Why in the name of all that is holy would anyone need to be buried instead of cremated? It takes up a lot of $$$pace

Jewish law ("Halachah") is unequivocal that the dead must be buried in the earth.

As a deterrent measure, cremated remains are not interred in a Jewish cemetery.3 Furthermore, we are told that many of the traditional laws of mourning are not observed after the passing of an individual whose body was cremated. Kaddish (memorial prayer), however, is recited for such individuals, and it is certainly appropriate to give charity and do mitzvot  (good deeds) in memory of their souls.

Responsibility for the deceased's proper burial lies with the next of kin. While ordinarily, Jewish law requires the deceased's children to go to great lengths to respect the departed's wishes, if someone requests to be cremated or buried in a manner which is not in accordance with Jewish tradition, we nevertheless provide him/her with a Jewish burial. It is believed that since the soul has now arrived to the World of Truth, it surely sees the value of a proper Jewish burial, and thus administering a traditional Jewish burial is actually granting what the person truly wishes at the moment. Furthermore, if anyone, all the more so your father and mother, asks you to damage or hurt their body, you are not allowed to do so. For our bodies do not belong to us, they belong to God.