Six Feet Under

Man, how I miss that show. The funereal industry was fascinating. The show even touched on natural burials for the environmentalist wife of Peter Krause’s character. It’s been so long I don’t remember the character names much.

Anyway, I came across an article in the Seattle Times today that brought all this to mind, and if you are environmentally conscious as well, you will want to read about a Clark County Cemetery a pioneer in green burial trend.

Personally, I have my mind set on an Eternal Reef, unless being blasted into space becomes more affordable. They keep promising a West Coast reef soon. You can even have your pets memorialized this way.

And SFU? These days I get my Peter Krause fix on “Dirty Sexy Money”.

More about Eternal Reefs:

Plot space is running out across America. Families are moving, couples are divorcing and no one visits their local cemetery to check on their final resting place. What are the burial options for the next generation? For families and individuals that choose alternative burial, a new memorial option is gaining popularity – reef burial.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) January 23, 2008 — Plot space is running out across America. Families are moving, couples are divorcing and no one visits their local cemetery to check on their final resting place. What are the burial options for the next generation? Cremation is growing dramatically in the United States, and by 2010, the procedure may be included in 40 percent of funerals, according to the Cremation Association of North America. Given these cremation statistics, alternative burial trends are on the rise, including eco-friendly or “green burial,” urging many Americans to think about leaving a permanent eco-living legacy. For families and individuals that choose alternative burial, a new memorial option is gaining popularity – reef burial.

Over the past seven years, Atlanta-based Company Eternal Reefs has offered underwater burial at sea in an artificial reef called a “Memorial Reef.” Eternal Reefs is the only company in the United States to combine an individual’s cremated remains with eco-friendly cast concrete to form a designed reef called a reef ball. Weighing anywhere from 400 – 4,000 pounds, each Memorial Reef placed on the ocean floor creates a new marine habitat for fish and other forms of sea life, allowing a new ecosystem to develop. Memorial reefs have also been a solution for the “shelf people” crisis across the country. An astonishing 45 percent of families that have chosen cremation still have their loved ones remains sitting on a shelf or in a closet. Thousands of individuals pass away unexpectedly and don’t leave a will, leaving the next generation to handle their remains. Eternal Reefs offers a final resting place for those individuals.

With every Memorial Reef, the executor of the estate receives two memorial certificates that identify the longitude and latitude of the memorials, which are marked with bronze plaques. Loved ones can participate in every step of the Memorial Reef process and gather for the reef casting, viewing and placement ceremonies. Throughout the year, families and friends often return to the memorial reef site to dive, fish or even visit by glass bottom boat.

“You’re seeing a change culturally. Rather than passing down an urn to future generations or taking up space in a cemetery, this memorial is a true living legacy, says Don Brawley, founder, Eternal Reefs Inc. “Our families find comfort in knowing their loved one has a final resting place and a meaningful environmental tribute to life.”

2008 Eternal Reefs locations include:
Fort Myers, Florida – February 5, 2008
Sarasota, Florida – February 8, 2008
Miami, Florida – February 11, 2008
Ocean City, New Jersey – May 16, 2008
Ocean City, Maryland – May 19, 2008
Sarasota, Florida – July 15, 2008
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – July 18, 2008
Charleston, South Carolina – October 10, 2008
Chesapeake Bay – October 13, 2008

For more information about Eternal Reefs visit: http://www.eternalreefs.com/

About Eternal Reefs Inc.
Eternal Reefs, Inc is the first company in the United States to offer green burial at sea in an artificial reef ball to memorialize the cremated remains of a loved one. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company incorporates cremated remains with environmentally safe concrete to form an artificial reef formation called a Memorial Reef. The artificial reefs are dedicated as permanent memorials while also bolstering natural coastal reef formations. Over 1,000 Memorial Reefs, have been placed off the coasts of Florida, South Carolina, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.

For more information, visit: http://www.eternalreefs.com/

2 thoughts on “Six Feet Under”

  1. I saw Mark Harris speak at the Green Burial Conference in Boulder about this reef option. It is an interesting process but it seems to industrial for me personally. But I find cremation too industrial too. And I that doesn’t seem all that “green”. I like the natural burial option the best. Seems like a nice thing for the folks doing it; walk in nature, smell the earth, hear the wind, etc. I’m just glad to know that there are so many options.

  2. Natural Burial Around the World

    The modern concept of natural burial began in the UK in 1993 and has since spread across the globe. According the Centre for Natural Burial, http://naturalburial.coop there are now several hundred natural burial grounds in the United Kingdom and half a dozen sites across the USA, with others planned in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and even China.

    A natural burial allows you to use your funeral as a conservation tool to create, restore and protect urban green spaces.

    The Centre for Natural Burial provides comprehensive resources supporting the development of natural burial and detailed information about natural burial sites around the world. With the Natural Burial Co-operative newsletter you can stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the rapidly growing trend of natural burial including, announcements of new and proposed natural burial sites, book reviews, interviews, stories and feature articles.

    The Centre for Natural Burial

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