 |  | | Virtual benefits | | | | Dear Subscriber, | | | Whether it's on the desktop or in the data center, virtualization is proving to be a big efficiency boost for businesses.
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It's my pleasure to introduce you to this issue of Momentum, which looks at the feature set of Windows Server 2008, as well as a more in-depth look at its virtualization features and initial steps to guide your move into this area. Also this month, read about what's in Windows Vista SP1 and why it's important to plan your migration from Windows XP soon.
Best Regards,
Jack Braman
General Manager, U.S. Server Platform
Microsoft
| | | | | Spotlight |  | | Green Death
By Alan R. Earls
No one likes to dwell on the subject of death, let alone the sometimes gruesome details connected with the final disposition of human remains. However, driven by a mixture of economics, aesthetics, and a strong concern for the environment, a number of organizations and individuals have been looking closely at the subject and responding with "green" cemeteries. The aim, according to proponents, is to re-create more traditional funeral and mourning practices, reduce consumer expenses, and cut the environmental impact of death (such as the use of embalming chemicals or energy-intensive cremation).
One of the pioneers in this movement is Joel Rabinowitz, executive director of the GreenSprings Natural Cemetery, which opened near Ithaca, New York, in early 2007. Rabinowitz has been taking his story on the road locally and farther afield—with his PowerPoint presentation in hand—helping to make the topic more accessible, if not exactly able to bring it to life.
For instance, meeting recently with members of the Boston-based Funeral Consumers Alliance of Eastern Massachusetts, Rabinowitz showcased photos of his "customers"—families that crafted special burial markers and homemade funeral shrouds for their loved ones—as well as pictures of the mostly untouched lands controlled by the cemetery, which he believes the green burial practices will help preserve.
Although still very much a fringe phenomenon, Rabinowitz says many of those buried in the GreenSprings cemetery have come from areas hundreds of miles away, and GreenSprings has gotten attention from a variety of national publications as well as CBS News and National Public Radio. FCAEM members are looking into establishing a similar cemetery somewhere in Massachusetts. If they succeed, they will be part of a movement that is still tiny—fewer than a dozen such facilities have opened to date—but gaining momentum.
While he is excited about the future of green cemeteries, Rabinowitz has no illusions about the challenges. For instance, he says, it took six years from the initial concept of GreenSprings to actually opening the facility. Even on a day-to-day basis, there are plenty of hurdles. "It takes skills that run the gamut—everything from accounting, construction, family finances, and fundraising, to botany, consensus-building, gardening, landscape design, marketing, and even mortuary science," says Rabinowitz.
Alan R. Earls is a contributing writer for Momentum, the midsize business center newsletter. |
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