Basic HTML Version
Page A22
NOVEMBER 2014
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
continue to do so generating annual revenues of $500
million with net profit in the 40% range.
2500 LBS. OF CO2 FROMWICKER CASKETS
Many funeral homes offer natural burial caskets made
of wicker, seagrass, banana leaves or bamboo.While these
60-75 lb. caskets are biodegradable, distributing them to
your funeral home via air freight from our nation’s ports
generates a carbon footprint of 1000 lbs. of CO2. Add
that to the carbon produced to grow and manufacture
the natural burial casket and you have a larger carbon
footprint than a steel casket at 1500 to 2000 lbs. CO2!
Biodegradable is not the same as Sustainable.
1,636,000 TONS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE VAULTS
The American Way of Death and
Sustainability: 10 Troubling Facts
The American Way of Death, when studied from perspectives
that include carbon lifecycle analysis, biodegradability, local-sourc-
ing, toxicity, and sustainability, reveals many sad truths. The death
care industry causes significant and unnecessary harm to our plan-
et. Here are a 10 sad truths worth talking about.
2.5 MILLION TONS OF CO2
The CO2 emissions from the American way of death including
cremations, buried steel and wood caskets, and concrete burial vaults
add up to an annual carbon footprint of more than 2.5 million tons
of CO2. It takes half a million acres of forest to offset this amount of
CO2 every year. That’s a forest about the size of Rhode Island.
18,078 TONS PER CAPITA
The United States has the largest per capita carbon footprint on
the planet. More than three times the world average and more than
ten times that of India.
100,000 TONS OF STEEL, BRASS, AND COPPER
build a 100-story high-rise building every year. These
metals will never be reclaimed or recycled. These are
expensive materials in terms of the carbon footprint
and the toxic pollution required to extract, refine,
and manufacture them.
1400 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
A typical cremation exposes human remains to a
direct flame reaching temperatures of 1400 to 1800
degrees Fahrenheit for a duration of two to three
hours, resulting in a carbon footprint of 350 to 600
lbs. of CO2. It is high school chemistry and conser-
vation of mass. Take the combined mass of human
remains, cremation container, and fuel used in cre-
mation less the mass of cremated remains returned
in the urn. Fossil fuel, a hydro-carbon, is composed
of Hydrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen. Our bodies are
65%Oxygen, 18% Carbon, and 10%Hydrogen by
mass. Incineration of our bodies with fossil fuel pri-
marily produces CO2.
THIRD LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR OF AIRBORNE
MERCURY CONTAMINATION
The US EPA estimates that cremation is the na-
tion’s third largest contributor of airborne mercury
contamination. The National Research Council esti-
mates that more than 60,000 children are born each
year at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental effects
due to in utero exposure to mercury.
37 PEOPLE IN 1 DAY
At the Madison Isthmus Green Day Festival last
April, I kept a tally of 37 individuals who pledged
to change their end-of-life funeral plans from crema-
tion to a natural burial after learning about the tox-
icity of cremation. Making clear and objective infor-
mation available to families who want to make an
informed choice has a profound impact.
43% CREMATION RATE
The cremation rate estimated by the Cremation As-
sociation of America in 2012 was 43.2%. This is a 1%
growth from 2011 compared to more than 2% growth
in the previous five years. In the same time period, the
number of green and natural burial cemeteries has
grown from less than 25 to more than 200 in America.
800,000 CASKETS ANNUALLY
One company, Hillenbrand, Inc. (HI), manufac-
tures and sells 45% of the 1.8 million caskets sold
in the United States annually under the Batesville
Casket Company brand acquired by John A. Hillen-
brand in 1906. Profits from casket operations have
fueled decades of diversification and growth and
US Steel in Gary, IN
Every year we bury more than 90,000 tons of steel caskets,
14,000 tons of steel burial vaults, and 2,700 tons of copper and
brass caskets in America’s cemeteries. We bury enough steel to
Every year America’s cemeteries bury enough steel re-
inforced concrete to build a highway from New York to
San Francisco. Prior to 1900, concrete vaults were un-
heard of. While concrete vaults provide function in both
convenience and safety in cemetery service, the Funer-
al Consumer Alliance reports that no state law requires
them. In terms of carbon, concrete production is the
world’s most expensive building material and is respon-
sible for 5% of the global carbon footprint.
Andringa Funeral Home
Purchases New Vehicles
Christopher L. Farmer joins Carriage Services
Christopher L. Farmer
HOUSTON,TX—
Carriage
Services
has announced
the hire of
Christopher L.
Farmer
as director of corpo-
rate development.
As director of corporate de-
velopment, Farmer will pro-
vide leadership in the imple-
mentation and operation of
strategic business develop-
ment initiatives. Farmer will
work closely with the exec-
utive and senior leadership
team to develop and imple-
ment a comprehensive pro-
gram of evaluating potential
leadership team.”
Most recently, Farmer
served as general counsel and
member of the board of di-
rectors for the
Cremation As-
sociation of North American,
general counsel for the
Texas
Funeral Directors Association
and a member of
Sheehy,
Ware &Pappas, P.C.,
where
he specialized in death-care
law and in labor and em-
ployment, commercial litiga-
tion and general litigation.
Farmer comes with a wealth
of experience within the in-
dustry, including consider-
able experience in funeral
home and cemetery law, as
well as involvement in the le-
gal due diligence process re-
lated to acquisition of funeral
homes and cemeteries.
Farmer received his under-
graduate degree from Purdue
University and a juris doc-
torate from the University of
Houston Law Center.
acquisitions in order to sup-
port the strategic growth of
Carriage and its mission of
being the best.
“We are very proud to have
an outstanding industry lead-
er join our team and look for-
ward to his impact on our
growth strategy of affiliating
with the best remaining in-
dependents in the most at-
tractive strategic markets,”
said
David J. DeCarlo,
pres-
ident and vice chairman of
the board of Carriage Ser-
vices. “Our goal of moving
from good to great would not
be possible without having
the best and brightest lead-
ers available in our industry
on our team. We believe the
addition of Christopher will
accelerate the success of our
strategic acquisition program
and add depth to our senior
SIBLEY,IA—
Larry Andringa
of
Andringa Funeral Home
in Sibley, IA takes possession of two new vehicles from
Tracy Beran,
associate salesman with
Fleet Systems.
Larry and Lavonne Andringa established Andringa Fu-
neral Home in 1983. They added a second location in
Sheldon in 1991. In 1994, they built
Andringa Funeral
Chapel
in Ocheyedan, IA.