Cemeteries make great arboretums. I learned that the other day at work. Apparently it is quite common to find new varieties of trees and shrubs growing at cemeteries, such as a variegated Ginkgo biloba to name one. The reason for these unique specimens? Embalming chemicals. All the embalming chemicals from ones used in days past, to the varnish used in coffins today eventually leach into the soil causing genetic mutations in plants, and incidentally higher cancer rates among nearby residents. Now just to make sure this claim was true I did a little research. Sure enough the University of Toledo in Toledo Ohio did a study on the topic and concluded that cemeteries have high levels of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and zinc due to embalming chemicals and coffin varnish in the soil and the groundwater.
So to all out there who may have a hand in my funeral when the time comes, let it be known: Iwould like to be cremated. I rather like the idea of going out in a blaze of glory anyway. As fun as it may be to know that my remains could be the basis of a new tree specimen, I would prefer to forgo the honor.
7 comments:
A better idea would be to buried in a cemetery but skip a coffin that has bad chemicals. Because as you say a cemetery makes a good arboretum.
A cemetery is also a good way to perserve green space. They also make great places to walk and to look for interesting names to give your children.
It's not just the coffin chemicals, its the embalming chemicals as well. But not to fear! There are undertakers who do organic funerals now. Don't ask me exactly what they do, but they make it all environmentally friendly. Did you pull my name off a tombstone?
Thats cool! I want ten times the normal amount of emabalming fluid then have a tree planted directly on top of me. Or even better, try a venus fly trap and maybe create something like the creature from little shop of horrors!
This is pretty groovy. I still want to be cremated, too, though.
Kind of gross, but if you want even greener way to discard your body look at this. (It's not grotesque looking, just the thought of it is kind of gross, I wouldn't have looked at it myself if it was really yucky)
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/14047
Wow, It reminds me of the human fields in The Matrix. Which if you haven't seen, I am not gonna go there.
I've seen the first Matrix but it was so long ago that all I remember is Laurence Fishbourne and Keanu Reeves in black trench coats.
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