this heating method leaves Swedes cold (longish)

>From the Sydney Morning Herald:

HOW AUNT ASTRID HELPS TO KEEP THE LIVING ROOM COZY
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Some churchmen may be incandescent with rage and the public outraged, but
two Swedish crematoria say they have no plans to stop heating local homes
with the energy from burning bodies.

"It's only sensible," said Mr Borje Stolt, the chief inspector of
Helsingborg crematorium in southern Sweden. "It's environmentally friendly,
and relatives can console themselves in the knowledge that the death of a
loved one benefits the whole community."

New that heat from the furnaces of the two newly built crematoria in
Helsingborg and nearby Boras is being piped directly to district energy
companies has sparked uproar in the Swedish press and consternation among
church members.

"I have a very serious problem with this," said Mr Henrik Nystrom, a pastor
in Boras, where the local energy company heats 60,000 homes and estimates
the crematorium has supplied about 10% of its needs over the past six
months. "True, you still get the ashes. But imagine going home to a nice
warm house after a funeral service and wondering just how much the deceased
is doing to help."

Mr Lennart Nilsson, a Baptist pastor in Helsingbord, was even more
incensed. "No one wants Aunt Astrid heating up the living room," he said.
"It's a shocking idea, disrespectful of the dead and of the bereaved."

But Mr Stolt said he found nothing wrong in the principle that Swedes
should contribute to a cleaner environment even after their deaths.
Cremation is already an energy-intensive business, he noted, using between
8 and 12 liters of oil per incineration. Without the cooperation of the
energy company, the crematorium would have to release the excess heat and
poisonous gases into the environment.

"To do that safely, we'd need to install cooling and purifying apparatus,"
he said. "That alone would use another 25 cubic meters of oil a year. Plus,
the energy company would still have to produce the heat we provide. We just
can't afford to be sentimental about this."

He denied the crematorium was making money on the deal. "I don't even know
how much we'll get from the energy company," he said. "Accusations that we
are enriching ourselves from the bodies of the deceased are totally
inaccurate."

Mr Roger Bergstrom, the head of Boras district energy company, stressed
that he had held exhaustive  discussions with church and council
authorities before launching the scheme. "There was rather a lively
argument, but in the end they were supportive," he said. "I think the
problem is that people haven't been properly informed. I'm sure if we'd
explained what we were trying to do, there wouldn't have been this fuss."

A spokeswoman for the Swedish energy ministry said that in a
competition-driven energy market, companies were free to decide where they
went for supplies. But Stockholm Energi, Sweden's largest district heating
company, said it had discussed a similar plan and decided against it.

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Personally, I don't see what's wrong with this idea. In fact, I think it
could even be a good idea to offer companies that incinerate stuff (trash,
bodies, whatever) energy rebates if they agree to do this kind of thing.
Recycle, recycle, OK!!!


--Laurie
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