Our conversations in class about the death-care industry were most definitely eye-opening for me. Not only is death a difficult topic to converse on, but we never really consider the environmental impact that we are going to make once we pass. Traditional options such as cremation and burial are increasingly damaging to the environment. One option takes up too much land and releases toxic chemicals into the soil while the other releases large amounts of CO2.
I envision a future where we as individuals make the effort to conduct and engage in conversations about death and after-death options. Along with conversations, we need to collectively raise awareness about options after death and their impacts on the environment. As someone who did not know about natural burial options, I’m certain that many other people are also not aware of this option. Within my vision, I see values of communication and education being emphasized.
There are many possible interventions that can allow us to move towards such a future. One idea I have is that the government requires funeral homes and cremation services to include information on their websites and in their information packages about the environmental impact of their services. This way, when a family is researching their options, they will have the chance to consider the environmental impact of their choices. I also visited the BC’s governments website section on death and noticed no information explicitly discussing the option of natural burials. The revision of this website to include more information about post-death options will help in raising awareness among the general public.
Hi, Shanzeh. I think that the information about environmental impacts needs to be provided to the families. It could provide people with more alternations and help with the environmental protection.
Nowadays, people have higher and higher requirements for funerals, and funerals are becoming more and more extravagant. People only consider how to get decent in the social status, but do not think about the impact on the environment is also huge. It is really sad.
I like the idea of information on the environmental impact of a burial service - I don't think that this is something people don't care about, they just don't think about it because conversations are burials/after death practices aren't normalized.
I really like your intervention! It's already quite tough to think about death, and when someone has passed, probably the last thing on most of their loved ones' minds will be natural burials. So, having that information ready for them when they need it could make so much of a difference. Great post!
I love your idea about including environmental impact information on the funeral home websites. It is a very realistic way to raise awareness.
I like the image you put up at the top of your post! And yes I agree that the BC government website about death that receive an update to reflect the need for shifts towards more eco-friendly options for burials.
Your idea is promising, and green-oriented and family-oriented burials are showing us sustainable alternatives to traditional burials.
Hi Shanzeh,
I really enjoyed your post! I think that having easily accessible options when it comes to greener death care is key. Since conversations about death are difficult I think that it's a great idea for those who are comfortable talking about it to share their thoughts with others so that people can learn about and potentially choose environmentally friendly options for themselves before it is too late.
Interesting post. I think your approach is very feasible. before this class, I never considered that burials could have such a big impact on the environment. If the environmental impact is added to the website, people will realize that traditional burials are now very environmentally unfriendly.
Hi Shanzeh,
Great post! I really like your idea of making it mandatory for funeral homes and cremation services to disclose the environmental consequences of using their services (kinda like a health warning label for cigarettes in the sense!) as this would definitely have people thinking what greener alternatives they can choose instead.
I agree. I think that having accessible information on alternative options for death care is really important because the public isn't able to make an informed decision unless that information is readily available to them. Adding a note within the BC site's death section about more environmentally friendly options would be really handy.