By Josh Slocum for The Washington Post, August 11, 2014 Putting dead people in buildings was never smart engineering. Mausoleum burial began as the prerogative of the powerful, providing the perception of a dignified end to a life of esteem. The majesty of the Taj Mahal and the wonder of the Egyptian ...

By Bill Moss for the Hendersonville Lightning Carolina Memorial Sanctuary in Mills River offers a place for people to bury their loved ones or scatter their ashes, in harmony with nature. On Oct. 2, the sanctuary donated a permanent conservation easement to Conserving Carolina, which assures that this burial ground ...

By Emily Atkin | June 14, 2018 for The New Republic "Aquamation," a greener form of body disposal, is gaining acceptance in America. But some powerful groups are fighting to stop it. Samantha Sieber’s grandfather had a traditional American burial. His body was embalmed, put in a metal casket, and laid ...

By Kim Chatelain for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Archdiocese of New Orleans will join with North America's largest provider of funeral, cemetery and cremation services to break ground Wednesday April 4 on the construction of a funeral home and cemetery north of Mandeville. Grace Funeral Home and St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden are expected ...

SHERRY SLATER | The Journal Gazette When a loved one dies, family and friends often want to offer a final salute. The options are as varied as the individuals being remembered. Helium balloons are released to remember children. Favorite dishes are baked to honor grandmothers. Donations are made to nonprofits fighting deadly diseases in memory of ...

Alkaline hydrolysis is a clean, green method for dissolving a body into its chemical building blocks; the runny remains just wash down the drain. BY HAYLEY CAMPBELL for WIRED THE RESOMATOR STANDS monolithic in the corner of a room on the ground floor of a building at UCLA. It’s as sterile as a ...

BY JOEL BANNER BAIRD FOR THE FREE PRESS | March 12, 2018 In his final months, Jack Griffin of Burlington, VT lobbied hard for an earth-friendly green burial — but he ran out of time. Jack Griffin settled for ashes two weeks before he died last month. His public request for a green burial ...

By SONYA VATOMSKY for NY TIMES | MARCH 22, 2018 A typical American funeral usually involves a few hallmarks we’ve come to expect: an expensive coffin, lots of flowers, an embalming for the deceased and a number of other add-ons. But how necessary are those embellishments? Enter the “green burial.” The ...

MEG MCCONAHEY FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | March 9, 2018 When Carl Hamilton got the news that every parent dreads, his fatherly instinct kicked in. His son Chris was lying alone at the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office, the victim of a middle-of-the-night car crash. Against all modern convention, Hamilton decided he ...