My Last Conscientious Choice to Divest from Fossil Fuels

What will my children be thankful for? They’ll thank me fo making my post-death disposal arrangements. Now if I could just make the arrangements I want, in the province where I was born and will die, British Columbia.

I am one of a group of Cowichan Valley women concerned about the environment and the climate emergency as well as the slowness of governments, provincially and federally, to take the courageous and urgent action needed to avert the effects so evident around us.

Alkaline Hydrolysis (AH) is legal in PQ, ON, SK, Nfld and Lab, NWT and 24 USA States.

What is AH and why choose it?

I’ve been a “greenie” for six decades and want to die being one. Last year, in BC, 80% of deaths resulted in flame-based cremation which resulted in a whopping 10 million kg of CO2 and toxins being released into the atmosphere.

The energy used was similar to that of 2,635 homes for the same year. Read that again to let the magnitude sink in.

AH is an important option for three reasons: it provides another end of life choice, it mitigates the climate change impacts which we are seeing all around us and it prepares for the demographics of baby boomers’ deaths over the next 20 years or so.

That 10 million kg could be 20 million kg in ten years unless AH is legalized in BC…..5,270 homes worth of energy!

There is no evidence of this being addressed in the updated Clean BC Plan.

How does this process work? AH takes place in a sealed stainless steel tank using a solution of 95% water and 5% alkali, heated to 200F – 300F. The solution is gently circulated during the decomposition process, taking six to 20 hours, depending on the temperature used and the weight of the body. The equipment uses about the same amount of electricity as a dishwasher, 90% less energy than flame cremation.

All organic material is broken down to the smallest particles with no DNA remaining. The resulting sterile solution, consisting of amino acids, sugars, nutrients, salts and soap, is returned to the ecosystem via normal wastewater treatment. No special building is required. No particulate matter in the air.

The inorganic materials; prosthetics, medical implants including dental fillings are left intact and, as they are sterilized in the process, could be recycled. The residual bones are ground into a fine, white, calcium phosphate powder (similar to cremation) that is 100% safe to handle; pathogen and disease free. This powder can be placed into an urn, made into glass or ceramic art pieces, buried, scattered, or used in memorial garden plantings.

Is this sounding like something you’d prefer to flame-based cremation? It ticks a lot of boxes for me.

Various groups, including the BC Women’s Institute and some people in the funeral business have been lobbying the BC government for six years to make this end of life process available to the people of BC.

This is a way for every person in BC to assist in slowing the effects of Climate Change – once the Provincial Government acts on the information and research they already have at their disposal.

Solicitor General Farnworth and Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Strategy Heyman, what are your end-of-life plans?

Sandy McPherson.