Tobias Schunck 03/09/2009 12:12:00 PM
�CONCERNING THE REGULATION OF PERSONS WHO PROVIDE FOR THE
FINAL DISPOSITION OF DEAD HUMAN BODIES IN THE NORMAL
COURSE OF BUSINESS.�
The title of this bill sounds pretty harmless. The implications are however far from harmless. If the legislature would have to comply with truth in advertising, this bill should have been sub-titled:
Do not pass go, but pay $ 8,000 to be hermetically sealed and turned into toxic waste.
The Colorado State House is about to raise the cost of funerals through the roof while taking away freedom of choice. It should come as no surprise that this bill was crafted by the Colorado Funeral Directors Association to guarantee their members an absolute, legally guaranteed monopoly over every death in this state. Further, it criminalizes anyone that refuses to surrender to the Colorado Death Industry.
On February 18th, 2009 Colorado House Bill 09-1202 sailed through the Business Affairs and Labor committee with a 9-0 vote and was recommended to be approved by the Appropriations Committee. Smooth sailing so far. The proponents of this bill, notably the Colorado Funeral Directors Association are touting this seriously flawed and dangerous legislation as �consumer protection�. I am not sure if I want my earthly remains to be �protected� by the Colorado Death Association or by our legislators.
HB 09-1202 would mandate the use of a funeral director (and therefore a funeral home) for all matters relating to a person�s death. Therefore, the costs of getting from your death-bed into the ground is about $ 8,000. This is the cost of the average commercial funeral in this country. This cost is paid by the survivors, including all those that do not want to turn their loved one�s remains into toxic, formaldehyde saturated waste.
If this bill passes, families and friends would be criminally prosecuted if they would dare to:
� Take possessions of their dead.
� Transport their dead in their own vehicles,
� Fail to provide a hermetically sealed container instead of a simple coffin made from renewable materials or just a burial shroud.
� Hold a simple, personal and inexpensive or no-cost home funeral.
� Transport the deceased from their home to a cemetery or crematorium.
� Or bury them on their own land WITHOUT the �services� of a funeral director.
This bill specifies CRIMINAL penalties for survivors for trying to circumvent the death industry. Most Coloradoans pride themselves on their independent, frontier spirits. There is a real do-it-yourself attitude in this great State. The only similar absurdity I can compare this to is New Jersey which still prohibits motorists from pumping their own gasoline for their automobiles. I don�t have anything against funeral directors. But I don�t want a total stranger from the Death Industry at my memorial, wake and funeral �directing� anything (and wanting to collect thousands of dollars). I want to have the freedom to leave those choices up to family and friends.
The �Science� of Death
Now why should we be protected from ourselves? Because we are not smart enough to understand the complex science surrounding dead bodies, burials, funerals, and cremation.
The Colorado Death Industry uses the latest and most unscientific methods to turn your corpse into toxic waste that pollutes the air, water and soil. Pay close attention, because this is MORTUARY SCIENCE.
The human body is mostly made up of water. The rest is perfectly good, biodegradable material. Of course, there are those of us who have a few spare parts that aren�t so biodegradable such as new hips, knees, pacemakers, amalgam dental fillings, breast implants and a host of other non-OEM parts that probably need to be recycled rather than incinerated or buried. Unless you want to be buried in a pyramid, a commercial cemetery or some other institution that promises your best appearance when the and if the second coming of Christ happens, there is NO good reason to bleed you out and re-fill your veins with Formaldehyde. Due to its widespread use, toxicity, volatility, and exposure to, formaldehyde is significant and dangerous pollutant.
Several of those uncivilized, hedonistic European countries that don�t believe in neither creationism, intelligent design nor the tooth ferry, restrict the use of formaldehyde for embalming. These people are crazy. They must not know about mortuary science as the European Union decided on September 22, 2007 to ban formaldehyde use for embalming purposes throughout Europe due to its carcinogenic properties. I am so happy that we have the Colorado and US Death Industry to sponsor and validate mortuary science and protect us. The Grand Wizzard of the Death Industry tells us that embalming is necessary to prevent the spread of diseases. Now I am not a scientists, but last time I checked, dead people don�t breathe, cough, sneeze or engage in unsafe sexual behavior. Forcing a person and threatening them with criminal prosecution if they fail to pressure-treat their loved once with cancer-causing, toxic chemicals is about as sound of a science as witch-burning. At least they didn�t charge the witches� survivors for the firewood.
The History of Mortuary �Science�
Funeral Directors have never attained the status they held in old Egypt where they were better paid and had cooler outfits than just ordinary physicians. So after harboring a grudge for over 3,000 years, they are back with a vengeance. They organized themselves into state chapters of the Death Industry and have successfully gotten legislation passed in 49 states. The last �Free State� is Colorado where so far, money hungry legislators have resisted the temptation to pass legislation restoring funeral directors once god-like status.
Today, if you don�t have the brains, money or stamina to engage in endless years of science, medical and hands-on training to become a physician, you can always take the (q)easy and fast way out into�. Mortuary Science. Often times, you don�t have to even attend a community college. You can jus slave away and work for next to nothing at a funeral home, practicing��.Science! But all those years of indentured servitude take a toll and the �Mortuary Scientists� want recognition, status, and like their counterparts that deal with living, breathing clients, a legally protected monopoly. So they organize themselves, collect dues from anyone wanting to have a hint of legitimacy and pile all those dues into a pot. Eventually, and especially considering that the average funeral costs about $ 8,000, all those dues add up. And so that pot of money becomes a great way to bribe, influence and pay your way into a legally protected industry. After all, if a real science like medicine can be responsible for the vast majority of personal bankruptcies in this country, what is wrong with stealing the last few bucks out of the survivor�s pockets to buy a dead a nice funeral. Often, these funerals come complete with embalming (since most cemeteries are in on this game and require a toxic corpse), concrete & steel vaults, elaborate coffins made from tropical hardwoods and numerous other and pricey products and services. Forget about paying for your kid�s college education. Better save up for your own funeral. And, feel good about leaving a toxic legacy.
Pollution from Embalming
Once again, real sciences like hydrology, biology, geology and other, respected and peer-reviewed sciences are in agreements that embalming with formaldehyde is a dangerous and unsustainable practice. Unlike �mortuary science� which encourages, promotes and often mandates this practice. So what happens one the toxic corpse now preserved for eternity goes into the ground? Nothing. As long as nothing changes, the coffin will slowly decompose. And as long as the concrete or steel vault holds up, everything is fine. Not even the lawn maintenance guy who is busy spreading herbicides and pesticides while driving his 2-cycle oil-spewing lawn tractors would think that there is anything wrong with this picture. But, let�s just assume that there could be an unthinkable, highly unlikely meteorological event. Like a heavy, sustained rain or even a minor flood. Then, water leaks into the vault, the coffin and yes, into your remains. And formaldehyde leaks out. So, let�s just say that the second coming of Christ isn�t just around the corner but a few hundred or thousands of years off. Until then, your now toxic, carcinogenic and not very pretty remains are going to be a source of on-going groundwater and soil pollution.
In some countries that have put some thought into this problem and have not been smothered by Mortuary Science have come up with some unique and novel concepts like natural cemeteries. In this case, your corpse is liberated from any non-biodegradable after-market parts and accessories and buried in a shroud or cardboard coffin. These cemeteries have been created to offer an alternative to traditional toxic cemeteries. Often, there is not even a headstone to mark a grave but rather a tree or a simple marker. Not only is this a great concept in preventing pollution, but also conserving and preserving land in its natural state without the need for expensive and toxic lawn maintenance. Unfortunately, Mortuary Science is strongly opposed to any sustainable and ecologically sound method of burial that would infringe on their monopoly. The Death Industry has lobbied strongly against natural cemeteries and through spreading miss-information and propaganda fueled the paranoia of neighboring landowners.
Pollution from Cremation
But don�t forget, you can also get cremated. That used to be a pretty inexpensive option. Not any more. Like any good used-car salesman, any funeral director is going to try to sell you an expensive flammable coffin, try to get you embalmed (maybe you burn better that way) and offer de-installation on all those non-OEM parts, especially the ones that can explode (like a pacemaker) or blacken the crematory chamber (silicone implants).
At least you don�t have to have the nice funeral director spread your ashes. You can still have your friends and family legally do that part. Maybe not much longer if the Death Industry could have it their way. Maybe you aren�t competent enough to scientifically spread your loved one�s ashes. Maybe there is money to be made in selling you one expensive urn.
What the nice funeral director will NOT tell you is that the US Death Industry has successfully prevented any real pollution controls for crematoria in this country. Today, mercury emissions from crematoria are the second largest source of airborne mercury pollution in this country after power plants. And it gets worse. Most crematoria are in densely populated urban areas. They don�t have smoke stacks that pierce the clouds. Their pollution is highly regionalized. So next time you pass a funeral home, look for a large diameter, low-rise smokestack and hold your breath. Think its bad from the outside? Try working at a crematorium. Personnel working in crematoria are often exposed to extremely high levels of mercury.
Without some pollution control equipment, cremation basically turns the human body using extreme heat into water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, dust, carbonized remains, furans and dioxins. If you�ve ever had a �silver� (amalgam) filling, add mercury to that list. Currently, Colorado law does not even come close to even attempt to regulate emissions from crematoria which are often located in urban areas. In the US, crematories are being held to a standard that is similar to the ones used in Europe 50 years ago.
Just how much mercury is emitted depends on what data sets you believe are accurate. Mortuary science would like you to believe that good old American corpses don�t actually emit any mercury when they are cremated. But if you listen to the death industry, they will tell you that only British, Scottish, Dutch, German, Australian and Swiss bodies actually emit mercury when cremated. Because they were unable to squash the research that has been going on in other countries.
Failing to be convinced by Mortuary �Science�, even our Canadian neighbors take this air pollution from cremations seriously and are looking at regulating them. They�d rather look at unbiased, validated, reviewed and statistically sound data that indicates that mercury emissions from cremation are a serious health hazard. Take a look the pollution controls in Germany and you will find mercury scrubbing systems, catalysts and dust filters. In Colorado, crematories are simply mandated not to have any VISIBLE emissions. As you know, even things that are not visible to the human eye can and will effect the environment. Now that is real science. Based on mercury readings from crematoria, sampling downwind from their smoke stacks and even sampling the hair of workers in crematoria.
The Death Industry�s Worst Nightmare
The funeral industry is extremely concerned about a small but growing �home� funeral movement along with natural burials. Just as the Death Industry will finalize their stranglehold over the last Free State in this country, it needs to prevent an challenges to their complete monopoly. What better way to do that but to criminalize DYI funerals?
Just a hundred years ago, it was considered perfectly normal to hold a wake in the deceased person�s home and bury the body on his own property.
This movement, which is just enjoying a bit of a revival, aims to make this final chapter in a person�s life as natural and uncomplicated as possible.
And without all the accessorizing, toxic pressure-treatment, elaborate coffins, nicely dressed undertakers, funeral directors, grief counselors and other disciples of the death industry, that process wasn�t very expensive.
In other words, with a little help from friends and family, one could have a pretty meaningful and un-complicated transition for a very small amount of money. But where would that leave the poor $ 15 billion per year Death Industry? I wonder how much money has been funneled to the sponsors and supporters of this bill.
Unfortunately, our Colorado legislatures aren�t smart enough to realize that this kind of money can buy protectionist legislation. What seems to matter less to our lawmakers is that their actions would force consumers to buy products and services from this unscrupulous, often corrupt and scandal-plagued, unsustainable Death Industry.
There are plenty of reasons to legislate on behalf of consumers and the environment in regulating the funeral industry. HB 09-1202 does not include any meaningful consumer protection, except for the Death Industry itself. Nor does it address the inalienable right to determine one�s own transition from deathbed to grave.
Tobias Schunck
Longmont, CO
Tobias Schunck 03/09/2009 12:12:00 PM
�CONCERNING THE REGULATION OF PERSONS WHO PROVIDE FOR THE
FINAL DISPOSITION OF DEAD HUMAN BODIES IN THE NORMAL
COURSE OF BUSINESS.�
The title of this bill sounds pretty harmless. The implications are however far from harmless. If the legislature would have to comply with truth in advertising, this bill should have been sub-titled:
Do not pass go, but pay $ 8,000 to be hermetically sealed and turned into toxic waste.
The Colorado State House is about to raise the cost of funerals through the roof while taking away freedom of choice. It should come as no surprise that this bill was crafted by the Colorado Funeral Directors Association to guarantee their members an absolute, legally guaranteed monopoly over every death in this state. Further, it criminalizes anyone that refuses to surrender to the Colorado Death Industry.
On February 18th, 2009 Colorado House Bill 09-1202 sailed through the Business Affairs and Labor committee with a 9-0 vote and was recommended to be approved by the Appropriations Committee. Smooth sailing so far. The proponents of this bill, notably the Colorado Funeral Directors Association are touting this seriously flawed and dangerous legislation as �consumer protection�. I am not sure if I want my earthly remains to be �protected� by the Colorado Death Association or by our legislators.
HB 09-1202 would mandate the use of a funeral director (and therefore a funeral home) for all matters relating to a person�s death. Therefore, the costs of getting from your death-bed into the ground is about $ 8,000. This is the cost of the average commercial funeral in this country. This cost is paid by the survivors, including all those that do not want to turn their loved one�s remains into toxic, formaldehyde saturated waste.
If this bill passes, families and friends would be criminally prosecuted if they would dare to:
� Take possessions of their dead.
� Transport their dead in their own vehicles,
� Fail to provide a hermetically sealed container instead of a simple coffin made from renewable materials or just a burial shroud.
� Hold a simple, personal and inexpensive or no-cost home funeral.
� Transport the deceased from their home to a cemetery or crematorium.
� Or bury them on their own land WITHOUT the �services� of a funeral director.
This bill specifies CRIMINAL penalties for survivors for trying to circumvent the death industry. Most Coloradoans pride themselves on their independent, frontier spirits. There is a real do-it-yourself attitude in this great State. The only similar absurdity I can compare this to is New Jersey which still prohibits motorists from pumping their own gasoline for their automobiles. I don�t have anything against funeral directors. But I don�t want a total stranger from the Death Industry at my memorial, wake and funeral �directing� anything (and wanting to collect thousands of dollars). I want to have the freedom to leave those choices up to family and friends.
The �Science� of Death
Now why should we be protected from ourselves? Because we are not smart enough to understand the complex science surrounding dead bodies, burials, funerals, and cremation.
The Colorado Death Industry uses the latest and most unscientific methods to turn your corpse into toxic waste that pollutes the air, water and soil. Pay close attention, because this is MORTUARY SCIENCE.
The human body is mostly made up of water. The rest is perfectly good, biodegradable material. Of course, there are those of us who have a few spare parts that aren�t so biodegradable such as new hips, knees, pacemakers, amalgam dental fillings, breast implants and a host of other non-OEM parts that probably need to be recycled rather than incinerated or buried. Unless you want to be buried in a pyramid, a commercial cemetery or some other institution that promises your best appearance when the and if the second coming of Christ happens, there is NO good reason to bleed you out and re-fill your veins with Formaldehyde. Due to its widespread use, toxicity, volatility, and exposure to, formaldehyde is significant and dangerous pollutant.
Several of those uncivilized, hedonistic European countries that don�t believe in neither creationism, intelligent design nor the tooth ferry, restrict the use of formaldehyde for embalming. These people are crazy. They must not know about mortuary science as the European Union decided on September 22, 2007 to ban formaldehyde use for embalming purposes throughout Europe due to its carcinogenic properties. I am so happy that we have the Colorado and US Death Industry to sponsor and validate mortuary science and protect us. The Grand Wizzard of the Death Industry tells us that embalming is necessary to prevent the spread of diseases. Now I am not a scientists, but last time I checked, dead people don�t breathe, cough, sneeze or engage in unsafe sexual behavior. Forcing a person and threatening them with criminal prosecution if they fail to pressure-treat their loved once with cancer-causing, toxic chemicals is about as sound of a science as witch-burning. At least they didn�t charge the witches� survivors for the firewood.
The History of Mortuary �Science�
Funeral Directors have never attained the status they held in old Egypt where they were better paid and had cooler outfits than just ordinary physicians. So after harboring a grudge for over 3,000 years, they are back with a vengeance. They organized themselves into state chapters of the Death Industry and have successfully gotten legislation passed in 49 states. The last �Free State� is Colorado where so far, money hungry legislators have resisted the temptation to pass legislation restoring funeral directors once god-like status.
Today, if you don�t have the brains, money or stamina to engage in endless years of science, medical and hands-on training to become a physician, you can always take the (q)easy and fast way out into�. Mortuary Science. Often times, you don�t have to even attend a community college. You can jus slave away and work for next to nothing at a funeral home, practicing��.Science! But all those years of indentured servitude take a toll and the �Mortuary Scientists� want recognition, status, and like their counterparts that deal with living, breathing clients, a legally protected monopoly. So they organize themselves, collect dues from anyone wanting to have a hint of legitimacy and pile all those dues into a pot. Eventually, and especially considering that the average funeral costs about $ 8,000, all those dues add up. And so that pot of money becomes a great way to bribe, influence and pay your way into a legally protected industry. After all, if a real science like medicine can be responsible for the vast majority of personal bankruptcies in this country, what is wrong with stealing the last few bucks out of the survivor�s pockets to buy a dead a nice funeral. Often, these funerals come complete with embalming (since most cemeteries are in on this game and require a toxic corpse), concrete & steel vaults, elaborate coffins made from tropical hardwoods and numerous other and pricey products and services. Forget about paying for your kid�s college education. Better save up for your own funeral. And, feel good about leaving a toxic legacy.
Pollution from Embalming
Once again, real sciences like hydrology, biology, geology and other, respected and peer-reviewed sciences are in agreements that embalming with formaldehyde is a dangerous and unsustainable practice. Unlike �mortuary science� which encourages, promotes and often mandates this practice. So what happens one the toxic corpse now preserved for eternity goes into the ground? Nothing. As long as nothing changes, the coffin will slowly decompose. And as long as the concrete or steel vault holds up, everything is fine. Not even the lawn maintenance guy who is busy spreading herbicides and pesticides while driving his 2-cycle oil-spewing lawn tractors would think that there is anything wrong with this picture. But, let�s just assume that there could be an unthinkable, highly unlikely meteorological event. Like a heavy, sustained rain or even a minor flood. Then, water leaks into the vault, the coffin and yes, into your remains. And formaldehyde leaks out. So, let�s just say that the second coming of Christ isn�t just around the corner but a few hundred or thousands of years off. Until then, your now toxic, carcinogenic and not very pretty remains are going to be a source of on-going groundwater and soil pollution.
In some countries that have put some thought into this problem and have not been smothered by Mortuary Science have come up with some unique and novel concepts like natural cemeteries. In this case, your corpse is liberated from any non-biodegradable after-market parts and accessories and buried in a shroud or cardboard coffin. These cemeteries have been created to offer an alternative to traditional toxic cemeteries. Often, there is not even a headstone to mark a grave but rather a tree or a simple marker. Not only is this a great concept in preventing pollution, but also conserving and preserving land in its natural state without the need for expensive and toxic lawn maintenance. Unfortunately, Mortuary Science is strongly opposed to any sustainable and ecologically sound method of burial that would infringe on their monopoly. The Death Industry has lobbied strongly against natural cemeteries and through spreading miss-information and propaganda fueled the paranoia of neighboring landowners.
Pollution from Cremation
But don�t forget, you can also get cremated. That used to be a pretty inexpensive option. Not any more. Like any good used-car salesman, any funeral director is going to try to sell you an expensive flammable coffin, try to get you embalmed (maybe you burn better that way) and offer de-installation on all those non-OEM parts, especially the ones that can explode (like a pacemaker) or blacken the crematory chamber (silicone implants).
At least you don�t have to have the nice funeral director spread your ashes. You can still have your friends and family legally do that part. Maybe not much longer if the Death Industry could have it their way. Maybe you aren�t competent enough to scientifically spread your loved one�s ashes. Maybe there is money to be made in selling you one expensive urn.
What the nice funeral director will NOT tell you is that the US Death Industry has successfully prevented any real pollution controls for crematoria in this country. Today, mercury emissions from crematoria are the second largest source of airborne mercury pollution in this country after power plants. And it gets worse. Most crematoria are in densely populated urban areas. They don�t have smoke stacks that pierce the clouds. Their pollution is highly regionalized. So next time you pass a funeral home, look for a large diameter, low-rise smokestack and hold your breath. Think its bad from the outside? Try working at a crematorium. Personnel working in crematoria are often exposed to extremely high levels of mercury.
Without some pollution control equipment, cremation basically turns the human body using extreme heat into water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, dust, carbonized remains, furans and dioxins. If you�ve ever had a �silver� (amalgam) filling, add mercury to that list. Currently, Colorado law does not even come close to even attempt to regulate emissions from crematoria which are often located in urban areas. In the US, crematories are being held to a standard that is similar to the ones used in Europe 50 years ago.
Just how much mercury is emitted depends on what data sets you believe are accurate. Mortuary science would like you to believe that good old American corpses don�t actually emit any mercury when they are cremated. But if you listen to the death industry, they will tell you that only British, Scottish, Dutch, German, Australian and Swiss bodies actually emit mercury when cremated. Because they were unable to squash the research that has been going on in other countries.
Failing to be convinced by Mortuary �Science�, even our Canadian neighbors take this air pollution from cremations seriously and are looking at regulating them. They�d rather look at unbiased, validated, reviewed and statistically sound data that indicates that mercury emissions from cremation are a serious health hazard. Take a look the pollution controls in Germany and you will find mercury scrubbing systems, catalysts and dust filters. In Colorado, crematories are simply mandated not to have any VISIBLE emissions. As you know, even things that are not visible to the human eye can and will effect the environment. Now that is real science. Based on mercury readings from crematoria, sampling downwind from their smoke stacks and even sampling the hair of workers in crematoria.
The Death Industry�s Worst Nightmare
The funeral industry is extremely concerned about a small but growing �home� funeral movement along with natural burials. Just as the Death Industry will finalize their stranglehold over the last Free State in this country, it needs to prevent an challenges to their complete monopoly. What better way to do that but to criminalize DYI funerals?
Just a hundred years ago, it was considered perfectly normal to hold a wake in the deceased person�s home and bury the body on his own property.
This movement, which is just enjoying a bit of a revival, aims to make this final chapter in a person�s life as natural and uncomplicated as possible.
And without all the accessorizing, toxic pressure-treatment, elaborate coffins, nicely dressed undertakers, funeral directors, grief counselors and other disciples of the death industry, that process wasn�t very expensive.
In other words, with a little help from friends and family, one could have a pretty meaningful and un-complicated transition for a very small amount of money. But where would that leave the poor $ 15 billion per year Death Industry? I wonder how much money has been funneled to the sponsors and supporters of this bill.
Unfortunately, our Colorado legislatures aren�t smart enough to realize that this kind of money can buy protectionist legislation. What seems to matter less to our lawmakers is that their actions would force consumers to buy products and services from this unscrupulous, often corrupt and scandal-plagued, unsustainable Death Industry.
There are plenty of reasons to legislate on behalf of consumers and the environment in regulating the funeral industry. HB 09-1202 does not include any meaningful consumer protection, except for the Death Industry itself. Nor does it address the inalienable right to determine one�s own transition from deathbed to grave.
Tobias Schunck
Longmont, CO
