in the last 20 years, and it all points to a change in climate, and the unpredictability that goes with it. russell trott, bbc news. this is bbc news. our main headline: south africa s president leads funeral tributes to archbishop desmond tutu, calling him the nation s moral compass. more now on the passing of archbishop desmond tutu, and as we ve heard, he requested a basic wooden coffin, and for his body to be aquamated. it s not a term that many of us are familiar with, so what is aquamation? i ve been speaking to samantha sieber. she s a biologist, and her father was one of the founders of the aquamation process. she explained how it worked. aquamation is an alternative to burial and cremation, a choice that families have. very similar end result to cremation, where the family receives an urn. anything that you can do with cremation ashes, you can do with ashes from aquamation.
installed its system in 2011 here in the us. here in the us. and it s obviously here in the us. and it s obviously more - here in the us. and it s - obviously more sustainable and that s really important these days, of course. there are a few issues around regulation and express and i guess i will come down but did you see it growing in the years to come expense? growing in the years to come expense? growing in the years to come exense? ., , , ., expense? really is and when we, when ou expense? really is and when we, when you what expense? really is and when we, when you what we expense? really is and when we, when you what we liked - expense? really is and when we, when you what we liked about. when you what we liked about it. it has been a really nice decade and a half of learning what families feel about it and so it has been a learning process for all of us but it s certainly got a huge role in the future because its electricity only. it does not rely on fossil fuels
and for his body to be aquamated. it s not a term that many of us are familiar with, so what is aquamation? i ve been speaking to samantha sieber. she s a biologist, and her father was one of the founders of the aquamation process. she explained how it worked. aquamation is an alternative to burial and cremation, a choice that families have. very similar end result to cremation, where the family receives an urn. anything that you can do with cremation ashes, you can do with ashes from aquamation. but aquamation does not use fire it uses a process that is 95% water and 5% alkali to gently reduce the body to the mineral remains. the minerals are just like, with flame cremation, that s what s returned to the family in an urn. there s no emissions, mercury isn t released into the air, and it uses less energy. you talk there about the fact that there are no emissions i think it is probably one of the main reasons, obviously, that desmond tutu chose it. is that why a lot of people
he asked for a basic coffin and called for his body to aquamated. so, what exactly is an aquamation? none of us here readily knew the answer, so we reached out to samantha sieber. she is a biologist and her father was one of the founders of the aquamation process. she is in danville, indiana. samantha, thank you forjoining us. can you quickly summarise the process of aquamation because i think a lot of people watching may not have ever have heard of it? heard of it? absolutely. aquamation heard of it? absolutely. aquamation is - heard of it? absolutely. aquamation is an - heard of it? absolutely. - aquamation is an alternative to burial and cremation, a choice that families have. very similar end result to cremation where the family receives an urban, anything that you can do with cremation ushers you can do with ashes from aquamation. an urn. at aquamation does not use fire, it uses a process thatis not use fire, it uses a process that is 95% water and 5% alkaline to gently reduc