For years we've been told that cremation is the way to go for green funerals.
And for many people the conversation ended right there.
All that was left to worry about was whether you'd plant or scatter the ashes.
As a green solution, cremation has its pluses and its minuses, but there are also other things that you might want to consider as you make your choices about dealing with the body after death.
As always, what's most helpful is to have had these conversations beforehand.
If you can deal with death long beforehand, it won't be so horrifying when it happens.
You will be in no position to make thoughtful decisions about your beloved's remains when you are grieving.
Grieving takes up all the emotional room there is.
Having clear conversations and written directions long before death ensure that you will know what to do.
In the moment, this is very reassuring because you're able to carry out last wishes and because you won't have to stop and think.
It's also not a bad idea to choose a funeral home and make your arrangements and your payments beforehand.
Then your decisions are made and any extra costs are incidental.
There are places in some parts of the world where you can have complete green funerals.
Your clergy, your phone books and some good informational phone calls will help you determine what's available to you.
You're planting something that will be in the Earth for a very long time.
It should not cause harm as it disintegrates.
And that's the least you can ask.
What if, in fact, it did the earth good? There are (at least!) three important things to consider:

1. Chemicals - Will you embalm or not? Why would you do that? In some cases either custom or law may point toward it.
   If your family traditions run toward open casket viewings, you may want to do so.
   If embalming is not what you want, there are websites where you can check your state laws for your options.
   If your religious tradition does not embalm, even if state laws lean toward embalming, you are probably exempted from the law.
   
2. Caskets - Some of the ways the funeral industry has raised its profit margins is by selling you not only wildly expensive caskets but also vaults for the deceased which are to prevent decay.
   Well, in the ground, bodies decay.
   These days, many funeral homes are thinking differently about where their revenue stream comes from, so you still are going to want to make sure that you know your limits and your desires.
   There are now casket companies that plant a tree for every casket they sell.
   
3. The Land - What do you want to put in the ground? There are now natural burial grounds with no markers, or perhaps just a stone.
   That gives you a different grave experience than a more typical cemetery alongside a church or on the outskirts of town.
   Some people may want to plant ashes; some may want them scattered.
   

What do you want? You have more choices than you think for having a burial somewhere between "greener" and green.
It does mean you have more decisions to make.
Remember that you're better off not making those decisions in the stress of the moment.
Talking about death doesn't make it happen; it just makes you prepared when it does.
Why not have the perfect burial for this beloved person in your life.
It's a fitting way to honor them.
Taking care of the Earth at the same time we bury of our beloved's body is just one more way to respect that person.