Green burials and DIY funerals

Guests: Mark Harris, Suzanne Kelly, Katrina Spade

Green burials are increasingly popular in the United States.  Concerns with the ecological impacts of regular burials, plus the shortage of land, and high costs, have turned many Americans toward a more natural way to rest in peace. You can be buried in a cloth shroud or a simple straw casket, have your ashes mixed with concrete to create a coral reef, or have your body mulched and turned back into soil your loved one’s can use.  This hour, we discuss the changing rituals around death and dying, including DIY home funerals and Death Cafes.  And, we’ll look at the growing interest in eco-friendly burial practices.  Our guests are MARK HARRIS, an environmental writer and the author of Grave Matters, and SUZANNE KELLY author of Greening Death.  We’ll also talk with KATRINA SPADE, founder and director of the Urban Death Project