Save the planet, and save some space.
While this is not a new concept (it started in Washington state), making the idea hip, palatable, and righteous has moved to the next level.
And of course, California leads the way.
From the San Francisco Gate:
There are traditionally two options for what to do with a body after death: burial or cremation.
In California, a third choice will soon present itself for those who shuffle off this mortal coil. That choice is human composting.
Assembly Bill 351, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday, will allow residents to choose human composting, or natural organic reduction (NOR), after death starting in 2027.
The process of composting a cadaver, already legalized in Washington, Colorado and Oregon, involves placing the body in a reusable container, surrounding it with wood chips and aerating it to let microbes and bacteria grow. After about a month, the remains will decompose and be fully transformed into soil. Companies such as Recompose in Washington offer the service at a natural organic reduction facility.
Unlike cremation, the process avoids the burning of fossil fuels and emission of carbon monoxide. National Geographic estimates that cremations in the U.S. alone emit about 360,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.
about as much as Kylie Jenner in her personal jet or LEO DEcap in is yacht in a day
Ahh, climate change. No wonder Hair Gel signed it. As I write, His Hairfulness has abandoned the state to attend Climate Week NYC, because he pushes zero emissions and an all electric California by 2035, but begs people not to charge their electric vehicles in order to not overwhelm the power grid.
Totally brill.
During the early depths of the coronavir panndemic, when funeral homes were inundated, Los Angeles County suspended regulations on cremation emissions. The author of the bill, Democratic Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, says the threat of climate change motivated the new law.
“AB 351 will provide an additional option for California residents that is more environmentally-friendly and gives them another choice for burial,” said Garcia in a statement. “With climate change and sea-level rise as very real threats to our environment, this is an alternative method of final disposition that won’t contribute emissions into our atmosphere.”
h/t Coastie Patriot