Top 10 Odd Environmental Ideas

The Problem: So much for dust to dust — the modern American way of death isn't very environmentally friendly. A casket and embalming is clearly out — the body, stuffed full of chemicals, will linger for years. You may as well forget ashes to ashes, too: cremation creates a mournfully large carbon footprint. What's a felled eco-warrior to do?

The Solution: Submerge the body in alkali and water. Add pressure and heat. Let simmer until liquefaction. The process, called resomation, reduces the body to a fluid of biological compounds and remnant calcium from the bones. The fluid can be used as a fertilizer and the calcium discarded without environmental harm, or even put in an urn like ashes. Practitioners say the process is energy efficient, with limited carbon emissions and no harmful mercury use like burial or cremation. Heaven for the eco-conscious.

Eco Craziness: 2/5. It may never catch on with the general public, but there's no more better way for an environmentalist to go out than in an eco-conscious ooze of glory.

See the Top 10 Ahmadinejad-isms.