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posted by martyb on Saturday August 26 2017, @07:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the go-with-the-flow? dept.

It's not an acid bath. It's an alkaline bath:

When it comes to putting loved ones in their final resting places, our choice has long been whether to bury a body or cremate it. But a third option has been gaining attention recently: Alkaline hydrolysis, which involves dissolving a body in a liquid solution. The process leaves behind bones that can be ground into ash using much less energy than cremation. Though it sounds a bit gruesome, the approach offers many benefits. "This by far is the most environmentally friendly choice" Dean Fisher, director of the Donated Body Program at UCLA told Wired.

[...] Having a body cremated may seem like a sustainable burial, but in most cases it's not great for the environment. In cremation, everything is burned into ash, including bone and medical implants. That can lead to the release of harmful pollutants. In the UK, for instance, cremation contributes to 16% of all mercury pollution. And as The Atlantic has reported, cremation takes about two SUV-tanks worth of gas to cremate a single body. Alkaline hydrolysis, on the other hand, requires only an eighth of that energy, Gizmodo reports.

Also at Here & Now (4:45 audio).

California: AB-967 Human remains disposal: alkaline hydrolysis: licensure and regulation.


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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday August 26 2017, @07:48PM (5 children)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday August 26 2017, @07:48PM (#559556) Homepage Journal

    This happens all the time to the tourists at Yellowstone. They come to look at the water features. Of which there are many. They go in the water. Let me tell you, it's much too hot. So they die. And the rangers find the bones. Very bad for our tourist industry! I'm making Yellowstone safe. Starting with the bears. I took them off the endangered list. We're getting rid of a lot, a lot of the bears. And I have @NASA studying the hot water. Whether we can make steam out of it. Steam for industry. Give me good old steam! If we catch the hot water in pipes, it won't pool up. Catch the heat to run our factories. Yellowstone Industrial Park is gonna be terrific. Many #jobs and much safer for tourists. 🇺🇸

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday August 26 2017, @11:06PM (4 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday August 26 2017, @11:06PM (#559625) Homepage

    This user is by far extremely skilled at adaptive satire. I wish I knew them in person so I could buy them a beer, even though they are more likely than not anti-Trump in real-life.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 26 2017, @11:20PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 26 2017, @11:20PM (#559632)

      Stupid people make stupid comments. News at 11.

    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday August 27 2017, @12:20AM (1 child)

      by Gaaark (41) on Sunday August 27 2017, @12:20AM (#559645) Journal

      I have to agree: they seem to have his disjointed/scattered way of talking down.
      slow clap

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 27 2017, @06:13AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 27 2017, @06:13AM (#559725)

        Almost, but not entirely. Too many complete sentences :)

    • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday August 27 2017, @08:02PM

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Sunday August 27 2017, @08:02PM (#559907) Homepage Journal

      Thank you, I think you're a wonderful young man and I'm very proud to have your support. Because I always, always put the 18-49 demographic first. My rally at the San Diego Convention Center was a big part of #winning the California primary. Very happy that you joined me in that. Believe me, the African-American community in San Diego, and around our great country, is important to me. I've proclaimed February as National African American History Month. I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things. Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice. Great guy! Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today. You people are doing an amazing job. Big impact! And I invite you to join me in San Ysidro. Or Otay Mesa. For the opening ceremonies of our new border wall. I call it the #TrumpWall. It's going to be beautiful. I love your idea about the beer! And I hope @Nigel_Farage can make it. He's a great guy, loves a good beer. @Yuengling_Beer is behind me 100%! Christen the wall with Yuengling? Terrific! #TRUMP2020 #TRUMP2024 #USA 🇺🇸