Stories from the Web

Funeral Homes Weigh Alcohol Use

Funeral Homes Weigh Alcohol Use
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 ...
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A New Way to Dispose of Corpses - With Chemistry!

A New Way to Dispose of Corpses - With Chemistry!
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 ...
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Vermont Green Burial Advocate Dies, Settles for Cremation

Vermont Green Burial Advocate Dies, Settles for Cremation
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 ...
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Thinking About Having a ‘Green’ Funeral? Here’s What to Know

Thinking About Having a ‘Green’ Funeral? Here’s What to Know
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 ...
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Grieving Santa Rosa Family Reclaims Old Ways, Brings Son’s Body Home to Say Good-bye

Grieving Santa Rosa Family Reclaims Old Ways, Brings Son’s Body Home to Say Good-bye
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 ...
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Tennessee 'Natural' Burial Ground Will Offer A Simpler Farewell — Casket Optional

Tennessee 'Natural' Burial Ground Will Offer A Simpler Farewell — Casket Optional
Larkspur Conservation in Sumner County, Tenn., is a beautiful, parklike setting, with hiking trails and picnic areas and, soon, occasional burial plots. The 112 acres of serene rolling hills are protected by a conservation easement through the Nature Conservancy. Larkspur's founders hope it will offer families a greener — and ...
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Don't Burn Your Body When You're Dead: Dissolving Yourself Is Much More Eco-Friendly

Don't Burn Your Body When You're Dead: Dissolving Yourself Is Much More Eco-Friendly
Liquifying a body is cleaner and greener than traditional burials and cremation. By Robin Scher / AlterNet January 25, 2018, 8:30 PM GMT There are many ways to embark on the journey to the great beyond. One popular custom is the coffin burial. Or rather it was, until cemeteries began running out of ground space. And conventional burials ...
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Burial Practices That Nourish the Earth

Burial Practices That Nourish the Earth
In this TedMed Talk by Caitlin Doughty (Ask a Mortician), she dives into greener death practices that nourish our earth. Practices like composting of the dead and natural burials on conservational burial grounds. You will also learn about the affects of cremation, how green it is, and America's current death-care ...
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Houston funeral company to acquire Austin firm

Houston funeral company to acquire Austin firm
Apr 10, 2017, 2:05pm CDT Houston-based Service Corporation International, one of the largest funeral services companies in the world, is in discussions to acquire an independently owned Austin-based funeral chain. Weed-Corley-Fish has four locations throughout central Texas and has been in business for more than 100 years, according to its website. ...
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Snapchat filters for funerals? Yes, that's really a thing

Snapchat filters for funerals? Yes, that's really a thing
Aaron Robinson/CNET BY ALFRED NG for CNET, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 Snapchat geofilters are normally for birthdays and weddings. But people are making them for funerals, too. A somber mood enveloped Stephenie Buchanan's family after her brother Tarrence's funeral. Following the service in May, family and friends gathered in a hall to celebrate ...
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