Death can show us the way, for when we know and understand completely that our time on this earth is limited, and that we have no way of knowing when it will be over, then we must live each day as if it were the only one we had.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

The Archbishop of York on the Importance of Discussing Death

Death is such an important issue, and something that every person will experience – as such, it is a vital part of life but still remains a taboo subject.

An article was printed in the Telegraph today in which the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, warns that the last taboo could be denying us all a 'good death'.

The article quotes some statistics which are quite incredible:

·        Only one in three people in Britain has ever discussed their wishes for the end of their life with a loved-one.

·        Eight out of 10 people admit being uncomfortable speaking openly about the prospect of our own death, even though a third think about it privately as often as once a week.
·        More than a third of GPs polled had never initiated a discussion with a patient about their end-of-life choices and in their own lives only 35 per cent had spoken to someone about their own wishes. [1]

Read the full article here.

It is amazing to think that for something that will affect each and every one of us, so few people discuss it, even when faced with it.  It can be a traumatic experience when people that we love die, and many people don’t like to confront the idea of their own death, but through discussing and confronting the subject of death, we believe that people can lead a fuller life.

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[1] Quotes from Telegraph. (2012). The last taboo is denying us all a 'good death', warns Archbishop of York John Sentamu.  Available at - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/9262888/The-last-taboo-is-denying-us-all-a-good-death-warns-Archbishop-of-York-John-Sentamu.html.  Accessed 25.06.12.

Promession

Idea for cemetery for promated remains.

Promession is being hailed as a new ecologically friendly improvement on traditional internment as well as traditional cremation (‘wet cremation’).  The idea was conceived by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, founder of Promessa.  

With promession the body is frozen to -196 degrees C by submerging it in liquid nitrogen; once frozen it becomes brittle and short vibrations are applied which, after freeze drying, reduce the body to an organic, hygienic powder which weighs around a third of the original body weight.

At this stage the powder has all of the water removed (65 - 70 %), and the metals within the body (such as mercury from dental fillings) are removed and recycled.

Not only is the resulting powder hygienic and organic, but there are no emissions of smoke or mercury to the air as there would be with cremation. The remains - called promains - are buried in an environmentally friendly coffin in a shallow grave, and within around six months to a year are absorbed back into the soil.  

The promains may be cremated if preferred, for religious or other reasons. Peter Mäsak of Promessa says: ‘This ‘dry cremation’ doesn't take any energy, it gives an energy payback of around 300kWh per cremation, in a very controlled burning process leaving no mercury and significantly reduced outlets of climate gases.’

Promession is not currently available as an option, but Promessa have several parties seriously looking into the possibility of becoming a promession provider and ordering equipment in 2012.

On the day when death will knock at thy door

What will thou offer him?

I will set before my guest the full vessel of my life.

I will never let him go with empty hands...

 - Rabindranath Tagore

'Space Burial'

For those that always wanted to fly or explore space, ‘space burial’ could be an interesting option, but it might not mean what it would at first appear to..

What is commonly termed ‘space burial’ is the practice of sending cremated remains (cremains) into space, and there are a number of different options for this, including launching them into the earth’s orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space. It is also possible for the cremains to be returned to earth in some cases.

With these options only fraction of the cremated remains, typically 1 or 7 grams, is sent into space.

Whilst this is a novel and interesting memorial act, it doesn’t deal with disposing of the entirety of the cremains - the rest can be scattered or buried as would be normal with cremains.

At first it might seem a worrying environmentally unfriendly way of marking the life of a loved one; however the capsule containing the remains is transported as a ‘secondary payload’, which means that they are part of a greater mission.

Another environmental concern could be ‘littering’ in space, but according to Celestis, the only team that conducts Memorial Spaceflights, ‘Celestis spacecraft are carefully designed so as not to create orbital debris. Each spacecraft stays permanently attached to a rocket stage that orbits Earth until the spacecraft harmlessly re-enters and is completely consumed by Earth’s atmosphere — blazing like a shooting star in final tribute to the passengers aboard.’[1]

A young company in the UK offers an alternative to this which sees the cremated remains scattered into the stratosphere. Stardust Ashes provides a service whereby an environmentally-friendly balloon carries the cremains to a height of up to 100,000 ft, where they are released from a lightweight biodegradable urn into the stratosphere.

This may not seem as high-tech as a trip into deep space, but the gentle carrying off of the cremains into the sky is certainly heartfelt– the first ash scattering held by Stardust Ashes was to commemorate the life of the founder’s grandmother.

These methods of commemoration seem designed to minimise negative impact on the environment; however the fact is that cremation – by far the most common means of dealing with human remains in the UK today – is significantly damaging to the environment.

But whilst cremation seems the only way in which these memorial acts are currently possible, there are plans afoot which may completely revolutionise the death industry to make it cleaner and greener, and which may provide an alternative method to cremation that may see our remains being sent off into the space via balloon or spacecraft in a much greener way.

More on green alternatives to cremation soon!
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[1] Celestis. (2012). Frequently Asked Questions.[online] Available at http://www.celestis.com/faq.asp. Accessed 06.06.12.