Going Green Even in Death: Introducing Water Cremation, the Eco-Friendly Alternative to Traditional Burials

Co-op Funeralcare, the UK's largest end-of-life service provider, has announced that it will soon offer "resomation" or water cremation, as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional cremation methods. Also known as alkaline hydrolysis, the process uses an alkaline solution to break down a human body into a skeleton in just four hours, with the bones then ground into a powder and placed in an urn for the family. The method uses five times less energy than traditional cremation and releases far fewer emissions. According to Euro News, 245 kilograms of CO2 and equivalents are released for every traditional cremation. The introduction of water cremation is a significant step towards greener funeral practices, and Co-op Funeralcare hopes it will provide people with another option for how they leave this world. Resomation was recently approved by regulators in the UK, and the funeral provider plans to introduce the practice later this year. Co-op Funeralcare's director of resomation company Kindly Earth, Julian Atkinson, said, "this natural process uses water, not fire, making it gentler on the body and kinder on the environment." The company's move towards greener end-of-life options reflects the growing trend of eco-friendly funeral practices. In the United States, companies like Better Place Forests are selling trees as gravestones in memorial forest preserves, with proceeds going towards protecting these forests forever. Additionally, in 2019, Washington state became the first in the nation to allow human composting. The rise of these eco-friendly options offers a new way of honoring loved ones while also reducing the environmental impact of traditional funeral practices.

Brain Activity at Death's Door: Study Uncovers Surprising Clues About Near-Death Experiences

Scientists have made a fascinating discovery that could explain the mysterious near-death experiences reported by many people who have come close to death. According to a recent study, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, dying patients experience a surge of specific brain activity in the moments before death that could help explain these experiences. Researchers from the University of Michigan conducted the study, which involved monitoring the brain activity of nine terminally ill patients in the final hours of their lives. They found a sudden increase in high-frequency brain waves, known as gamma waves, in the patients' brains just before they died. Gamma waves are associated with a range of cognitive processes, including consciousness, perception, and attention. The researchers suggest that the surge in gamma waves could be responsible for the vivid hallucinations and feelings of transcendence that many people report experiencing during near-death experiences. The study's lead author, Dr. Andrea Soddu, said that the findings could help shed light on the nature of consciousness and the brain's response to death. "Our study provides some of the first empirical evidence to support the idea that the brain becomes hyperactive in the moments before death," she said. The study's findings could also have important implications for end-of-life care. "Understanding what happens in the brain during the dying process could help us provide more compassionate care to dying patients and their families," said Dr. Soddu.