New Philosopher – July 2019

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Around the web

Thereareallkindsofgreenpractices
andproducts availablethese days on
theso-called ‘death care’market.So
many,infact,thatin 2005 JoeSehee
foundedtheGreenBurialCouncil–
a non-profit that keeps tabs on the
greenfuneralindustry,offeringcerti-
ficationsforproductsandcemeteries.
Seheesawa needtopreventmeaning-
lessgreenwashinginthegreenburial
world.“It is a social movement. It’s
alsoa business opportunity,”he said.
So what’s the most environmentally
friendlywayto disposeofa body?It
alldependsonyourpreferences.
theatlantic.com/technology/
archive/2014/10/how-to-be-eco-
friendly-when-youre-dead/382120/

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Howtobe eco-friendly
whenyoudie
Almost all medical professionals have
seen what we call ‘futile care’ being
performed on people. That’s when
doctors bring the cutting edge of
technology to bear on a grievously ill
person near the end of life. ... I can-
not count the number of times fellow
physicians have told me, in words that
vary only slightly, “Promise me if you
find me like this that you’ll kill me.”
They mean it. Some medical person-
nel wear medallions stamped NO
CODE to tell physicians not to per-
form CPR on them. I have even seen
it as a tattoo.
zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/
how-doctors-die/ideas/nexus/

How doctors die

Devil’s dictionary

FUNERAL, N. A pageant whereby

we attest our respect for the dead

by enriching the undertaker, and

strengthen our grief by an expenditure

that deepens our groans and doubles

our tears.

@GuyLongworth

“I’m afraid that you’ve

become a distraction from

marking and death.”

Seventy per cent of Australians want

to die at home, yet only 14 per cent

do so. Despite their wishes, about

half of people die in hospital and a

third in residential care. Dying in

Australia is more institutionalised

Dying well

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Video:

Living with dead bodies

On the Indonesian island of

Sulawesi, the Torajan people

believe that a person is not

truly dead until water buffalo

have been sacrificed at their

funeral, serving as the vehicle

to the afterlife. Until that time,

the bodies may be kept at

the family’s home for weeks,

months or years and are fed and

cared for as if they were alive.

newphilosopher.com/videos/

living-with-dead-bodies/

than in most countries. Medical and

community attitudes plus a lack of

funds for formal, home-based care

mean that Australians die at home at

half the rate that people do in New

Zealand, the United States, Ireland,

and France.

grattan.edu.au/report/dying-well/