A+Green+Hereafter

GOEMANS, DEBORAH JANE. "A GREEN HEREAFTER. (Cover Story)." Humanist, vol. 74, no. 4, Jul/Aug2014, pp. 12-15. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=[].

This cover story from the Humanist discusses personal preferences relating to one's body's final disposition. The story is mostly a personal account of the author's experiences growing up in South Africa on a farm, which she recounts was very organic. Goemans' grandfather explained to her at a young age that humans are meant to return to the earth to feed other organisms, because other organisms can benefit from the nutrients we can give back to the earth. In other words, we are to be eaten. Her grandfather donated his body to science; he didn't have a final disposition, which troubled the author as a child. She addresses the societal issues with ritual ceremonies and physical resting places, and then she pivots to advocating for green burials. She takes much issue with traditional burials because of the carbon footprint and toxins that are buried in the earth. The story ends with a determination that the author wants to be buried in a green cemetery beside her husband, where weddings are performed (yes, in a cemetery), so that her descendants can dance upon her grave and she can return to the earth.

This story addresses the personal preference of final disposition and how society can influence one's choices. This article will be used to support green burials as a valid, increasingly popular way to transfer one's body back into the earth. Many Western societies are expected to embalm their dead and bury them in expensive non-deteriorating coffins with indestructible vaults, but for no reason other than certainty of where someone is and the condition in which they remain. This story shows the increasing demand for alternative end-of-life treatment that is environmentally sustainable and still provides a final resting place.