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Global Warming has quickly become a household phrase. This gentle but growing increase
in temperature has been linked by many experts to the melting of the polar ice caps, future extinction of animal species and
the loss of viable farming for the poorest of the poor.
So, what does this have to do with cremation? While it takes a lot of energy to cremate
a body, roughly equivalent to driving 4,800 miles, you might be surprised by the level of carbon emissions released from cremation
-- in terms of pollution, a deceased person will cremate cleaner than a Big Mac. Measured in unburnt particles per
hour, a restaurant cooking burgers releases .46 lbs/hour, the cremation process only emits .08 lbs/hr. Not only that, but
many crematoriums have even begun to use a series of filters to catch your toxins as they try to float away.
North American cremation practices have long been considered environmentally friendly as compared
to many places around the world. Much of this has to do with North American crematories being located primarily in funeral
homes and city centers where there was pressure from a strong need and desire to operate cremation equipment as smoke and
odor free as possible. Our sincere desire to be good neighbors actually resulted in us being envioronmentally friendly
at the same time, long before it was as widly popular as it is today.
California Cremation Centers is pleased to have modern, state of the art cremation equipment
that far exceeds local requirements for air quality.
Burials, on the other hand have many environmental downsides -- partly stemming from the
ton of work done on the deceased for the funeral. Embalming fluids that are used to preserve the deceased, a somewhat
wasteful practice, contain chemicals like formaldehyde, methanol, phenol -- which can seep out and eventually make their way
into the groundwater. An estimated 827,000 gallons of embalming fluid are buried in the US each year.
Take that and
add it to the casket, yet another kinda unnecessary funeral accessory. While there are eco-friendly alternatives, traditional
caskets are often built out of rare woods and are sometimes coated with toxic sealants or paints. It's like buying a small
car, and immediately burying it -- all to protect your body from the elements. It is estimated that cemeteries put 30 million
feet of hardwood, 104,272 tons of steel and 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete into the ground every year.
California Cremation Centers is pleased to offer all natural, biodegradable urns
and scattering at sea in the Pacific Ocean as ways to assist the environment.
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