by Janet Asimov

As a practicing curmudgeon, I now take a deep breath and type feverishly that I am NOT going to write about there being too many people alive on planet Earth. Every intelligent humanist knows about overpopulation, and if you don’t, you are not only not intelligent but also not informed.

There is, however, a teensy problem that is going to get worse. There are also too many DEAD people. Cemeteries are filling up. Many years ago the wonderful science fiction writer Clifford Simak wrote a novel called “Cemetery Earth” which I think about frequently. In it, humanity has moved out to homes in other solar systems (this is fiction, remember) and Earth is used as a cemetery. 

Now that you’re all turned off, let me assure you that there are solutions to the Dead Body problem. But first, I will explain what death is.

To read this entire Humanist Network News article, click here.