Graveyard Extinction?

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Hoovie

I bet it would take many thousands of years...

But it would seem that it would eventually happen. And when it happened... where do you go from there? What do we do with all of these 3-1/2' x 10' plots of ground that we have deemed unusable for all of eternity?

At the rate of 35 sq ft of ground per soul multiplied by 2,500,000 people who die in the US each year divided by the 43560 sq ft that are in an acre. That means that to bury each person who dies in the use would use up 2000 acres per year. 20,000 acres of land lost per decade. In my lifetime nearly 95,000 acres might have been lost to burial plots.

This would take a long time before burial plot usage actually becomes a logistical problem. But I think we could agree that, should we continue our current view on burial, this will eventually be an actual problem that we have to deal with.

But... we'll leave that for future generations to deal with I suppose.

[Hoovie]

I dont think its pressing. In about ten thousand years we can review this. Lol!

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Hoovie

I dont think its pressing. In about ten thousand years we can review this. Lol!

Are you always a last minute kinda guy?



Oh... and I forgot to mention... those numbers count only burial plot size... there's probably about as much land given to between plot space... roads etc in the average cemetery.

[Azzan]

Originally Posted by Hoovie

I bet it would take many thousands of years...

It's already happening. Somewhere I read that European cemetaries are reselling plots after a number of years. I couldn't find what I was looking for but there are tons of articles out there discussing this subject. One such article:

http://www.economist.com/node/5635992

Anyone ever been to New Orleans? Since the water table is so high there, they bury above ground. They have these huge communal vaults where they store the bones of the deceased in special bags once the body has decomposed. Our tour guide showed us one such vault and told us that there thousands of individuals stored in it.

[Socialite]

I don't ever see that mandated in the US. If anything, the price of burial ground will rise exponentially first. Combined burial areas will become popular, etc...

I guess it doesn't matter what happens with my body when I die, but the idea of a proper, Western burial is appealing to me.

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by Azzan

It's already happening. Somewhere I read that European cemetaries are reselling plots after a number of years. I couldn't find what I was looking for but there are tons of articles out there discussing this subject. One such article:

http://www.economist.com/node/5635992

Anyone ever been to New Orleans? Since the water table is so high there, they bury above ground. They have these huge communal vaults where they store the bones of the deceased in special bags once the body has decomposed. Our tour guide showed us one such vault and told us that there thousands of individuals stored in it.

What is happening? The problem in NO isn't the US running out of land to bury folks. The problem would be people actually wanting to live below sea level.

I bet not even 1/10 of one percent of the land in the US is designated for cemeteries.

Digging up old cemeteries in Europe is a choice they make, in spite of the fact there are millions of uninhabited acres unoccupied.

[NotforSale]

IMO, Cremation is just another form of escaping reality. When we remove the dead from our presence, the reality of where we will all end up goes from the open casket to an Urn.

We do this with many other forms of death, including War, buying meat in the store, and putting the elderly in rest homes. We don't want death to be close to us, and the nice steak under pretty lights feeds the illusion of "Out of Sight, Out of Mind".

You will notice that the grieving process is much different when the dead body is in view at a Funeral. Going to the Graveside is also a special experience, and I’ve officiated Funerals where the deceased are buried while everyone is watching.

[Digging4Truth]

There's also other things to consider.

1. All of those numbers I have given are about to be obsolete as the baby boomers will begin passing soon.
2. Every year due to standard burial procedures we put into the ground...
A. 827,000 gallons of embalming fluid.
B. 90,000 tons of steel that goes into caskets
C. 30,000,000 board feet of hardwood lumber
D. 1.5 million tons of reinforced concrete

And... as I have mentioned... those numbers are pre-baby boomer stats.

I'm not trying to push my thoughts on anybody else. These are just things that I think about and I don't plan on adding to these numbers when I'm gone.

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by NotforSale

IMO, Cremation is just another form of escaping reality. When we remove the dead from our presence, the reality of where we will all end up goes from the open casket to an Urn.

We do this with many other forms of death, including War, buying meat in the store, and putting the elderly in rest homes. We don't want death to be close to us, and the nice steak under pretty lights feeds the illusion of "Out of Sight, Out of Mind".

You will notice that the grieving process is much different when the dead body is in view at a Funeral. Going to the Graveside is also a special experience, and I’ve officiated Funerals where the deceased are buried while everyone is watching.

We do that at Mennonite funerals. Pine box. Hand dug grave. Family assists in adding dirt if they wish.

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

There's also other things to consider.

1. All of those numbers I have given are about to be obsolete as the baby boomers will begin passing soon.
2. Every year due to standard burial procedures we put into the ground...
A. 827,000 gallons of embalming fluid.
B. 90,000 tons of steel that goes into caskets
C. 30,000,000 board feet of hardwood lumber
D. 1.5 million tons of reinforced concrete

And... as I have mentioned... those numbers are pre-baby boomer stats.

I'm not trying to push my thoughts on anybody else. These are just things that I think about and I don't plan on adding to these numbers when I'm gone.

All these things are optional in the state of MO. Biodegradable softwood is fine.