Way to go!

Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak

When we die, our bodies merge with the elements.

Throughout history, we have disposed of our dead either by placing them in the elements of either earth or fire. These methods, so simple and so effective, were resistant to the improvements offered by technology until the invention of cremation, a method which is rapid, complete, hygienic and, though it took a while for people to get their heads around it, aesthetically acceptable. It is now falling out of favour both because of the amount of fuel it consumes and the emissions it creates.

We live in interesting times. Because there are two exciting new ways of disposing of our dead being trialled now. The first uses a new element: water. The second uses liquid nitrogen.

The idea of freeze-drying a dead body has been around since the early twentieth century. An American inventor experimented with it, but he found that the only way in which he could reduce a dead body to something equivalent to ashes was by using jack-hammers! Not surprisingly, it never took off.

The aesthetic element of any method of disposing of our dead is obviously very important. So it was very exciting when a Swedish scientist and environmentalist, Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, announced that she had succeeded in developing a process which reduces a freeze-dried body to a biodegradable powder by gently vibrating it. Her method, called promession, has been greeted with excited approval the world over, and she is presently adding the finishing touches before launching it. You can find out all about it by clicking here.

Meanwhile, here in Britain, a parallel method has been trialled and will shortly come to market. They call it cryomation. Find out more here.

The beauty of both methods is that the body can be returned to the earth where it will rapidly compost and be of best environmental value. The process uses far less energy and creates no carbon emissions.

While all this has been going on, an engineer in Scotland has just bought to market his own process using water. He has yet to obtain approval from Government lawyers in the UK, but he is selling well in the United States. His process is called resomation, and you can find out all about it here.

What marks out both of these processes is that they are extremely environmentally friendly. So: do you think that, when your time comes, you may prefer one or other of these to old school burial or cremation?