I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
It appears that everything is going “green” — even death.
I know, that sounds morbid. But seriously. There’s a very interesting article by the New Mexico Business Weekly’s Carrie Siedman about a 15-acre green burial ground being planned for the Galisteo Basin preserve. The idea is that the preserve — 13,000 acres about 15 miles southeast of Santa Fe — will include an “eco-village” on 300 acres and an adjoining green burial ground, both of which will generate income to preserve the rest of the land as public access open space.
Ted Harrison of the Commonweal Conservancy, which is spearheading the project, explained to the Biz Weekly the rationale for including a green burial site:
“A way of funding this, I thought, was to give people who cared about conservation but were also facing the inevitable death process, an opportunity to use their death as a way of serving their values,” says Harrison. “Why not create a program where folks could have the option to — rather than invest in a cemetery plot — use their death and burial process to be a resource for protecting the lands and places they love? … It seemed like a winning solution for everyone.”
Santa Fe’s Green Burial Council has specific criteria for creating green burial grounds, which you can see on its Web site. Here are the criteria for burial:
1. No toxic chemicals are to be used in the bodies of decedents (except when embalming has been done against decedents’ wishes).
2. No vaults are to be used on premises (except when state law requires the use of vaults or it is necessary to accommodate winter burial).
3. Burial containers or shrouds must be made of biodegradable materials.
4. Excavation and burial techniques/technology must minimize impacts on surrounding land and protect native plant diversity.
Apparently, there’s an incredible amount of interest in the idea. And this doesn’t surprise me. I have an uncle who plans to be buried on his own land, in a little copse of trees. He already has the area cleared and has given specific instructions on how his burial is to happen. Within 24 hours of death, he wants to be placed in the ground without a casket.
I seriously doubt he’s ever checked out the Green Burial Council, nor is he a “green” acolyte. Rather, he’s an NRA-loving ultra-Republican hunter who simply loves nature. And he doesn’t like the idea of tons of chemicals pumped into his body and a casket in the ground that simply lingers there forever. I can relate.
