Green Burial: Thinking Outside the Coffin

"All go to one place; all are of the dust, and to dust all return." Ecclesiastes 3:20. That was true, at least until the Civil War era. Then a desire to preserve bodies led to a new way of dealing with the dead: toxic embalming, water-tight coffins and concrete vaults. For many of us who try to live simple, low-impact lives, our deaths present a dilemma. We can't go simply or sustainably into whatever comes next.

But there is another way. Imagine breaking down quickly, wrapped only in a shroud or in a biodegradable casket, eighteen inches under the soil, your nutrients being taken up by a tree. Michael Furniss, soil scientist and green burial enthusiast, is working to make that a reality in Humboldt. Michael joins the show to discuss the green burial movement, the science behind natural burial, and efforts to create a conservation burial ground in Humboldt.

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