美國允許人類遺體堆肥葬,死後種花

It may soon be legal for the dead to push daisies, or any other flower, in backyard gardens across Washington state.

不久之後，在華盛頓州的後院花園中，用死人來養護雛菊或其他花卉就可能合法了。

The state legislature recently passed a bill that, if signed by the governor, allows human bodies to be composted - and used for mulch.

該州立法機構最近通過了一項法案，如果州長簽署，該法案將允許把人的遺體制成堆肥——並用作覆膜層。

As the nation ages, US funeral practices are changing. Rates of cremation surpassed 50 percent in 2016, overtaking burials as the most popular choice.

隨着國家的老齡化，美國的喪葬習俗正在發生變化。2016年，火葬率超過50%，超過土葬成爲最受歡迎的選擇。

The Census Bureau, in a 2017 report, predicted a death boom: 1 million more Americans are projected to die in 2037 than they did in 2015. Human composting, its supporters say, is an eco-friendly option that can meet this growing demand.

美國人口普查局(Census Bureau)在2017年的一份報告中預測，2037年的死亡人數將比2015年增加100萬。支持者說，人類堆肥是一個可以滿足日益增長的需求的環保選擇。

A Seattle-based company called Recompose plans to offer a service called "natural organic reduction" (it has two patents pending) that uses microbes to transform the departed - skin, bones and all.

總部位於西雅圖的重組公司計劃提供一項名爲“自然有機還原”的服務(該公司有兩項專利正在申請中)，利用微生物來轉換死者的皮膚、骨骼和所有器官。

"We have this one universal human experience, of death, and technology has not changed what we do in any meaningful way," said state Senator Jamie Pedersen (D), who introduced the bill, which passed with bipartisan support on April 19.

州參議員傑米·佩德森(Jamie Pedersen，民主黨)說:“人類都有一死，科技並沒有以任何有意義的方式改變我們所做的事情。”這個議案由他提出，4月19日在兩黨的支持下通過了。

"There are significant environmental problems" with burying and burning bodies, he said.

他說，掩埋和焚燒屍體“存在嚴重的環境問題”。

Joshua Trey Barnett, an expert on ecological communication at the University of Minnesota at Duluth, listed the flaws in conventional burials: "We embalm bodies with toxic solutions, bury them in expensive caskets made of precious woods and metals and then indefinitely commit them to a plot of land."

明尼蘇達大學德盧斯分校(University of Minnesota at Duluth)的生態傳播專家華特雷?巴內特(hua Trey Barnett)列舉了傳統埋葬方式的缺陷:“我們用有毒溶液對屍體進行防腐，將它們埋在由貴重木材和金屬製成的昂貴棺材裏，然後無限期地將它們埋在一塊土地裏。”

Though incineration has a smaller ecological footprint, estimates suggest the average cremated body emits roughly 40 pounds of carbon and requires nearly 30 gallons of fuel to burn.

儘管焚燒的生態痕跡較小，但據估算平均每個火化的屍體會排放大約40磅的碳，需要燃燒近30加侖的燃料。