My name is Katrina Spade, and I grew up in a medical family where it was fairly normal to talk about death and dying at the dinner table. But I didn't go into medicine like so many of my family members. Instead, I went to architecture school to learn how to design. And while I was there, I began to be curious about what would happen to my physical body after I died. What would my nearest and dearest do with me?
我叫卡翠娜·史培德, 生長於醫生世家, 一直以來在餐桌上談論生死 是稀鬆平常的事。 然而不像許多的家族成員, 我沒進入醫學院就讀, 而是去學建築設計。 在學習期間我開始好奇 我死後身體會被怎樣處理? 我最親愛、最親近的人 會如何處理我的遺體呢?
So if the existence and the fact of your own mortality doesn't get you down, the state of our current funerary practices will. Today, almost 50 percent of Americans choose conventional burial. Conventional burial begins with embalming, where funeral staff drain bodily fluid and replace it with a mixture designed to preserve the corpse and give it a lifelike glow. Then, as you know, bodies are buried in a casket in a concrete-lined grave in a cemetery. All told, in US cemeteries, we bury enough metal to build a Golden Gate Bridge, enough wood to build 1,800 single family homes, and enough formaldehyde-laden embalming fluid to fill eight Olympic-size swimming pools.
如果人活著、人壽有盡的事實 沒使你們沮喪, 當今的殯葬方式會。 將近 50% 的現代美國人 選擇習用的埋葬方式。 傳統埋葬的第一步是防腐, 殯儀人員讓體液排出來, 注入混合防腐劑 使屍體看起來栩栩如生。 正如你們熟知的下一步, 把屍體放入棺材, 埋在墓園的混凝土墓穴裡。 總而言之,埋在美國墓園裡的金屬 足夠我們建一座金門大橋, 木材夠造一千八百戶 獨門獨院的住宅, 用掉的甲醛防腐液 能填滿八個奧運尺寸的游泳池。
In addition, cemeteries all over the world are reaching capacity. Turns out, it doesn't really make good business sense to sell someone a piece of land for eternity.
此外,全世界的墓地都接近飽和。 原來,販售一塊墓地作為永生之道 根本沒商業道理。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Whose idea was that?
是誰的餿主意啊?
In some places, you can't buy a plot no matter how much money you have. As a result, cremation rates have risen fast. In 1950, if you suggested your grandmother be incinerated after she died, you'd probably be kicked from the family deathbed. But today, almost half of Americans choose cremation, citing simpler, cheaper and more ecological as reasons. I used to think that cremation was a sustainable form of disposition, but just think about it for a second. Cremation destroys the potential we have to give back to the earth after we've died. It uses an energy-intensive process to turn bodies into ash, polluting the air and contributing to climate change. All told, cremations in the US emit a staggering 600 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually. The truly awful truth is that the very last thing that most of us will do on this earth is poison it.
在某些地方,不管你有多少錢 都買不到一塊墓地。 因此,火葬的比例快速攀升。 在 1950 年代 如果建議祖母死後火葬, 可能會被趕出去。 但今天幾乎半數的美國人選擇火化, 列舉的原因是簡單、 便宜 以及更為環保。 我曾經認為火葬是種 永續的處置方式; 但只要稍微想一想, 火化泯滅掉我們 死後回饋地球的可能性。 使用密集能源把身體化成灰的過程 污染了空氣,加劇氣候的變遷。 總而言之,美國每年火葬 所排放到大氣層的二氧化碳 高達六億磅之巨。 真正可怕的真相是: 我們大多數人 在地球上做的最後一件事 是毒害地球。 (長嘆聲)
It's like we've created, accepted and death-denied our way into a status quo that puts as much distance between ourselves and nature as is humanly possible. Our modern funerary practices are designed to stave off the natural processes that happen to a body after death. In other words, they're meant to prevent us from decomposing. But the truth is that nature is really, really good at death. We've all seen it. When organic material dies in nature, microbes and bacteria break it down into nutrient-rich soil, completing the life cycle. In nature, death creates life.
就像是我們拼了命 爭取到不死的特權, 使自己遠離大自然。 現代設計的殯葬方式 避掉死後人體 會自然發生的分解過程。 換句話說,就是不讓遺體分解。 但事實上 大自然對分解非常拿手。 我們都看到過, 當有機體死在自然界裡, 微生物和細菌 將其分解成富含營養的土壤, 完成生命的週期。 在自然界中,死亡創造生命。
Back in architecture school, I was thinking about all this, and I set out on a plan to redesign death care. Could I create a system that was beneficial to the earth and that used nature as a guide rather than something to be feared? Something that was gentle to the planet? That planet, after all, supports our living bodies our whole lives.
當我在學建築時思考這一切, 開始重新設計殯葬的處理方式。 我能不能創建一套系統, 一套對地球有益, 以大自然為師,不畏懼大自然, 對地球友善的系統呢? 到底地球維持著 我們的身體和生命啊。
And while I was mulling this all over over the drawing board, the phone rang. It was my friend Kate. She was like, "Hey, have you heard about the farmers who are composting whole cows?" And I was like, "Mmmm."
正當我在繪圖板上 醞釀這想法的時候, 電話鈴響了。 是我的朋友凱特打來的。 她說:「嘿,妳可曾聽過 農民把整條牛做成堆肥呢?」 我的反應是:「有意思。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Turns out that farmers in agricultural institutions have been practicing something called livestock mortality composting for decades. Mortality composting is where you take an animal high in nitrogen and cover it with co-composting materials that are high in carbon. It's an aerobic process, so it requires oxygen, and it requires plenty of moisture as well. In the most basic setup, a cow is covered with a few feet of wood chips, which are high in carbon, and left outside for nature, for breezes to provide oxygen and rain to provide moisture. In about nine months, all that remains is a nutrient-rich compost. The flesh has been decomposed entirely, as have the bones. I know.
原來農業機構的農民 過去幾十年來一直在推行 用死畜堆肥。 死畜堆肥是把含氮量高的動物軀體, 用含碳量高的助腐物質覆蓋起來。 這是個有氧分解的過程,需要氧, 也需要足夠的水分。 最基本的做法 是用厚達數英尺的木屑覆蓋牛, 木屑的碳含量很高, 放置戶外,讓大自然的微風提供氧, 讓雨水滋潤。 大約九個月後, 剩下營養豐富的堆肥, 肉身和骨頭全被分解淨盡。 對。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So I would definitely call myself a decomposition nerd, but I am far, far from a scientist, and one way you can tell this is true is that I have often called the process of composting "magic."
確實我稱自己是研究分解的書呆子, 根本不算是個科學家; 這顯而易見, 因我常把堆肥的過程稱為「魔術」。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So basically, all we humans need to do is create the right environment for nature to do its job. It's like the opposite of antibacterial soap. Instead of fighting them, we welcome microbes and bacteria in with open arms. These tiny, amazing creatures break down molecules into smaller molecules and atoms, which are then incorporated into new molecules. In other words, that cow is transformed. It's no longer a cow. It's been cycled back into nature. See? Magic.
基本上,我們人類只需 營造一個讓大自然 好好工作的環境即可。 這和殺菌藥皂恰恰相反, 它不抗菌, 而是張開雙臂迎接微生物和細菌。 這些驚人的小生物 把分子分解成更小的分子和原子, 然後合併成新的分子。 換句話說,那頭牛轉型, 不再是頭牛, 而是循環回到自然界。 看到了吧?這就是魔術。
You can probably imagine the light bulb that went off in my head
(笑聲)
after I received that phone call. I began designing a system based on the principles of livestock mortality composting that would take human beings and transform them into soil.
或許你能想像: 接到那通電話後我靈光一閃, 開始根據死畜堆肥的原理 設計能將人類遺體 轉化為土壤的系統。 《可擴展、複製,非營利的城市模式》
Fast-forward five years and the project has grown in ways I truly never could have imagined. We've created a scalable, replicable non-profit urban model based on the science of livestock mortality composting that turns human beings into soil. We've partnered and collaborated with experts in soil science, decomposition, alternative death care, law and architecture. We've raised funds from foundations and individuals in order to design a prototype of this system, and we've heard from tens of thousands of people all over the world who want this option to be available. OK. In the next few years, it's our goal to build the first full-scale human composting facility right in the city of Seattle.
快轉五年後, 計劃的展開遠超出我的想像。 我們根據死畜堆肥的原理 建立一個可擴展、可複製、 非營利、城市模式的系統, 把人類遺體轉化為土壤。 我們合作的夥伴專精於土壤科學、 分解、其他可行的處理遺體方式、 法律和建築。 我們向基金會與個人募資 來建立系統的雛型; 世界各地有成千上萬的人告訴我們 希望能夠選用這種殯葬法。 好。 接下來幾年, 我們的目標是在西雅圖市裡 建立首座全面性的人類堆肥設施。
(Applause)
(掌聲和歡呼聲)
Imagine it, part public park, part funeral home, part memorial to the people we love, a place where we can reconnect with the cycles of nature and treat bodies with gentleness and respect.
想像一下, 兼具公園、 殯儀館、 已逝親人的紀念館, 在這裡重新連結生生不息的大自然, 並且於進行過程中尊重、 和善對待遺體。
The infrastructure is simple. Inside a vertical core, bodies and wood chips undergo accelerated natural decomposition, or composting, and are transformed into soil. When someone dies, their body is taken to a human composting facility. After wrapping the deceased in a simple shroud, friends and family carry the body to the top of the core, which contains the natural decomposition system. During a laying in ceremony, they gently place the body into the core and cover it with wood chips. This begins the gentle transformation from human to soil. Over the next few weeks, the body decomposes naturally. Microbes and bacteria break down carbon, then protein, to create a new substance, a rich, earthy soil. This soil can then be used to grow new life. Eventually, you could be a lemon tree.
基礎的設施很簡單: 在垂直的主設施裡 身體和木片自然加速分解和堆肥化, 轉化為土壤。 死者的遺體被送往遺體堆肥設施, 用簡單的長袍包裹, 親友護送遺體到 自然分解系統主設施的頂部 舉行下葬的儀式, 把遺體輕輕地垂入主設施, 以木屑覆蓋。 轉變遺體為土壤的和緩過程開始了。 人體在接下來的 幾個星期裡自然分解。 微生物和細菌先分解碳, 再分解蛋白質, 創造新的物質, 也就是肥沃的土壤, 這土壤能被用來孕育新的生命。 最後,你可能變成檸檬樹。
(Applause)
(掌聲和哨聲)
Yeah, thank you.
是的,謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Who's thinking about lemon meringue pie right now?
此刻誰想起檸檬蛋白派呢?
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
A lemon drop? Something stronger?
或者檸檬馬丁尼? 還是更烈一點的東西呢?
So in addition to housing the core, these buildings will function to support the grieving by providing space for memorial services and end-of-life planning. The potential for repurposing is huge. Old churches and industrial warehouses can be converted into places where we create soil and honor life.
除了分解遺體的主設施外, 這些建築物還提供緬懷追思, 設置追悼會堂和規劃壽終的空間。 這有著巨大的再利用潛力。 舊的教堂和工業倉庫能轉換成 孕育土壤和榮耀生命的場所。
We want to bring back the aspect of ritual that's been diluted over the past hundred years as cremation rates have risen and religious affiliation has declined. Our Seattle facility will function as a model for these places all over the world. We've heard from communities in South Africa, Australia, the UK, Canada and beyond. We're creating a design toolkit that will help others design and build facilities that will contain technical specifications and regulatory best practices. We want to help individuals, organizations, and down the road, municipalities design and build facilities in their own cities. The idea is that every one of these places should look and feel completely different with the same system inside. They're really meant to be designed for the neighborhood in which they reside and the community which they serve.
我們想找回過去數百年間 因火葬率上升、宗教聯繫降低 而被稀釋掉的儀式面。 我們的西雅圖設施 將成為世界各地的典範。 南非、澳大利亞、英國、 加拿大及其他各地都有 社區聯絡我們。 我們正建立一個設計工具包 來幫助其他人建設, 裡頭將會有技術規格 和符合規範的最佳監管做法。 我們不只要幫助個人和組織, 更進一步,還要幫助城市 設計和建造自己的設施。 想法是: 儘管內部的系統相同, 各地設施的外貌和感覺 應該完全不同; 這些設施的設計應該符合 所在、所服務的社區。
The other idea is for supportive staff to be on hand to help families with the care and preparation of loved ones' bodies. We're banishing practices that bewilder and disempower and creating a system that is beautiful and meaningful and transparent. We believe that access to ecological death care is a human right.
另一想法是:應有關懷員在場, 幫助遺族照顧和準備親人的遺體。 我們汰除困惑、乏力的舊做法, 建立美麗、有意義 而且透明的新方法。 我們堅信能選用符合生態的死亡護理 是天賦人權。
OK, so you know the old saying, if you can compost a cow, you can compost a human?
好。古諺云: 如果能把牛做成堆肥, 就能把人做成堆肥?
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Turns out, it's true. Since 2014, we've been running a pilot project in the hills of North Carolina with the Forensic Anthropology Department at Western Carolina University. Six donor bodies have been covered in wood chips, oxygen provided by breezes, microbes and bacteria doing their jobs. This pilot program has allowed us to demonstrate that it's possible to harness the incredible power of natural decomposition to turn human bodies into soil, and we're working with other universities as well. Soil scientists at Washington State University, the grad students, anyway, are working to compost teeth with amalgam fillings so that we can understand what happens to the mercury therein. Next up, we'll be beginning experiments to determine what happens to chemo drugs and pharmaceuticals during the composting process, and whether additional remediation will be needed.
原來,這話一點兒也沒錯。 自 2014 年起, 我們與西卡羅來納大學的 法醫人類學系 在北卡羅來納州的山丘試行。 被木屑覆蓋的六具捐贈大體, 有微風提供氧氣, 有微生物和細菌做功。 這個試行計劃讓我們證明了 利用不可思議的自然分解力量 把人體變成土壤是可行的。 我們也與其他的大學合作。 華盛頓州立大學的土壤科學家 和那裡的研究生, 正在鑽研汞齊 填補的牙齒做成的堆肥, 以了解堆肥後裡頭的汞會怎樣。 我們下一步將做實驗 以確認化療藥物 經堆肥過程後的結果, 決定是否需要增加補救步驟。
By the way, composting creates a great deal of heat, especially this particular type of composting. One week after we began composting our fifth donor body, the temperature inside that mound of wood chips reached 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Imagine harnessing that heat to create energy or comfort the grieving on a cold day.
順便一提, 堆肥的程序產生大量的熱, 尤其是這種堆肥類型。 在第五具大體開始分解後一個星期, 那木屑堆裡面的溫度 高達華氏 158 度。 想像駕馭這熱能, 用在寒冬裡撫慰、溫暖悲傷的親人。
The death care revolution has begun. It's an exciting time to be alive.
死亡護理的革命已經開始了。 這是個令生者振奮的時刻。
Thank you.
(笑聲)
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)