Cremating people is better than burying them for a plethora of reasons:
1. It does not (or have the risk of) polluting groundwater. Reading: https://www.groundsure.com/grave-danger-cemeteries-as-a-source-of-groundwater-pollution/
2. Carries the same benefits: You can put the ashes of family/friends in urns and keep them with you. Some fashion them into everyday wear like in lockets/rings and if you immigrate or leave you can still have them with you
3. More cost efficient: I live in Canada so it may vary but it is generally 1/4 less expensive than burials.
Cementary plots are also not forever lasting not viable for everyone. I think this is just the more sensible option of the two. The only concession is perhaps religion and even that is getting more lax now.
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Ideally I think you want water cremation, honestly. Traditional cremation isn’t super good for the environment either. If being liquified isn’t for you, you could consider some form of green burial, which removes the danger of chemicals used in traditional embalming leaching into the soil.
Well given a majority of Canadians and Americans are now cremated, this is a popular opinion
What happens to your ashes past 3 or 4 generations? They didn’t know you.
It instead fuels the greenhouse gases with carbon dioxide production.
Depending on geography, ossuaries are extremely susceptible to natural disasters like flooding and earthquakes.
Until OP has tried both, I’ll withhold judgement on his opinion.
Sky burial is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of a corpse
NSFW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial
I don’t think that is unpopular with people under 50. I think the baby boomers will be the last generation to prefer being buried.
Members of the our local hobby rocketry club have launched ashes from deceased members at the club events. Can’t do that with burial
Not controversial this is just a fact. Humans are going to burn things may as well be me too.
Your 2nd point is just silly. Who is going to want a collection of urns in their home 50 years from now? People already have run into problems with urns of deceased people who have no heirs. Eventually you have to do something with them. And this idea that cemeteries plots aren’t forever is equally silly. We have thousands of cemeteries with graves going back to the 1600s scattered all up and down the east cost. It isn’t like we’ve run out of room.
I want to be tossed in a hole and a tree planted on top. Just go back to the earth.
Kick me in a hole and plant a tree over me no need to waste even more resources after I’m gone.
As you said, religion is an exception. There is a major religious aspect to funerals and death. This is something that is true of essentially all religions and all cultures.
Certain religions, such as Islam and Judaism, strictly forbid cremation (while others like Christianity allow it). Nobody in my family (myself included) will ever be cremated as it would be an insult to our culture.
Cremation uses energy then expels the energy that your body would have provided away through thermal dispersion
Cremation? The thing that the majority of people do now is better? Bold take.
This doesn’t qualify as an unpopular opinion bub. Why would you think this is an unpopular opinion?