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Late Fall 2009 www.thedead-beat.com Volume 10 Issue 4
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Columns
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Behind the Back Fence
Certified In All Things Green…… Bananas,
beans, burials — and GREENBACKS.
In
true entrepreneurial spirit more and more businesses have figured out there are
green dollars to be made by selling green products to customers.
It may not matter whether or not the company really has the environment
at heart. Hey, why knock a good
business stimulator. I notice a lot
of politicians seem to change with the wind too. Now
enter the Green Burial Council. This
group of entrepreneurs comes from a mixed background of folks, INCLUDING
CEMETERY MANAGEMENT. They
apparently decided that green burial, for various reasons, would be a good
vehicle to preserve land, promote environmental awareness or perhaps a way to
make money. Consequently
a number of funeral industry manufacturers, practitioners and some of the
general public seem content to accept the Green Burial Council as the ultimate
authority for “green” burials. What
is next—-Green Burial Certification by a licensing or association authority?
I hope that is not the case. Medical
doctors have their specialty categories and funeral directors have their
voluntary CFSP programs. There is
nothing wrong with promoting green burials as a marketing too.
However, legitimizing green burial by a certification process diminishes
the value of the funeral director’s license.
A valid funeral director’s license should make the licensee qualified
in all aspects of funeral service. And
who needs another licensing/certification process?
Contrary opinions are invited.
In the last issue I made a rather skeptical comment
about problems that may arise as we try to switch to the online death
certificate. A colleague from
another state that is already doing online certificates says it is great.
Saves them a lot of time and mileage.
He did mention that some doctors are still dragging their feet.
If Fed-Ex is going to deliver caskets purchased online,
associations should encourage them to handle body transport.???????????????
About
the Author: Lowell
Pugh has funeral director and embalmer licenses in Missouri and Texas and
continues the operation of the 105-year-old family funeral
home. He is
publisher of The
Dead Beat which
began in 1999. He
can be contacted at The
Dead Beat address.
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