It's estimated that some 7500 people die every day in the U.S. It's projected that 25% of them will be buried in cemeteries.

That's 1870 trees a day that could be planted in place of headstones.

A young tree can remove 25 pounds of CO2 a year. That's:

(1870 trees) (25 pounds CO2) (365 days a year) = 17,063,750 pounds of CO2 the first year, doubling the second year, etc. etc.

What's more, trees can be used to generate small amounts of electricity (link 1).

However, cemeteries make up a much smaller percent of the earth than farmland, and calculations suggest that forests on farmland may be inadequate as carbon offsets on their own. (link 2)
-- 4and20, Nov 14 2018

Trees as batteries https://www.mnn.com...nto-trees-for-power
[4and20, Nov 14 2018]

Out of their trees https://www.cbc.ca/...-mcdonald-1.4132679
[4and20, Nov 14 2018]

Kansas, land of trees http://www.kansasfo...ndtips/spacing.html
[4and20, Nov 17 2018]

Japanese Maple http://wallpaperswi...n_2-wallpapers.html
Quite a statement. [RayfordSteele, Nov 17 2018]

For all your heirs https://nypost.com/...100-year-old-grave/
to see [4and20, Sep 26 2021]

I dunno. I mean, I get the whole "take only memories*, leave only footprints" thing, but at the same time I figure the dead (at least some of them) are entitled to maintain a small carbon footprint as a mark of respect.

(*I did try to point this out when I was caught leaving the Curry's PC World, but they still pressed charges.)
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 14 2018


Sure, why not.

As long as they're planted and maintained so they're not susceptible to massive forest fires that give back all the carbon at once.
-- doctorremulac3, Nov 14 2018


Make mine a Japanese Maple.
-- RayfordSteele, Nov 14 2018


Isn't that the one that dives near-vertically out of low cloud and impales itself on the target ?

Just get the undertakers to print out a plan view of an Essex-class aircraft carrier and peg it over the grave ...
-- 8th of 7, Nov 15 2018


The very same.
-- 8th of 7, Nov 15 2018


An expandable tree trunk plaque might be memorable. How far apart can trees be planted? I'm thinking more than vertical graves.
-- wjt, Nov 17 2018


Let's say the cemetery is somewhere in Kansas...[link 3]
-- 4and20, Nov 17 2018


Bonsai, but you'd have to stack them quite high, as you usually just get 24sq ft (?) plots...
-- not_morrison_rm, Nov 17 2018


Why you probably shouldn't be buried next to a tree...[link]
-- 4and20, Sep 26 2021



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