"Natural Burial; the Ultimate Back-to-the-Land Movement"
"Be a Tree; the Natural Burial Guide for Turning Yourself into a Forest"
http://www.beatree.com/
I stumbled upon this subject by accident recently. It started with a search "is cremation christian". The following largely depends on one's jurisdiction so this thread cannot answer county and state specific questions for you.
The origins of cremation are of course pagan, but the practice is increasingly gaining popularity among Christians for a variety of reasons, though it could be that the two most dominant ones are cost and convenience. Not particularly compelling reasons.
A natural, or as some call it "Green" burial, seems like it might be a good alternative to an expensive funeral and inconveniencing your loved ones with time and travel expenses. Simply put the body in a shroud and lay it in the bottom of the hole. Or put it in a pine box in the hole. No pickling with formaldehyde or makeup necessary - or desirable. As anyone who has seen old grave sites on farms may have observed, one problem with using a box is that the site may eventually turn into a dimple, once the box rots out and the dirt caves into it.
On private land burials, some don't even mark the grave, but simply record its GPS coordinates - or not. To avoid disturbing a grave when burying another later, perhaps marking the original with lengths of thick re-rod buried a foot deep or so around the edges would suffice, for finding with a metal detector (or backhoe shovel) later.
Or just plant an oak tree right on top of the site. That way the site would also maintain itself through the shade of the tree and animals visiting to collect acorns.
Even transporting a body across state lines in your own vehicle, seems to only require refrigeration to be legal, which can be acceptably accomplished with dry ice. However in a car dry ice can raise the levels of carbon dioxide. Perhaps an extra hole in the box, that fits a vinyl venting hose that could be stuck out a car window, would do. Corking the hole before lowering into the ground - or not bothering.
You can build your own casket or buy a pine box. I didn't price it competitively but selected a random example:
http://naturescasket.com/Casket.htmlIt seems that in most states, if you own a tract of land, you can be buried on it. Rules vary from state to state.
So in the event of death, I could be wrong, but I think the first call to be made should be to the police, then the police can contact the coroner (this may be only if necessary to establish the cause, in an unexpected death).
I had no idea of the popularity of my "new discovery" until I read the following link:
"There are no solid statistics on how many Americans choose green burial. But an indication of its rising popularity comes from a 2007 AARP study, which found that nearly one in five Americans age 50 and older who have planned for a funeral have considered a green one."
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/23/green-burials-reflect-shift-care-body-soul/
