Death and conservation
January 28, 2011 § Leave a comment
Here’s a typical event which exposes societal attitudes to death and dying.
A local government authority in the West Midlands is wondering if it can save money by using the heat from a nearby crematorium to warm the water in the adjoining swimming pool. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-12267370
A popular response has been: “Urghh, how could you possibly consider it” – as though the water itself was contaminated with the ashes of the departed. A local trade union even described the proposal as “sick and an insult to local residents”…
Perhaps it’s just me, but I think it’s a really creative idea.
Nature ensures that waste from one organism is food for another; and so it should be in our oil-strapped and hungry world. Local governments badly need to save money. Every organisation and community needs to be moving into carbon descent.
I think we’re moving to a world where such energy conservation measures need to become the norm. Perhaps there needs to be a rethinking of social values towards what we need to do to ensure the smoothest possible impact of climate change and the end of oil?
John Gray 
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