins. Contrary to green burial which relies on caskets that decompose, industrial burial engages coffins made of hard wood and this number is estimated to be around thirty million board feet ("Green Burials"). The main focus that should me made in this case is not the ineffective use of the wood, but rather the fact that too many trees are cut down each year. Keeping in mind the climatic changes that are currently happening in the world as well as the process of deforestation and the role that plants play in recycling are, one might suggest that such use of trees is not rational at all. Conclusion Having examined all the points which were brought up in the paragraphs above, one might suggest that green burial and industrial burial represent two completely different approaches towards the issue of organizing a funeral. Each of these practices features certain advantages and disadvantages which does not allow one to talk about supremacy of one over the other. Nevertheless, it is completely understandable that the final decision should be made by a person, based on the goals that one would like to achieve. Thus, for those who are willing to put an emphasis on their spiritual beliefs and reunite with nature after their death, green burial is seen as a better option. However, those who are willing to preserve the physical body of a person or create a distinct symbol, industrial burial is surely a better choice. Works Cited "Green Burials." NRDC.org. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. "Green Burials,...Return Naturally." Greenburials.org. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. "Greensprings FAQs." Naturalburial.org. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. Holt, Dean W. American Military Cemeteries. 2nd ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2010. Print. "Natural Burial." Naturalburialground.org. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. Shumsky, Neil L. The Physical City: Public Space and the Infrastructure. New York, NY: Garland Pub., 1996. Print. "What Is Green Burial?" Greenburialcouncil.org. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. Read More