California Lawmaker Tries Again to Legalize Liquid Cremation

When a loved one dies, families typically are left with two options: burial or cremation. A California lawmaker wants to give families a third option, which is being pitched as a "green alternative" to traditional cremation -- chemically dissolve the body, keep the powdery residue and pour the liquefied remains down the drain. But the procedure, too graphic to describe, has had some trouble getting off the ground. Assemblyman Jeff Miller had to shelve his proposal last year after a visiting scientist pointed out that the process might not be as safe as advertised. Read more: www.foxnews.com...

I don't know about this one. I myself have never been a big fan of cremation the old fashioned way let alone something like this. Just dissolve the body and pour it down the drain? Sounds kinda creepy jeff dahlmerish to me. Let alone the thought of the person going off to the sewage treatment plant. At least with the old way people could go to the beach or to the woods to visit their loved ones where they scattered their ashes. Whats next turning the bodies into food, soylent green anyone?

reply to post by jaynkeel


We can't keep on burying people. We're running out of land and it"s really kind of a waste of money when you think about it. You spend 5,000 dollars for a casket and then bury it? I think cremation or this new method are better options than what we've been using for hundreds of years. We have to start thinking about future generations and start preserving our land resources.

I've always said I want to be shrunk and sat on my family's mantlepiece, or preserved in a clear tank of formaldehyde complete with neon lights and electrodes so that I dance to music.

But seriously I think liquid cremation is a great idea.

Originally posted by WeRpeons
reply to post by jaynkeel

 

We can't keep on burying people. We're running out of land and it"s really kind of a waste of money when you think about it. You spend 5,000 dollars for a casket and then bury it? I think cremation or this new method are better options than what we've been using for hundreds of years. We have to start thinking about future generations and start preserving our land resources.

did humanity run out of land burying the over 10 billion people who lived before us.

reply to post by jaynkeel

I don't know about this one. I myself have never been a big fan of cremation the old fashioned way let alone something like this. Just dissolve the body and pour it down the drain? Sounds kinda creepy jeff dahlmerish to me. Let alone the thought of the person going off to the sewage treatment plant. At least with the old way people could go to the beach or to the woods to visit their loved ones where they scattered their ashes. Whats next turning the bodies into food, soylent green anyone?

I'm with you on this one. The idea of being liquified is just creepy. Oh, and then going to mix with sewage? I already have cremation built into my will, now I will have to make sure it says by fire only. Purification by fire. It just feels right for some reason...

reply to post by ballsdeep


Thats funny for some reason the movie Ford Fairlane popped in my head!!! The funeral scene.

It's bad enough that bodies get preserved with dangerous chemicals that eventually seep into the ground. Whatever this chemical that dissolves the body is, it can't be better than burning the body, or simply burring it without any 'preservatives'. Flesh rots, seeps into the ground, feeds the plants and bugs, and basically gets recycled. They need to shelf this idea permanently. People are bio-degradable. On islands such as the Philippines where space for burial is limited, people reuse grave sites all the time, and cremate bodies five years after they've been in the ground. Inventing yet more ways to pollute our environment is ridiculous.

reply to post by 2manyquestions


Well this to me coming out of California seems to be pushed possibly by their clean air laws, at least thats what I first thought of when I saw the story. You know how anal they are with pollution standards and all.

reply to post by jaynkeel


California has some truly retarded laws when it comes to pollution regulation. I could rant about all my DMV experiences in regards to one of my cars, but then I'd just get angry again, and I don't want to go there. I could also talk about all their 'going green' efforts that prove to make almost no difference at all, but hey,... they're thinking of the money they'll rake in while they rape the residents of this state. Pouring more chemicals down a sewer pipe (which eventually ends up in the ocean) doesn't seem like the most clever solution to cremation. I could be wrong, I'm not a scientist, but that's the feeling I get when I think about it.

I just wish I could be buried in a wooden box; sans formaldehyde, and any other 'unnatural' preservatives. To die,, then be reunited with Mother Earth, in a natural progression, just seems 'normal' to me. I can't think of any other way that I'd like to rest, eternally.

Why do we have to preserve our bodies with all of these unnatural substances? I just don't get it. Then again, I really don't know enough about the scientific ramifications, but still..I can't see why the most simple way of recycling isn't the best alternative?

reply to post by randomname


For most of human history, we did not have massive estates simply for the dead, each allotted 10x10 plots all their own, kept immaculate and tree-free, with headstones to last eternity. Nor did we embalm the dead and put them in airtight aluminum / plastic / hardwood caskets so that they'd stay there forever

Most graves have been basically mass graves, people stacked one on top of another. The headstones for old graves were often taken to use for new ones.And of course, plants and animals had their way with hte majority of dead people in human history.

Our current cultural outlook towards death and remains is absurd and wasteful.

personally im hoping i can get a sky burial so that i may return to the earth instead of having to wait for my casket to decay.

Sky Burial (Warning: Graphic)

That's how the mob and the evil biker gangs get rid of bodies now.

I'm a cremation fan, but I'm sure I'd rather burn that be eaten up by acid.

When I saw this thread title, I burst into a fit of giggles, because last week, I posted a thread called "Crematorium to heat water for town's swimmers" and what immediately came to mind when I saw your title was...well you can imagine.

Originally posted by SourGrapes
I just wish I could be buried in a wooden box; sans formaldehyde, and any other 'unnatural' preservatives. To die,, then be reunited with Mother Earth, in a natural progression, just seems 'normal' to me. I can't think of any other way that I'd like to rest, eternally.

Why do we have to preserve our bodies with all of these unnatural substances? I just don't get it. Then again, I really don't know enough about the scientific ramifications, but still..I can't see why the most simple way of recycling isn't the best alternative?

Start here! naturalburial.coop...
and there's some important rights in the bullet statements here www.ftc.gov...

If you do your homework (and communicate your wishes expressly to your family!) what you wish isn't some crazy dream...It's probably easy, reasonable, and will save your family a ton of money. The funeral industry has just created demand, like so many other industries have.

Originally posted by bismos
personally im hoping i can get a sky burial so that i may return to the earth instead of having to wait for my casket to decay.

Sky Burial (Warning: Graphic)

Wow. That was awesome. I'm sure we could also dump our dead in the oceans. They would certainly be eaten up by bottom dwelling creatures/

reply to post by SourGrapes


I hear ya, I think I read something somewhere that all the crap we eat would keep us well preserved without even using embalming and other chemicals. I guess it's kinda like pickling yourself while your still alive.