[quote]In Western societies, disposing of a dead body has come down to two choices: there's burial, and there's cremation. Occasionally, a corpse is donated to science, but even those remains usually make their way to the crematorium in the end.
But since climate change has piqued the world's environmental awareness, it has become clear that death, despite being the most natural of processes, is bad for the environment. Coffins, most of which are made from nonbiodegradable chipboard, take up valuable land space. Even when coffins are biodegradable, embalming liquid, which often contains carcinogenic formaldehyde, can leak into the soil. Cremation, during which remains are burned at 1,562°F (850°C), comes with its own problems. According to the research of University of Melbourne professor Roger Short, the process can create up to 350 lb. (160 kg) of greenhouse gases per corpse, including the remains of the coffin.
In Australia, one company recently started selling a greener alternative. Aquamation Industries claims to offer a unique, cheaper, more carbon-neutral method of body disposal. Aquamation employs a process called alkaline hydrolysis, in which a body is placed in a stainless-steel vat containing a 200°F (93°C) potassium-hydroxide-and-water solution for four hours until all that remains is the skeleton. The bones, which are soft at that point, are then crushed and presented to the deceased's family. The residual liquid contains no DNA, and the procedure uses only 5% to 10% of the energy that cremation uses, says John Humphries, a former funeral-home director who is now the chief executive of Aquamation Industries, which launched its services in August. According to Humphries, Aquamation accelerates the processes that occur in nature. Even the residual liquid can be recycled: Humphries measures the pH after the procedure is completed, and if it's deemed too high in alkalinity, he adds vinegar or citric acid to it afterward. By that time, he says, it's safe enough to pour on the rose bushes.[/quote]
[url=http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2022206,00.html]Read the full story here.[/url]
Quite frankly, that sounds awesome. Almost sci-fi sounding, I wonder what it would be like to watch the dissolving process. It will never become main-stream though, too ghoulish sounding.
I wonder if the cremation companies will all go up in smoke if these become popular.
Too ghoulish?
The alternatives are setting them on fire or letting maggots eat their flesh, this actually sounds rather nice in comparison.
heh.
i wonder if families could decide to just keep the skeleton and not crush it.
i'd rather have a grave to be remembered by, rather than be turned into ectoplasm.
I really won't care if I get burned or dissolved this way. I certainly don't want to be buried in coffin tho. That's pointless waste.
[QUOTE=Wii60;25270897]heh.
i wonder if families could decide to just keep the skeleton and not crush it.[/QUOTE]
I would love if my kids kept my skull as a valuable or something.
[QUOTE=Wii60;25270897]heh.
i wonder if families could decide to just keep the skeleton and not crush it.[/QUOTE]I think the bones would be extremely soft and gooey, but that would be awesome if someone kept my bones in a jar instead of my ashes.
[editline]07:30PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=frankie penis;25270922]i'd rather have a grave to be remembered by, rather than be turned into ectoplasm.[/QUOTE]When you get cremated, they offer to sell you vases to keep the ashes in. I'm sure there are some vases that are non-fragile, plus, you can put it anywhere rather than just a cemetery.
the book Stiff, which is about your body's fate after you kick the bucket, has a chapter or two on this. It's basically by far the most natural and environmentally friendly way of disposing of a corpse in existence and it's expected to see a massive surge in popularity over the next decade or two. Personally I think it's an interesting and very respectable method.
If anybody is interested in this concept or the topic in general, you should read Stiff. It's a very interesting read.
Personally I think the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of a dead body is
[img]http://www.worldstory.net/jivotni/brown_vulture.jpg[/img]
They do such a good job with their work. I mean, it works in Africa, and small road-killed Squirrels and rabbits disappear after they get finished(THEY EAT THE DAMN BONES TOO HOLY SHIT).
The go-green idea is good too, but still.
[QUOTE=frankie penis;25270922]i'd rather have a grave to be remembered by, rather than be turned into ectoplasm.[/QUOTE]
How exactly does this prevent your family from installing a tombstone or placard somewhere?
I'd rather be stuffed into the ground and have a tree planted over my corpse like the dalish elves.
I want to be put inside a gigantic wooden ship and sent out on the pacific ocean (Suck my dick Atlantis, I'm going with the pacific) and then I want them to launch thousands of Skud missiles at the boat until nothing is left.
I want to be buried under an obsidian monolith on the edge of a cliff face, with a vial of my DNA embedded at the top of it.
Well gods have to be resurrected some time. :smug:
I want to be cryogenically frozen in a statue similar to this:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d9/Futurama_ep49.jpg/250px-Futurama_ep49.jpg[/img]
Then I will be unfrozen when immortality is achieved.
[QUOTE=ASmellyOgreV2;25274983]I want to be cryogenically frozen in a statue similar to this:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d9/Futurama_ep49.jpg/250px-Futurama_ep49.jpg[/img]
Then I will be unfrozen when immortality is achieved.[/QUOTE]
I agree. They will eventually find a way to bring cryogenically frozen people back, sooner or later. Even if they don't, atleast its a better chance than getting you body destroyed forever.
Dissolved by acid , sounds like fun
Would suck to be one of those people who are mistakenly dead every once in a while.
This actually sounds pretty cool. I'd like my bones placed in a small capsule with whatever my relatives want to bury me with.
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;25276664]Dissolved by acid , sounds like fun[/QUOTE]
I know, what's up with all the methods of corpse disposal not being [i]fun[/i] these days? Needs more confetti and booze or something, dead people deserve their little joys.
[QUOTE=Carnotite;25277115]I know, what's up with all the methods of corpse disposal not being [i]fun[/i] these days? Needs more confetti and booze or something, dead people deserve their little joys.[/QUOTE]
Replace blood with flammable liquids and light on fire?
[QUOTE=Destroyertf;25275077]I agree. They will eventually find a way to bring cryogenically frozen people back, sooner or later. Even if they don't, atleast its a better chance than getting you body destroyed forever.[/QUOTE]
Not really.
If you freeze someone today, they'll lose all the chemical and electrical information stored in the brain, rendering any kind of recovery attempt useless.
I want to be thrown into Mt Doom. (I will have a volcano named Mt Doom for the day)
Looks like global warming is tied with religion for being humanity's biggest lie.
[QUOTE=Siduron;25278562]Looks like global warming is tied with religion for being humanity's biggest lie.[/QUOTE]
Really now?
They should get those cadavers and have them posed into a scene in a museum.
Screw wax.
That;s interesting. My grandpa got buried and my brother got cremated. Maybe I'll be "aquamated".
I want to be stuffed with c4 or some other high explosive, encased in a missile, and then fired at the home of my greatest enemy.
I'm still planning to be donated to science. Let some med school students amuse themselves by throwing my kidneys at each other.
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;25276664]Dissolved by acid , sounds like fun[/QUOTE]
NaOH is a base
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